Johnny Wong’s Dumpling Bar

Winter clubbing has never looked quite so convenient, since the emergence of this hip, thirty-seater dumpling bar hidden on the vertical climb to Lo-Fi and The Standard. Sliding onto a stool in the rather snug space, I dive straight into paper trays of Vegetable and Coriander Dumplings ($8.50/5 pieces) and Prawn Gow Gee ($8.50/5 pieces). With Sydney awash with dumplings it takes a lot to stand out; however the wicked on-table chilli sauce here could raise anything to exceptional. Cool your lips on Jenny From The Wong ($12) – despite also being presented in (hopefully recyclable) paper; she’s a reasonably classy drink, boasting Tanqueray, lime, basil, and ginger marmalade. Salads are set to be popular with the pre- and post-party crowd. Whilst the Spicy Chicken Salad ($16) is a beauty, it’s actually the texturally interesting Tofu, Daikon, Fennel and Crisp Egg Noodle Salad ($13) that turns my head. Plus, this is pretty much the only spot outside of Haymarket where you can gobble Duck Pancakes ($15/3 pieces) all the way up to 2am. A Sakey-Sakey ($12) of Ketel One, sake, lemongrass, coriander, chilli and lemonade makes for the perfect wee-hours companion, as you ponder the big questions, including the one on everyone’s back, who is Johnny Wong?

Johnny Wong’s Dumpling Bar
Level 1, 383 Bourke Street, Darlinghurst
Ph: (02) 9331 3100