FOOD & WINE

MU LAN

343 Elizabeth St, North Hobart Open Monday to Wednesday, 5-9.30pm; Thursday to Sunday, yum cha noon-3pm, dinner 5-9.30pm. Licensed. 6231 3609

As meals-on-wheels experiences go, yum cha is not only yum but can be a whole lot of fun. While the expansive Me Wah in Sandy Bay sets the gold standard for yum cha in Hobart – offering white-clothed tables, each topped with a lazy susan, and an impeccably timed trolley service – I am keen to give Mu Lan a whirl after favourable reports from Noho-frequenting friends.

When in Melbourne, I love the hustle and bustle of Chinatown, where great yum cha eateries abound. Introduced to the Shark Fin Inn by friends, I spent many happy hours devouring dim sum dishes trundled out across two floors to a chopstick-clacking crowd. As much a cultural feast as a culinary one, it’s brunch-time fun cranked up to 11, and you never know what’s going to be rolled out next.

Having enjoyed dinner at Mu Lan at regular intervals since it opened in 2013, I am already a big fan of its roll-your-own duck pancakes and the Chairman Mao pork with chilli and green beans. I would also seriously consider crawling across broken glass for a serve of the crispy eggplant with soya, aged vinegar and bean paste.

Calling ahead to book a booth, our party of four arrives just after noon on a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon. A mum and two young children are seated by the front windows, which have been opened to take advantage of the warm spring breeze.

The other booths are already occupied, with one group quaffing white wine and talking loudly about planned real estate purchases above $1.5 million. Nice for some. A Chinese couple seated at a table fuss over a baby in a high chair.

The waitress passes us menus, immediately indicating this is not a meals-on-wheels deal but an order-as-you-go operation. Neatly contained on one page, it includes yum cha favourites, such as dumplings and pork buns, through to more substantial noodle dishes.

Starting in the steamed section, we order blue-eye trevalla dumplings, duck dumplings and the Shanghai little pork buns, dutifully avoiding the chicken feet in black bean sauce. Also on our list, from the “fried and roasted” offerings, are the spice-fried chicken strips, salt and pepper calamari, pan-fried lamb dumplings and the Beijing spring onion pancake. Ignoring the wine list, we order jasmine tea all around. We sip the steaming liquid out of ceramic tumblers as we wait – then wait some more – for food to arrive.

First to land is the calamari, well spiced and tender, followed by very tasty lamb dumplings and the spring onion pancake, which is a little too greasy for my liking. The chicken strips, lightly battered and perched atop a delicious honey and ground pepper sauce, are a hit, as are the duck dumplings in a near-translucent wrapping filled with diced meat and finely cut carrot and green beans.

Worried we will fall short of food, I order more morsels. They arrive more swiftly than the first tranche. The beef spring rolls are crisp and piping hot, but we are seriously flagging when waitress Ivy delivers our grand finale – Singapore noodles and a plate of perfectly cooked steamed greens.

The verdict? While it lacks the frenetic energy of its big-city cousins, and the polish of Me Wah, Mu Lan does dim sum well. And coming in at about $30 a head, it’s a pleasant place to spend an oriental hour or two over lunch with friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon.