Bullet oven method is shot through with skill and detail

y children, who are all thoroughly grown up at this stage, had a very different experience of eating as students than I did. My undergraduate years bridged the late 1970s and early 1980s and

Dublin was, frankly, pretty bleak in terms of restaurants back then.

There was hearty stuff, often involving lentils, at The Granary in Temple Bar. There was a South African place called The Living Room on Lincoln Place, which we patronised despite it being a potential fire trap. And there was Murph’s, where egg mayonnaise seemed almost glamourous, and – I think – O’Henry’s, about which I can remember nothing but the waitress with whom I was silently in love.

My eldest went to university in London and enjoyed all of the ethnic food around New Cross and Deptford, having honed her tastebuds on her parents’ high tolerance of chilli heat. The other two studied in Dublin and had rather less choice, but what a contrast to my salad years!

I wonder how I and my contemporaries would have reacted to the dumplings that are now fuelling the student population of Dublin and many of their elders. My first encounter with ‘Chinese’ food was on a school trip to Stratfordupon-Avon and I delighted in such exotica, moderated for the Warwickshire palate, as sweet and sour pork and fried rice. So I suppose I would have given them a go but where were they to be found?

I suppose the original China Sichuan was coming into being around then, out in Kilmacud, and bravely serving authentic Sichuanese food including, of course, my regular order there for the hot and spicy dumpling soup.

Of course, we have had a Chinese community in Dublin for quite a while now and dumplings eventually entered the Irish consciousness by way of dim sum in restaurants like The Good World and Ka Shing. It was only a matter of time before they would leap into cheapish and cheerful establishments like, for example, the Zakura chain.

And what’s not to like? Literally bite-sized chunks of savouriness with just enough slipperiness to pose a mild challenge to those of us not brought up wielding chopsticks.

Little Dumpling raised the standard and, indeed, the range of dumplings when it opened not long before the first lockdown. Now it has been joined by a sibling and neighbour, Bullet Duck & Dumplings.

If you feel that the name is slightly menacing, let me reassure you that it refers to the oven, imported from Hong Kong, that cooks with the even and constantly distributed heat that you need to end up with those splendid Chinese ducks that look as if they have been varnished.

The team here are all experienced Hong Kong chefs and, having been to that very special place, I can say that it feels very authentic. The main act, I suppose, are the meats that get the Bullet, so to speak: shiny, crisp duck, pork belly with proper crackling and moist interior, soya sauce-marinated

THE FILLING WAS RICH AND SAVOURY AND THERE WAS NO DOUBTING THE MEAT

chicken and char siu. But there’s more and we decided to enjoy a meal of two halves, starting with a dumpling feast.

There was xao long bao (€8), the almost bun-like dumpling filled with duck. These had substance without being bready, the filling rich and intensely savoury and there was no doubting the meat.

These generous mouthfuls were the essence of duck, topped with sliced spring onion, crisped shallots, a little cress and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Those elements were thoughtful and detailed.

Pork dumplings (€8) were in wrappers that came in multiple folds, all the better for scooping up the soya-based, delightfully sticky sauce, rather in the manner of carefully designed pasta shapes. The adornments were the same, as they were with the beef dumplings (€8), similarly shaped and sauced.

Having shared these, the appetites’ edge had been blunted in a most pleasant way and we contented ourselves with the carnivore’s orgy that goes by the name of Triple Meat Combo (€20), comprising duck, belly pork and char siu pork (the traditional Cantonese style of barbecue pork with its reddish coating). All demonstrated that elusive – to most of us home cooks – achievement of perfect moistness within with impeccable crunch on the outside.

This generous sharing plate needed nothing to accompany it bar another two cold beers (€5).

Bullet Duck & Dumpling is fun but it’s more than that. The quality shows real care and effort, and prices are keen. It’s a small restaurant and gets very busy so try to avoid peak times unless you’re prepared to queue outside. The long queues are, in a sense, the ultimate endorsement.