5 Places to Score Yum Cha in Newcastle
A newly Novocastrian friend of mine once said “…the one thing I miss in Newcastle is Yum Cha”.
While I love to think that Newcastle has EVERYTHING, this made me realise that it does indeed lack one BIG thing - a Chinatown. Now this makes me sad, mostly because I like Yum Cha, Dim Sum, Roast Duck and looking in windows and seeing foodstuffs that I can’t identify, and because I don’t think there is any real explanation for its absence. Indeed, the Newcastle & Hunter Valley Chinese Association recently stated that they were working towards establishing a Chinatown. Good on them, I say! To be honest, I’m not at all sure how you go about establishing a Chinatown since I always presumed they…just sort of happened…If they do manage to grow a Chinatown from cuttings, or sprout it from seed, then I vote that the seedling should be planted in Newcastle West. There are already a couple of good Chinese Supermarkets in the area and the area is quite diverse, covering Christians in the old Royal Cinema, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest KFC, several brothels, an Ibis Hotel and Con Constantine.
But, back to my original point. I took my doubting friend’s blanket statement as a challenge and decided that in all of this wide city there must be a dumpling or two worth the name. Yep, you can indeed get Yum Cha in this town, and on a Sunday morning at that (hangover cure!).
Sunny Chan's House of Peking
Since this restaurant sits on the main route out of Newcastle to the freeway, many of my friends had commented about it, wondering what it was like and saying they must try it. After waiting five years for further planning & review, I realised that if I wanted to know, I would just have to go myself. Sunny's attempt to bring the Chinatown experience - where hundreds of diners eat in a vast hall by choosing dim sum off an F3 traffic jam of trolleys - to Newcastle with a singular trolley bearing steam baskets containing many sorts of yum cha from which you can choose. You can also order from the card left on your table. Service is quick and the range, while not endless, is reasonable. Prices seem to follow international-dumpling-economics in that everyone gets away with a bill between 10 and 20 dollars per head. If you're seeking relief from a hangover, Sunny's is attached to a pub, so you can order some of the hair of the dog that bit you if you so desire.
-32.90463204351341
151.69020652770996
Kingsland
68 Nelson St
Wallsend
4951 3526
Housed upstairs in a large building in suburban Wallsend, Kingsland is reputed to have the best dim sum in Newcastle. Upon arrival, is the quite extraordinary and unexpectedly colourful ceiling above its bare brick walls. Back to the task at hand, sadly Kingsland skips the whole trolley idea (well, at least they had on the Saturday morning I visited) but regardless of this, the dim sum was very good! It seemed a bit less commercial than what they serve at House of Peking, more rustic and a tad more flavoursome.
-32.900284
151.668851
SinoFood
47 Beaumont St
Hamilton
4962 1888
This is a popular eatery in Beaumont Street, Hamilton that extends itself to serving dumplings. While you're there, try one of my favourite Chinese dishes, pork mince with beans. For the truly adventurous, the menu contains items like “tendon” which, although I choose not to partake in myself, I’m sort of glad someone is eating it.
-32.920558
151.747863
AKK Asian Groceries
643 Hunter St
Newcastle
4929 7883
As I mentioned, Newcastle West has a couple of good Chinese supermarkets. The best & biggest of these is a few doors up from the Royal Cinema (now Church 180). This makes the list because the freezer section stocks a good range of gow gee, Har Gow, Sui Mai and related frozen morsels. You could very easily buy some bamboo steamers and a good range of dumplings and steam it all at home. I do note, however, that on the packet I recently bought it said in big bold words printed on the plastic “NOW COMPLETELY BORAX FREE”. I’m so glad.
-32.927148361544575
151.76374197006226
Castle Asian Foods
11 Steel St
Newcastle West
4929 1277
Much the same as “4” (although I haven’t specifically checked out the borax situation) so take your pick!
-32.9275626081271
151.76410675048828
Chinois
326 King St
Newcastle
4926 2333
This is going on a bit of a tangent, well, a big non-Yum-Cha-related tangent but... Chinois is a long established restaurant on King St and I mainly include it in this list for its possession of a fully fledged disco ball, complete with dance floor to boot. While it's somewhere that a prospective 21 year old might cringe at having their birthday celebration, I've mellowed with age and am desperately hoping that one of my friends between the ages of 39 & 40 will choose to have their party there - just so I can dance right under that disco ball with the strobe lights flashing, eating Chinese food. Sigh, it's sad, I know. Back to business, try a Chef's special if you're after something authentic, or if you want that early 80s experience just go for the lemon chicken and satay prawns.
-32.92795884217372
151.77002906799316
I think I’m one of those ex-Sydney ‘why is there no yum cha in Newcastle?’ types and I’m so glad there’s people like Wayne around to test potential candidates and provide yum cha salvation and long drives down the F3.
Yes! Thanks very much to Wayne for sharing Newcastle’s Yum Cha secrets!
Thanks for the post, but I’m wondering if any locals know what happened to “Kevin” who used to do Yum Cha at Merewether RSL a few years back?
