EAT: YULONGFU STEAMED BUN RESTAURANT, MELBOURNE CBD

When it comes to buns and dumplings, there is quite a delicious assortment of variants. And CBD restaurant Yulongfu Steamed Buns Restaurant excels at not one, not two, but three signature buns/dumplings: their beautifully fragrant truffle and pork Xiaolongbaos (or soup-filled dumplings), fluffy pan fried pork buns with a crispy base (mm mmmm mmm, these are one of my all-time favourites) and silky chicken and prawn wontons in a clean-tasting, warming and good-for-the-soul broth. Lucky us, we got to try all three, and what a delight these were to sample. The tasty outcome was perhaps none too surprising given the wealth of experience, traditional techniques and family recipes brought by owners/husband and wife pair Yong and Emily Liu that form a solid menu. Not to mention the delicate care and precision exercised in the preparation of the dumplings/buns - it was absolutely mesmerising to watch Yong expertly and effortlessly pleat his way through 16 folds per Xiaolongbao. The rest of the menu is filled with Shanghainese/Chinese favourites - noodle and rice dishes, sweet and sour pork, sizzling black beef, drunken chicken, roast duck, claypot dishes, to name but a few. Team some of these classics with their signature dumplings/buns, and you have on your hands one tasty feast.

Steamed black truffle and pork xiao long bao.

Chicken and prawn wonton soup.

Pan fried pork buns.

Yulongfu Steamed Bun Restaurant

136 Bourke St,

Melbourne, Victoria, 3000.

+61 3 7006 4222

Disclosure: I dined as a guest of Yulongfu Steamed Bun Restaurant. All opinions expressed in this post are based entirely on my experience and observations made during the time of my visit.