Beijing House, Hawker

I’m still on my hunt for great dumplings – and on Twitter, it was suggested to me that I try out Beijing House in Hawker. There’s dumplings in Hawker? Yes, there are. And the real kicker? The fried beef dumplings are the best I’ve ever tried.

I’ve never heard of Beijing House. It’s raining, and we drive around Hawker Place in the steamy darkness trying to spot it. Does it even exist? We take a gamble and park, and eventually find its bright lights tucked within the local centre.

The restaurant’s about two-thirds full, and on being spotted we’re seated quickly against a wall. Menus are placed before us, and laminated cardboard announcing the specials and the wine and beer list. We take our time deciding our drinks, so instead of standing awkwardly, our waiter fetches us water.

The decor’s nothing special. I kind of feel like it’s 1995 and I’m in the staff room at my school thanks to the types of chairs used. But, it’s clean and it’s not noisy.

I’m fascinated by the menu, and pour over it. (If you don’t care about the menu, skip the next few images!)

Black goat with hot pot?

Now we’ve got ourselves sorted, we order. And icy cold beers come (Czech beers on the menu!).

Spring rolls ($2.80)

When we order, we’re told our spring rolls will come first, followed by the rest of the dishes once we’ve finished them. Good expectation setting.

The spring rolls are cheap and we resist the urge to order more than a serving of two. The pastry is crunchy, the filling is plentiful and hot, and the sauce is sticky and cloying. In short? They’re good.

Spring rolls

The fried bean curd in spicy salt ($12.90) comes next.

Fried bean curd with spicy salt

It doesn’t look like much, but it’s fried well and the curd’s light and silky. The spicy salt? Think of the Chips on a Stick ‘special mix’ flavouring – that’s exactly what it tastes like.

And what of the dumplings?

Pork dumplings

Hot and juicy

The pork dumplings are good – but I can feel myself rushing to tell you about the fried beef dumplings, so let’s just say they’re good – nothing special – but juicy and well-made.

The fried beef dumplings? Oh my god.

Fried beef dumplings

I’m struggling to find the right adjectives. The filling is packed in tightly. The frying is perfection: crunchy and golden. I don’t know how they do it, but the outside of the pastry is hard and crunchy, but the inside has absorbed the beef juices and so is just a touch light and moist. It’s a delight.

And the filling? This will sound weird, but the beef is creamy and salty. I’ve no real understanding of what goes in these fillings, but it looks like there’s chives or similar.

You are so special

These dumplings make me behave badly. I find myself counting how many we’ve each had so that Boyfriend doesn’t get anymore than his share, and we fight for the last one.

I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t. But I order the deep fried icecream (hey, if they get fried dumplings right, then surely…).

Can you get fried icecream wrong?

It may not look like much, but …

… it hits the spot.

Yum!

Beijing House reminds me a lot of Malaysian Chapter: no-frills decor doesn’t matter when there’s genuine service and great food, and I’m pleased to report this little place in Hawker has both.

Date: Friday, 11 April 2014

Where: Hawker shops, Hawker Place, Hawker

Cost: $59.20 for two, including two beers, two serves of dumplings (10 in each serve), one fried bean curd, spring rolls, and one serving of deep fried icecream.

Worthwhile factor: Highly worthwhile

Want more? There’s no website, but the Urbanspoon link below has other reviews.

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