Andy’s Yum Cha House, 13 Napier Street, Essendon. Phone: 9370 9888

One member of today’s Team CTS grew up with yum cha.

She’s very open to all sorts of food experiences and has a cracking sense of humor.

But she reckons Andy’s – which has long been on the CTS “to do” list – is not really a real yum cha joint.

 

 

I know what she means.

It comes across as your average humble suburban Chinese eatery.

And certainly there are no yum cha trolleys whizzing every which-away.

 

 

But – and it seems I am somewhat alone in this assessment among our Sunday lunch table of four – I find the terrific meal we have at this Essendon yum cha outpost to be very good indeed.

 

 

My worst case scenario had been that the dumplings offered here would display the telltale signs of mass production and have come from plastic bags, frozen and then steamed.

 

 

But what we are served I find to be excellent.

 

 

For this meal I become a somewhat slothful food blogger so don’t keep track of what we have and how much each serve costs us.

 

 

Suffice to say that our dumplings – containing all the expected ingredients such as prawns, pork, coriander and more – evince a range of textures and flavours that I really adore.

 

 

A high point is the greens with oyster sauce – it’s expertly done and easy to eat.

 

 

We eat very well and the price ends up being a most excellent $15 each.

(This story has been sponsored by Moonee Valley City Council. But in all other regards it is a regular Consider The Sauce post – we chose the restaurant and when to eat there; we ordered what we wanted and paid for it ourselves; and neither oversight nor an editorial role were sought by the council.)