The dumpling debate gets steamier at Gungahlin's Jade Dumpling Noodle House

You don’t see enough ducks in windows these days. You know, the golden roasted ones, a little macabre, a lot delicious, with juicy fat dripping from their suspended bodies.

That’s exactly what you’ll see in the window at Gungahlin’s Jade Dumpling Noodle House, and if it isn’t enough to entice you through the door, their extensive dumpling menu should do the trick.

Google this inconspicuous restaurant and you’ll be met with the promise of “fresh made dumplings, best in town”. I appreciate the hustle. Who has the best dumplings in Canberra is hotly debated, and while I’ve eaten more than my fair share, I’m not going to weigh in on a debate that often comes down to personal preference. No matter where your preferences lie on the dumpling spectrum, Jade Dumpling Noodle House is absolutely a contender.

Trawling through the extensive menu, you can go a number of different directions. There are ample varieties of dumplings for an all-in dumpling feast, and oodles of noodles and noodle soups if that’s your schtick, or you can sit down to more substantial shared plates like the BBQ meats, fried rice and all manner of mouthwatering favourites like Kung Po Prawns or Mongolian Lamb.

I’m here for the dumplings.

When embarking on a dumpling feast, preparation is key: right dining partner, empty stomach and a beer to wash it all down with.

In my case, I had a dining partner who doesn’t love dumplings but is a willing counterbalance to my enthusiasm. A perfectly prepped stomach and the only beer appropriate for such an occasion, Tsingtao. Produced by China’s second largest brewery, Tsingtaos’ interesting marketing campaign promises a ‘tapestry of premiumness’.

As I pondered the open kitchen, flanked by the world’s biggest rice cookers, and sipped on my tapestry of premiumness, a procession of dumplings was brought to the table.

Big, small, fried and floating, my selection ran the gamut of how a dumpling could be served.

With aggressive steam rising from the dumplings, I took a few more sips of premiumness and waited. An experienced dumpling eater will be well aware of the injuries that can be sustained by diving too fast into a hot dumpling, especially a hot soup dumpling like Xiao Long Bao.

I go in for the spicy wontons, which are submerged in a chilli vinegar sauce. Their delicate wrappers encase a filling that’s aromatic with ginger. The sauce could be taken up a notch in spice, and the tartness balanced better, but I’m playing unfair here as this is my go-to dish at the Michelin-starred Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.

The pan-fried pork and prawn dumplings are so juicy – one bite sprays an impressive amount of pork juice across the table. Dunking them into my own little concoction of sauces from the condiments on the table, I can tailor them to my own taste.

Backing these up with BBQ pork buns brings in a punch of super sweet pork that’s so sweet it could almost be dessert pork …now there’s an idea! Dessert pork.

The non-dumpling ring-in for the night was the shallot pancake. Not knowing what to expect, it turns out to be much like a fortune cookie where the only fortune inside is shallots, and I’m OK with that as my potential future.

Despite my previously empty stomach, the sheer generosity of meat in these dumplings is filling me up fast and I decide it’s time to risk the Xiao Long Bao. Not being given a spoon to bite the dumpling and let the soup drain into, I go in for an all-in-one-go approach. Disappointingly, there was no explosion of soup, but the meat was tender and full of flavour and the wrappers had a slight chew – just how I like them.

Moving onto the hot, spicy and sour dumpling soup, I’m greeted with a soup so thick it could only be described as gravy, with the massive pork and chive dumplings suspended like icebergs, ready to sink the Titanic. The wrappers on these dumplings were so silky that the little suckers pop from my chopsticks, making the meal like a game of Hungry Hungry Hippo.

We wrap up the meal without a morsel left on the table apart from splashings of pork juice, full stomachs and empty beers, just the way all dumpling feasts should end.

Canberra’s best dumplings? I’ll let you decide.

Jade Dumpling Noodle House is located at Shop B Gungahlin Place West, Gungahlin, and is open Wednesday to Monday for lunch and dinner.

Original Article published by Tenele Conway on Riotact.