Blue Eye Dragon
Image: The dumplings at this off-the-beaten-track Pyrmont standout are a definite attraction – Pork Dumplings with Chives, Ginger and Shallot ($10) arrive plump and perfectly formed.
The dumplings at this off-the-beaten-track Pyrmont standout are a definite attraction – Pork Dumplings with Chives, Ginger and Shallot ($10) arrive plump and perfectly formed. If you like them as much as I did, buy a frozen take-home pack ($25/kg). Reasonably new to Taiwanese cuisine, I groped for analogies. There are definitely Mainland Chinese influences in dishes like impeccably battered Salt and Pepper Soft Shell Crab ($14); and it’s a must-have. You’ll also find Japanese influences, evident in moist and crunchy Deep Fried Chicken with Basil and Five Spice ($10), which would be hard for anybody to dislike! Expect great restraint in flavour intensity, especially in the house-made fish sauce with the Queensland Scallops with Shallots ($21/6). As a result the tasty produce sings – also evident in the well-cooked Wild Caught Barramundi (market price). Since I’m partial to spice, I rated the Chicken with Dry Chilli in Gongbau Sauce ($22). If you’re not, try the popular speciality of slow-cooked Pork Belly in Soy, Aniseed and Garlic ($22). Lighter flavours suggest lighter wines, and this list has a decent range, with many bottles coming in under forty dollars. This, the dumplings, and the reasonably priced design-your-own ten course banquets ($50/head), will lure me back with friends.
Blue Eye Dragon
37 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont
Ph: (02) 9518 9955 www.blueeyedragon.com.au
Taiwanese $$-$$$
