Happy Dumplings

Cheap and cheerful! It’s gonna be slow service, you will be rushed out if it’s busy, and you may have heart palpitations after if you overdose on the chilli sauce and flavourings (whoops) but you know where you are and you put yourself in that seat.
What to say… It’s dumplings and there are other non dumpling items as well. To be on the safe side, start with just dumplings and maybe try a veg type dish to compliment. The fried rice is boring. You can’t go wrong (fingers crossed!) with the pork and prawn-​ys and (careful of that burning dumpling soup surprise!) obviously go the shanghai pork. Basically anything Dim Sum with a pork or a prawn base is pretty good. I also kinda like the mixed meat yuba beancurd rolls but that’s a dish for a confident cheap chinese regular.
I would probably avoid the suimai. It might be a bias opinion but they’re always a bit meh. The buns are ok. Everyone loved them when we got them but I, again, think that they are a waste of stomach space. These ones are on the ‘slightly better than usual’ spectrum.
The aubergine veg dish here is AWESOME. It’s greasy, delicious and caramelised aubergine goodness. The hot and sour cucumber is also good. People may roll their eyes at you and judge you whilst you order them but trust me they will thank you later. They are huge. SHARE.
On that… Make sure you absolutely do not attend this place with non-​sharers, dubious potentially gluten-​free sufferers, non-​experimenters, people on weird diets, vegetarians (unless you all are) or nay-​sayers. It will put a big damp cloth over your cheap cheerful experience. Meet them later at market row wines or something.

I’m rating this place ⁴⁄₅ based on the food quality and price only. They are the only reason I keep going back. Tastes so good every time and I get heaps for my money.
Don’t expect good service here, I have been here many times and its the same each time, we have to ask the waiter for our drinks or to order or anything about 5 times before it actually happens. But it’s in a cool little spot with really good atmosphere so we tend to end up laughing about the crappy service by the end of it.

I’m went for the dumplings and got very disappointed– they did not taste fresh or like anything really. The pork dumplings were passable but the shrimp dumplings were pretty bad. The pork and noodle soup was decent. At the end of the day I could have easily eaten better and for less.

Good food but the ingredients lacked of freshness.
I went there for a friend’s birthday, so we kept on ordering lots of different dishes to share and try as many things as possible.
The food was yummi but I felt like the ingredients were not fresh — plus they have so many different things on the menu that it can’t all be fresh, let’s be realistic.
The waitress was a bit too pushy, she was literally standing next to us and watching us the whole time, which was slightly annoying. But when it came to get the bill, she was nowhere to be found and we had to ask 3 times before we got it…
Overall it was not that bad so I will definitely give it a second chance soon (plus it’s BYOB, which is great when you can’t afford to spend to much to eat out).

I had the chicken lemongrass noodles. I asked him what the strange white blobs were, they were chicken. The broth lacked in flavor. The beef dumplings were gross. Service was bad. Server was extremely rude for no reason. Spring rolls were good.

This is a ramshackle little restaurant in the market. It used to be a takeaway Chinese place with food sitting under heat lamps that has expanded into a restaurant. To be honest, I’ve avoided this for a while. The décor and set up was a bit off putting.
The food was slightly hit or miss. The siu mai (both pork and the veggie versions) were only passable. The veggie siu mai were clearly overcooked and fell apart. The pork siu mai were small and resembled the frozen stuff you find in Asian markets.
The har gow was good as were the shrimp and coriander dumplings we had. The latter were a vibrant green colour. Quite pretty!
Service was also hit or miss. Our waiter was friendly, albeit a little slow. The other guy could really care less. He slopped the food onto our table and didn’t even bother to bring us plates to eat off of.
It’s quite expensive for what you get considering that you could just go to the Courtesan on Atlantic for better dim sum in a better environment.

Most of the stars I’m giving is really going to the experience, the attention to detail, the décor, the service rather than the food. Don’t get me wrong, the dim sum wasn’t all that bad but just wouldn’t stand up to the standards of the better dim sum restaurant in Chinatown.
Happy Dumplings belongs in Brixton and fits in well. Prices are slightly more expensive than in Chinatown but there is no competition other then Mama Lan which also serves food at a similar price. So why would I return? The place was just homely and so was the food. It’s not even a restaurant but a small café like place which reminds me of those street cafes in China.
The dumplings’ skin was maybe a bit thicker and mushy than usual but the nice mix of flavours were there. We ordered a mixed plate but it was hard to differentiate which is which and they don’t tell you either. Still we love the surprise and dipping it into our own personalised dipping sauce made with the bottle of Chinese vinegar, soy sauce and chilli oil there. You mix the three sauces according to your taste on the plate given– this is the norm and not something they would tell you.
Crispy tofu rolls and crispy fish rolls turned out to just be fried tofu pieces and salmon in a spring roll pastry which was slightly disappointing as I expected something more complicated. I personally felt the hard crunchy skin didn’t work for the filling especially the tofu where the flavours were too delicate.
The buns were slightly stodgy, not fully cooked but for some reason my boyfriend really like the dense sticky texture as it brought the flavour of the bun more. This also meant there was an uneven ratio of bun and meat where the bun was thicker.
As the Prawn Coriander Ingot were steamed you really felt the effects of the mushy skin but luckily they placed a slice of carrot underneath to stop it sticking to the steamer. These were probably the most disappointing choice as they were also too bland.
The highlight of our meal included the chicken feet in black bean sauce. Placed in a closed little pot under a candle these remained warm as we enjoyed our other dim sum. I thought that was an awesome idea and very thoughtful. The flavours were also nice and skin falling off the bone as they should.
Next on my favourite were the four merry dumplings. A dumpling with four pockets, filled with either, egg, mushrooms, carrots or sweet cabbage. It was a genius as the different textures and flavours really complemented each other well.
Tea was also served on it’s own little candle stove to keep warm and in a pretty see-​through glass teapot. Staff were very attentive and hard working. I asked to look at the menu again and he went flying around just to get me one.
There’s something about this café/​restaurant that does attract me to go back even if it’s a little more pricer and a bit further out. It’s just a ‘cool’ place that does go the extra mile in making your experience worthwhile but just hasn’t quite succeeded with the food. Still there are lots more on the menu I still need to try so maybe that can be my excuse to return.