29 Nine 99 Yum Cha & Tea House — Restaurant in Rylstone

We’re flying down back roads at 100kmph heading to a dumpling lunch in Rylstone. The town is somewhere between Lithgow and Mudgee, closest neighbour Kandos. Its streets are lined with historic buildings made using blocks hewn from sandstone. The oddly named 29 nine 99 - Yum Cha and Tea House is no exception: it occupies one end of the former Bridge Hotel, a heritage-listed pub which opened in 1871. It’s an incongruous place for a Chinese dumpling and tea house, but here we are, sitting on the verandah sipping oolong tie guan yin, watching the odd car pass by on the quiet main drag.

I’ll give it to Na Lan, not only does she pleat up a beautiful array of hand-made dumplings, she’s also solved how best to eat them! Unlike Sydney restaurants where you have to buy dumplings by the plate, here you pick the number of dumplings you wish to eat—we chose ten ($36.80)—and ten different ones arrive in arrangements of three or four. The price also includes tea—I chose dan chong, a semi-fermented oolong tea that aids digestion—and a savoury or dessert bun to finish.

Of the dumplings I was most impressed with the flavoursome prawn, garlic and spinach, and the unusual turmeric-heavy chicken, coriander and carrot. Crescent-shaped BBQ duck dumplings were another winner. The finishing pork bun, its interior rich and syrupy with shiitake mushrooms, was another standout, eclipsing my lotus leaf wrap. If you’re not into tea, a short list of wines lets you road test the locals. Keeping it in Rylstone, the De Beaurepaire La Comptess Chardonnay ($46) is an affable and well-priced daytime dumpling companion wine. We spent $130 all up including a tip and would return if we found ourselves...

!Beware! Not the yumcha experience with the trolley or being able to choose what you want. It is more of a banquet experience and you can't pick the dumplings you want.The place is quite small, the service was quite pleasant however the food was on the pricier side for something that came from frozen. You had the option of picking the amount of dumplings and you pay per person depending on the amount you want. The dumplings were average and the quality didn't justify the price. Within tasting, I knew straight away these were frozen dumplings. They steam their dumplings from frozen and they seem to do it as you order and not it being steamed and ready to go because it is a very long wait for steamed food. Overall, food was average, wait was long for frozen food. Disappointed that it was frozen to begin with as this place has excellent reviews. Hopefully they make their own dumplings and just freeze them, however it was an interesting and unique experience. I recommend having a look once but I won't...

The food was nice and the setting was beautiful. Staff were very friendly. Lovely tea selection.

However we waited over an hour for dumplings. A preset chefs choice menu of 12pieces and dessert was $35 per person.

There was too many tables set up (an overflow into the garden) and only seemingly one chef to hand make all the dumplings.

Concisdering the menu was the chef's choice we were not explained what we were eating as Only one member of staff seemed to know what was what. The restaurant would work better if you pre ordered 6, 8, 10 or 12 piece when booking. Allowing the chef to plan accordingly.

Downsize the number of tables and create seating times for guests. They must arrive and eat and leave before the next seating. Then dumplings arrive within 15 mins of sitting down. Guests eat and leave and then have a second seating of guests 1 hour or so later. Rather than having too many people sitting...