Hands down, the best in Newcastle, rumour has it, that he’s packed up and moved to Belmont somewhere, does anyone know?
Hmmmm… Corinna, I’m not sure, but I’d love to find out - sounds like it would be worth checking out!
I too am one of those ex-Sydney people who exclaimed “the one thing I miss in Newcastle is Yum Cha”!!! When I read the above quote I said “it was me who said that”! When I said that to one of my newly acquired Novocastrian friends she looked at me blankly as if to say……what are talking about!!! I greatly appreciate the advice for us “Yum Cha addicts”. Anyway now us girls can go off today to check out the local Yum Cha. Thanks heaps.
Hi Bev, it’s our pleasure! Please let us know how your Yum Cha experience goes!!
Thanks for enlightening everyone- hopefully now I dont have to give the steam boat lady at Jesmond ‘the eyeball’ to get my favourites before eveyone else 😉 I have to say Kevin was great, we did a yum cha dedication trip out to his new Belmont place but it wasnt as good as Merewether RSL 🙁
There have Yum Cha at sesame’s also - and the new shanghai at Charlestown does AWESOME dumpling
I know it’s not Newcastle but there’s a really good yum cha at erina fair WITH TROLLEYS. Food is awesome. Service authentic. Food just keeps coming out. Mango pancakes keep us coming back. Definitely worth the 45 min drive down the freeway.who knows maybe they can set up a restaurant in the west end if enough of us ask them . Yes you guessed it i’ m a Sydney girl who misses the heart of chinatown
Ok, a great site, but needs updating.
1). Kingsland no longer does dim sum.
2) Sunny Chan has retired. The people running the restaurant now have increased the prices, lowered the service and reduced the portion sizes. The food is rubbish.
3) Chinois does not do Dim Sum.
4) Sinofoods is great.
Raised in Newcastle since age 1, but mother is Malaysian Chinese and knows most of the Chinese restaurant owners in Newcastle. Dad is from mainland China and is a former vice-president of the Newcastle Chinese Association. I have quite extensive Chinese food experience.
Whilst I am for Newcastle in most things, I have to agree, it is hard to find good yum cha in Newcastle and nothing in Newcastle compares to the trolley experience one can have in one of the myriad yum cha choices in Sydney Chinatown.
I don’t like Kingsland or Sunny Chan yum cha - it is all brought in from out of town, frozen and reheated. Sinofoods serves authentic Chinese fare - probably the most authentic Chinese food in Newcaslte, with most other establishments, including the formerly very good Chinois have become increasingly Westernised. New Shanghai does Chinese dumplings very well and one can be fairly sure they are fresh.
Until demand increases, however, which may be helped by the establishment of a Chinatown, these places will continue to struggle and I don’t see myself having a yum cha trolley experience in Newcastle any time soon and will have to continue visits to Sydney to have these.
House of peking is in Jesmond. The price is reasonable. service is good. and the food is fresh. Yumcha is very traditional and authentic, and there are many different kinds of food you can choose.and i am very fond of this. and THE YUMCHA which is all made by hand. nad it is very professional and traditional.The portion size is normal.
I love Yum Cha! My wife and I used to go to Sydney regularly for Yum Cha but thanks to the House of Peking Restaurant in Jesmond we can now eat locally. It is just about the only Yum Cha restaurant in Newcastle that can match and surpass Sydney standards both in the quality and variety of Yum Cha food. The dumplings, jiaozi etc are made on site. The food is authentic Cantonese style.
Just happened to visit this website. I read some of the comments contributed by various Yum Cha public. I decide to put my two bobs’ worth to this forum!
I have tried most of the Yum Cha restaurants in the Newcastle region. I have decided that I’ll patronise the House of Peking as my Yum Cha Restaurant in Newcastle. The restaurant is better now than when Sunny Chan was running it. The new people running it are producing tasty, authentic Cantonese Yum Cha dim sims. The price is reasonable.
Trolley is on Sundays too! I’ll recommend to anyone to have a try and make your own mind.
I am so happy that there are people with the same yum cha questions as me. As for Wayne’s little blog - you could have virtually been sitting in the room with me and talking directly to me! It was a beautiful insight into something my partner and I have periodically lamented on - no Chinatown or real yum cha. We both think Mayfield could be the next most likely suburb (altho’ West Newcastle would be good….).
Now Wayne, when are you going to talk about the sad lack of Greek restaurants here? Surely you have connections?!
Update July 2014.
Sinofood don’t do Yum Cha anymore :(. Now there’se nowhere close enough to town for a Yum Cha lunch.
Thanks Wayne, I’m still looking for good Yum Cha in the Newcastle area
Fabulous yum cha in Wallsend. I’ve only just discovered it but I think it opened late 2015. Yum Cha House is at 69 Nelson st and the food is fantastic as it always was across the road at Kingsland. No trolleys but that’s practical when the turnover isn’t big. I’m going there again today https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yum-Cha-House-Wallsend/789766937817902