Cheap, cheerful and bound to get more crowded – Sydney’s Chinatown

This is out second post in a short while about Chinatown – but we love it, and we have Anna from Morsels & Musings dishing it out.

In Sydney, these three Haymarket hotspots don’t need anymore highlighting. Their already huge fan base is enough to bring you to tears when you’re starving and fighting for a table on a Friday night. But like some happy-clapper evangelist, I want to spread the Good News, even if it means longer lines for me.

If you do manage to carve out some elbow space and grab stool, you will not regret king-hitting the pregnant woman ahead of you in line. She would have eaten too much anyway.

Chat Thai Thai

20 Campbell St, Haymarket (02 9211 1808)

I will never stop plugging this restaurant! Never! Amy and her crew beat Spice I Am hands down and the restaurant has an urban-funkiness rare in Thai venues. The menu is biblical in length and the lines of Thai students jostling to get in should confirm its authenticity. Recommendations from the owner include the rich boat noodle soup, chilli fried snapper, green papaya salad, chicken with yellow rice and luscious desserts like tiny spherical Thai waffles and sweetened water chestnuts in coconut milk. Observe the chilli warnings, these people aren’t mucking around.

Wagaya Japanese

Lvl 1, 78-86 Harbour St, Haymarket (02 9212 6068)

I’ve been hearing a lot of murmurs about this izakaya (Japanese drinking restaurant) with its high-tech ordering systems and super-fast service. Leisurely scroll through the computerised menu at your table then touch-screen your way to wagyu and sashimi heaven. Dishes are quickly so make sure you do your research first and the ordering in batches. And don’t forget the drinks, it is an izakaya afterall.

Din Tai Fung Chinese

Lvl 1, World Square, 644 George St, Haymarket (02 9294 9010)

This Taipei-based international dumpling giant might be a chain, but they know what they’re doing with dumplings. Tables come with plates of fresh ginger and a spice rack of seasoning and vinegars to make your own dipping sauce. Choose between silky or fluffy steamed dumplings, piping hot noodle soups and interesting sides. My pick is a small bowl of six steamed crescents, stuffed with pork and prawn and doused in an oily chilli broth. You will sell your soul for dumplings like these, and the lunchtime line of hopeful Ernst & Young employees is proof of that.

For more morsels & musings from Anna – check out her blog.

Photo by Shiridenovo

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