Story & photos Matthew Michaelis
I happened to wander into this small slightly uninviting location not by chance. A foodie friend recommended I visit this understated gem to try the freshest gyoza.
Mr Fei Gao and his wife moved to Ballina five years ago after moving from China to Melbourne in 2008.
Dumplings are the thing here, all handmade from the noodle pastry to the filling; nothing artificial and everything fresh. In fact I gleaned this much when Mr Gao joined the end of my table and started to hand-make the gyoza dumplings right there in front of me.
The last time I saw such rustic dedication was in a Japanese eatery in Newtown, Sydney, where the elderly grandparents prepared gyoza in the front of the restaurant.
Mr Gao, in China, was a chef specialising in ‘Yang Nourishment Nutrition’ he told me, meaning he was into the healthy energy he could put into food.
When in Ballina, try one of Mr Gao’s made-to-order plates of gyoza, or steamed wontons the varieties of which are daily black-boarded.
Dumpling Yum Cha
Eat in / Take Out
11am to 2pm Mon – Fri
5.30pm to 8.30pm Wed – Fri
26 Cherry Street Ballina
Phone: 66860808
Eating here was one of weirder experiences I have had, and after living in China, marrying a Chinese and travelling expensively for more than 20 years through China and “Chinese related” spin offs (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan), I have eaten in a VERY wide range of Chinese eateries…
1. What does the Cha in Yum Cha mean? …..Tea. What was not on offer at all in the restaurant? …..TEA
2. Is this supposed to be Chinese or Japanese? Despite the name, it offers things like Gyoza which are Japanese, not Jiaozi which are the Chinese equivalent.
3. Pricing. Way Way to expensive for what is offered and the type of restaurant. It is not a 5 star location in Byron, and at least double what I would expect to pay.
Overall, could be a good little restaurant but needs to work out what it wants to be
I was impressed by the food… fresh and tasty but what impressed me more was the waitress!
Knew the menu backwards, v friendly, loves her job and was excellent at customer pleasing!!
Definitely be back.
Sarah B