Dolan Uyghur Cuisine — Restaurant in Melbourne

I was introduced to Uyghur cuisine by my lovely friend from Kyrgyzstan nearly 10 years ago who actually took me to Dolan Ugyhur city restaurant. Since then, I’ve been loving this cuisine so much & been a regular customer here as the flavours are amazing 😋 I've been to Mongolia and Xinjiang so I can attest the cuisine here is quite authentic.

Dolan Uyghur Food Haven (their previous name) used to be based on Little Lonsdale Street for the longest time with a very casual homely set up, however they’ve recently moved to a more modern & bigger location on Lonsdale Street and changed their name to Dolan Uyghur Cuisine. Before the move their menu was quite massive with a variety of Central Asian dishes however its now more simplified to mainly Uyghur dishes which is amazing! 😍

Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group native to Xinjiang in NW China. The Xinjiang province borders Mongolia, Russia, India & all the Stans. As a result, Uyghur cuisine meets somewhere in the middle between central Asian and Turkic tradition with lamb as the base of many dishes.

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𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗵 𝗡𝗮𝗻 肉馕 Traditional Uyghur pastry filled w/ black pepper, marinated beef mince

𝗭𝗶𝗽 𝗞𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗽 炒羊肉串 Charcoal lamb skewers

𝗨𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗼 刀郎抓饭 Pilaf cooked with carrot, onion, sultana, chickpea & lamb ribs w/ salad

𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗮 烤包子 Oven cooked buns filled with black pepper, marinated beef mince & onions

𝗧𝗼𝗵𝗼 𝗤𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶 大盘鸡(含面底) Stir fried spicy curry chicken with potatoes & capsicum with home-made long flat noodles & special sauce

I’ve featured all my favourite dishes that I often order each time I visit 😍 The 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗵 𝗡𝗮𝗻 & 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗮 are the same, one is in the form of meat pie shaped like a pizza, and other shaped in bun with more meat filling. They’re similar to a borek. I love both but a lot of times I gravitate towards the Gosh Nan more because its easier to share in large groups.

The 𝗨𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗼 which some may know as pilau/plov is so delicious & very hearty. Fluffy rice cooked in braised carrot & lamb making it super flavourful & the lamb ribs are so tender & tasty.

The 𝗧𝗼𝗵𝗼 𝗤𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶 or commonly known as Big plate chicken is a dish you can find through Central Asia & China. The hand made noodles sits at the bottom of the dish soaking up all the delicious sauce.

𝗭𝗶𝗽 𝗞𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗽 is commonly known as Xinjiang skewers, is soo flavourful from their special seasoning (its not spicy) and cooked over charcoal bbq - very aromatic & tasty!

If you never tried Uyghur food before and not very adventurous, I suggest to go for the skewers and the gosh nan to start off with and slowly work your way through the menu. Staff are super friendly and always happy to recommend. But honestly you cant go wrong with the list above - its my favourite go-to and same for my Kyrgyz friends 🥰

One thing that’s not on their updated menu anymore is Bolak Manta which is one of our all time fave dishes. It’s steamed buns with lamb & Chinese cabbage. Please bring this bao back!!!

Love their new location as its more central & has more space! As a regular customer will of course be returning again! 🥰 Cant recommend enough. More people need to know about...

Lunch @DolanUrghurCusine Pasta Khan for hand pulled noodles. Urghur cuisine, a cross between Turkish and Chinese ethnic group, presents something new to discover. I asked for some recommendations and settled on the 4 lamb skewers served with cold noodles and a spice rating of 3 chillies. Despite asking it cannot be toned down as the sauce is already made.

The lamb has a slightly crunchy exterior and is tender on the inside. So delicious the lamb on the skewers disappear in no time. A very generous serving of the hand pulled noodles adorns the plate, a slight chew which gives an interesting texture. It floats in a puddle of liquid which suddenly leaves you sweating! It isn't hot but the spice does build but is very tasty when you give the noodles a good mix. Along with the chilli paste and cucumbers this is a pretty enjoyable meal. Satisfying.

Second visit Work lunch @DolanUrghurCusine ordering a bunch of dishes to sustain us through the day:

Khan's Secret Fried Noodle Choice of lamb/beef/chicken, chilli, garlic, chives, and soy sauce to Stir-fry with the Hand-pulled Noodle. Chose the beef and this is a delicious dish with slightly chewy noodles providing an interesting texture amongst the Chinese flavours of the stir fry.

Shish Kebab Most famous Natural Charcoal Lamb Skewers. (4pcs)

Cold Noodle With Lamb Skewers 4 Lamb Skewers, Vinegar, Garlic, Chilli served on top of Cold Noodle.

Need skewers for everyone and these are tender and spiced nicely with cumin and so yum. Love the noodles and the sauce underneath carries some heat.

Large Lamb Neck Noodle Choice of large/small Lamb neck with homemade sauce, chilli, and Chinese pepper served on top of spaghetti. The large can feed a family! Delicious lamb neck, just needed a touch more cooking to get the lamb off the bone that bit easier. Get in with your hands and devour the flavoursome meat and the broth is amazing! I love the papperdelle like flat noodles.

Big Plate Chicken Korma With Noodle Chicken curry pieces with Hand-pulled Noodle, potatoes, and capsicums, homemade sauce Oh wow! Love the sauce, the tender unctuous chicken and the same flat papperdelle like noodles.

Beef Pastry Pastry Stuffed with Black Pepper, Beef, Onion, and Capsicum. This looked intriguing and features a delicious thin breadline pastry sandwiching bits of tender beef, onion, and capsicum. These were yum!

There was quite a spread and amongst us all we nearly cleaned the dishes of the satisfying and flavoursome food. Food was quick out of the kitchen to feed our hungry bellies.

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We have tried the food from this restaurant long time back but it was on the little lonsdale st. It was good and thought of having it again and no regret at all.

You have to book the table earlier to get in since they are full house during dinner.

Anything they mark as MUST TRY, definitely MUST TRY and won’t regret (at least for us).

We ordered Achchig chop - stir fry flat thin noodles MUST TRY, didn’t expect would be so good but oh my.. it is very good. The consistency of the noodle is perfect, the spices mixed well with the meat (we chose beef) and the noodles. It was mild spicy level, my son could have it fine. They used dried chilli. Yes, it’s definitely a MUST TRY. The regret was we should have ordered two since one portion not enough for 5 (we thought it just for tasting).

Another MUST TRY, Zip Kawap - charcoal lamb skewer. This is SUPERB! I am not a fan of lamb as it could have the smell. But the lamb skewer is perfectly marinated and grilled so no smell. The meat is tender and juicy. It’s perfect to be eaten right after they served or while it’s hot. One portion has 4 skewers, we ordered a lot 🤪

Bayun - spicy lamb neck, this is good dish too, and even the best if the meat could be a bit more softer. The soup is tasty.

Gosh Nan - the pastry stuffed with beef meat, it was good too but average. Dumpling, we ordered chicken and prawn, that’s just average, so so. Koktat Kormisi - sautéed Bokchoy with Chinese mushrooms, is also average. The bokchoy probably better to be cut a bit smaller.

Overall the portion is quite big. The ambience is great too, though it’s traditional food yet the restaurant looks modern. The people are very friendly and full of smile while serving us. Definitely...