Siu Mai dumplings

Or a lot of yumcha? To my shame I only recently had yumcha, though it had been an ambition of mine for some time (dream higher you say?). If you know me personally or follow me on instagram you’ll see that I eat more asian food than some of my asian friends — so no surprise that when I got an invitation to sample Iron Chef Chinese Seafood restaurant’s yumcha menu, I drooled slightly.
Now, I go to Cabramatta frequently, and Iron Chef has been on my list for a year or so…but time never has seemed to allow (and I’m normally found at my favourite pho joint anyway). Aside from seafood, Iron Chef is known for their delicious peking duck, which as it turned out I had tried — from their stall at one of the lunar festivals.
Peking duck was traded in here for roast suckling pig — a decadent and luxe alternative, all wrapped in a warm wafer-thin pancake, a little spring onion and hoisin sauce. Iron Chef has all the stock-standard yumcha variants, though their execution is above par. Not a single dimsim or squid tendril was stodgy or mal-seasoned, but every wrapper was well cooked and the fillings were bursting with steamy flavour. The restaurant is a hub of buzzing activity, and on this mid-morning Saturday the several-hundred seat house was nearly full. Dishes can be ordered a la carte, or picked from the trollies of the passing-by aunties, the packages of goodies piled like neat little towers.
Cabramatta is one of those places that assaults the senses in the manner of a southeast-asian city. Anyone dreaming of a quick adventure should pay a visit, so get out West quick! — and be sure to cross the tracks to Iron Chef Seafood Restaurant!

Enjoy the photos.

Chinese vegetables with oyster sauce. Always a good choice since yumcha dishes err on the oily side.

Our attendant for the yumcha feast kindly explained that we would be served roast suckling pig in the manner of peking duck. This pork was so beautifully presented, and the skin! It was so crisp, and the meat so juicy.

These jewelly beauties were filled with veg and scallop.

Salt and Pepper squid is a classic. This was special request by Mel (theadventuresofmisspiggy.com). Since Iron Chef is a seafood restaurant, expect high quality. This squid was so fresh and tender, and the batter was crisp and neatly seasoned.

One of my favourites, the prawn dumpling. Look how translucent the skins are?

Chicken feet! I enjoy the flavour of these (very tasty) but always have difficulty with the tiny bones.

Could someone help me naming these? They’re a fried puff filled with freshly minced pork and prawn. Lightly crisp on the outside, chewy inside.

Fried prawn dumplings! These were delicious – especially with a dip in the japanese mayo provided.

Dimsims. Sometimes these are hit-and-miss depending on the shop. These were a hit! So fresh and tender and full of tasty goodness.

Chee Chong Fun are so delicate and tasty. Wide, flat rice noodles enveloping prawn and drizzled with a light sauce.

Avocado-Prawn (again, help if these have a name!) This was one of my best dishes for the day. Some sort of prawn mixture wrapped around avocado slices and fried crisp. They came with a little sauce to dip in that reminded me of American-Chinese sweet and sour.

Last but not least…mango pancakes! I love these so much. Thin mango crepes enveloping whipped cream and slices of fresh mango. We also had Dan tarts (not pictured) which were…eek…I shutter to risk exageration…were probably the best Dan tarts I have had!

Everybody Loves Ramen dined courtesy of Iron Chef Seafood Restaurant and Wasamedia. Thank you, George, for the invite.

The Iron Chef Chinese Seafood Restaurant
84 Broomfield Street
Cabramatta NSW 2166
02 9723 6228
http://ironchef.com.au/
open seven days