Ming Dragon — Restaurant in New South Wales

I have heard so many great reviews on Ming Dragon that I had to go and experience it myself.

Upon arrival, I was surprised at how small the restaurant was for serving yum cha 7 days a week. I was expecting a much larger restaurant to be able to cater for the turnover of a good quality yum cha restaurant.

Perusing the room, most patrons were having yum cha and 2 or 3 tables others ordering a la carte. We had hardly sat down when an overly eager waitress wanted to know what we wanted. I literally was a bit flummoxed. She offered no explanation on how they operated. She just stood there waiting for a response. So I asked questions on how they worked and also requested 2 small dipping sauce dishes so we would not be drizzling sauces straight into our bowls. I also requested chinese vinegar and chilli oil. This whole request seemed to confuse our waitress, like she had never experienced this request before. The table setting only had soy sauce. The waitress returned with a dipping bowl filled with vinegar, and another with chilli sauce (not oil) and only one empty dipping sauce dish, not 2 (1 each). We then ordered puer tea. There was no offer to refill the teapot with hot water at any time, which is a given at a quality yum cha establishment.

They wheeled the yum cha trolley over, and we chose prawn ha cheung (prawn in rice noodle). The dish was just a gluggy gelatinous mess with prawns inside. The prawns had no additional flavours, and the rice noodle clearly overcooked, making it impossible to eat using chopsticks. We had to use 2 forks to tear the noodle casing apart. So much overcooked rice noodle made it impossible to taste the tasteless prawns.

We then chose siu mai & classsic xialongbao. The siu mai was very tasty and the best dish of the meal. I loved the placement of a prawn on top. The xialongbao had stuck to the paper in the steamer basket, and upon eating, there was no evidence of soup filling inside the dumpling. If there was, it had leaked out the base of the dumpling that had stuck to the paper liner.

We asked if they had pan-fried dumplings (pot stickers). We were advised they only serve them on the weekend. I was disappointed but totally understood. So we went ahead to order dessert. Approximately 5 mins later, a staff member returned to advise they had just started cooking pot stickers for us. It was a very lovely gesture, but we were already eating dessert. We ended up having the pot stickers, which were very tasty eating freshly prepared from the kitchen.

We tried the egg tart and were pushed to also to try the mango pancake. I'm not a fan, but I was assured the filling had fresh mango. The egg tart was tasty, but still, a very strong yolky flavour was apparent. The mango pancake was just awful. Way too much cream to mango. The cream overpowered any mango flavour. No fresh mango flavour apparent. It's just way too sweet for me.

But what was the most annoying part was the constant interruption of staff asking if we wanted more food and mango pancake every couple of minutes after we were finished eating. If the staff read our table, they could see we had half eaten pancake and other dishes on our plates and were happily chatting. All they needed to ask is if we had had sufficient and if there was anything else we would like. The younger staff just didn't have the skills to read our table and assess our...

First time coming here for yum cha, Place was extremely busy which is always a good sign! The food was delicious, my only complaint is the ordering process and service from some of the staff was a bit off, we had three children with us and had to request vegetarian spring rolls and chicken and chive dumplings as there were non available during the yum cha experience (fair enough they were busy) but the young girl serving our table was pushy to place the pork and prawn springs rolls on the table after we had already ordered the vegetarian ones from her, I literally had to ask her to take them away (you pay per dish that is put at your table) so it was a little uncomfortable having to persuade her that we didn’t want pork or prawn. It seemed like abit of a hassle that they would have to be freshly made. For a first time customer at the yum cha experience, there wasn’t really any explanation given around pricing or how to order rice etc that isn’t brought around on the carts. The table receipt keeping account of your purchases is super confusing as nothing is written just letters for their own reference and you have multiple different people serving your table along with food coming from everywhere so it felt very messy and confusing for ordering and keeping account of what you have and haven’t been charged for. The young woman serving us at times was very unapproachable and made it uncomfortably clear to us that the chop sticks are porcelain, it did take me a few seconds to catch on to what the staff member was implying as she just repeated “they’re porcelain” pointing at my 5 year old niece, ( she was clicking the chop sticks together) so I had to ask for some wooden or plastic ones, not exactly child friendly customer service (every kid loves chop sticks!) and her attitude around it wasn’t very accomodating it was a little awkward

BUT the food was rather nice, except the chicken and chive dumplings! The chicken and chive part was tasty but the outside of the dumplings were literally like sticky slime, I don’t know if this is an authentic thing!? But I have never seen...

Ming Dragon, the Chinese yum cha restaurant, fails to live up to its potential, leaving diners with a disappointing experience. From the moment one steps inside, the ambiance feels tired and dated. The decor lacks cohesion, with mismatched furnishings that contribute to an overall lackluster atmosphere.

The menu at Ming Dragon, while extensive, falls short in execution. The dim sum, a hallmark of any respectable yum cha establishment, disappoints with flavors that are often bland and textures that miss the mark. The har gow, usually a delicate delight, arrives with rubbery wrappers, overshadowing any hint of freshness in the shrimp filling. The shumai, far from a culinary revelation, tastes more like a generic mass-produced product than a carefully crafted dish.

Service at Ming Dragon adds to the frustration. The staff appears disinterested and inattentive, making the dining experience feel more like a chore than a pleasurable outing. Requests for recommendations or explanations about the menu are met with indifference, leaving diners to navigate the uninspiring offerings on their own.

The tea selection, touted as a highlight, fails to redeem the overall experience. The promised variety feels limited, and the quality of the tea leaves much to be desired. Instead of enhancing the flavors of the dim sum, the tea serves as a stark reminder of the restaurant's lack of attention to detail.

While Ming Dragon attempts to incorporate modern twists, these innovations often miss the mark, resulting in dishes that feel forced and disconnected from the restaurant's supposed fusion concept. The lack of a cohesive vision in blending traditional and contemporary elements leaves diners confused rather than intrigued.

In conclusion, Ming Dragon falls short of expectations for a Chinese yum cha restaurant. With lackluster ambiance, uninspiring dim sum, indifferent service, and misguided attempts at innovation, it fails to deliver a satisfying dining experience, leaving patrons longing for the authentic and memorable moments that define a truly exceptional yum cha...