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EAT BEAT MELBOURNE CHINATOWN 58 FEBRUARY <strong>2010</strong> Celebrity chef Elizabeth Chong takes us to her favourite Melbourne Chinatown eateries WORDS VANESSA MULQUINEY PHOTOGRAPHY CORMAC HANRAHAN
CLOCKWISE: Elizabeth Chong in the heart of Chinatown; the rustic Hutong Dumpling Bar; Shoya’s exquisite sashimi; Hutong Dumpling Bar’s delectable xiao long bao Knowing I’m about to spend the day sampling the best dishes in Melbourne’s Chinatown with one of Australia’s most loved celebrity chefs as my guide, I have a light breakfast and, given my track record with chopsticks, don’t wear white. As I spot a petite and smiling Chong confi dently walking up Little Bourke Street, I can’t help but notice her chic white shirt. This is one lady who knows her way around a pair of chopsticks and has no fear. While Chong is instantly likable, warm and the ideal dinner party guest, when it comes to food, there’s no nonsense about her. I know I’m in experienced hands when she pulls out a schedule which lists chronologically the restaurants we’re visiting, the time and duration at every restaurant, and the dishes we’ll be sampling. I’m only too happy to oblige. While walking to our fi rst restaurant, she tells me she came to Australia from her native Guangzhou when she was three years old and inherited a love of food and cooking from her father, who was a well-respected foodie in Melbourne. She reminisces about her old stomping ground. “From age three, this really was my home away from home,” she says, pointing out the church she attended with her family on Sundays before tagging along with mum to do the food shopping. There are traces of her family throughout the heritage-listed Chinatown streets. We pass Celestial Lane, which in the 1840s was known as Celestial Alley and mainly occupied by European tradesmen. By 1860, the Chinese had moved in and set up lodging houses which were quickly fi lled with new Chinese arrivals (including, later, Chong’s father). Our fi rst restaurant is Hutong Dumpling Bar, famous for its xiao long bao or soup dumplings (AU$8.80). Dedicated dumpling chefs stand behind glass and effortlessly sculpt enough tasty morsels for the lunchtime crowd, who watch on in anticipation. Raymond Lee, the manager, says the dumplings are a must-try menu item — that is providing you can get them in your mouth. “Very gently pick up the xiao long bao with chopsticks, dip it into the vinegar sauce and ginger, and place it on the spoon,” instructs Chong. “Nibble the side of the dumpling and suck the broth out and pop the whole thing in your mouth.” The result is a very hot (don’t forget to blow on it), fl avoursome meaty taste. How does the broth get inside the dumpling? Chong explains: “A frozen block of stock is placed inside the dumpling, they’re then steamed and the stock melts.” Genius. Next stop is Melbourne’s yum cha legend, Shark Fin House. Not usually a fan of Cantonese delicacies, I’m hesitant to bid farewell to the delicious xiao long bao, but who can say no to Chong? “It’s the busiest yum cha in Melbourne,” she claims. With four restaurants dotted around the city that EAT BEAT MELBOURNE CHINATOWN FEBRUARY <strong>2010</strong> 59
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february-2010

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