Claire Wang and her mum Mei Sun of Flavours of Jiangnan. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Tucked away on a side street in Dickson with no street frontage or directional signage stands Flavours of Jiangnan, a family-owned restaurant serving hyper-regional cuisine from the eastern part of China.
The truth is… I probably shouldn’t be telling you about it. Claire Wang and her parents, Mei Sun and XJ Wang, kind of like the fact they are a little hidden. It helps them manage the workload and ensures they can focus on quality handmade dishes made in small batches from the freshest ingredients.
Opening in 2019, Flavours of Jiangnan was never actually in the Wang family plan, which originally consisted of Claire’s parents moving to Australia in their retirement to be closer to their daughter.
“I’m a single child, so they have to follow me around,” laughs Claire, clearly affectionate towards her parents.
But settling into retirement didn’t suit her parents and before boredom could set in, they pursued what Claire calls their hobby: opening a restaurant.
“The restaurant is more like their hobby and they do it because they enjoy it. Instead of gardening and walking around the park, they do this,” Claire says.
Although their first restaurant in Australia, it isn’t their first restaurant. They previously owned one in Kunshan from where they emigrated.
Mei Sun is an expert on the wok. Photo: Tenele Conway.
On the day I meet with Claire, her parents are furiously cleaning the commercial kitchen that sits open to the restaurant’s dining room. Mei greets me with enthusiastic hand gestures that transcend the need for a common language.
“They don’t speak English, but they communicate in other ways and enjoy those interactions,” Claire says.
Sitting and chatting with Claire, I get the sense of a close-knit trio. Claire says when she isn’t working at her full-time job, she’s helping her parents in the restaurant, often cooking up the hundreds of dumplings and piles of noodles handmade every day.
As I get caught up in the romantic notions of this lovely couple moving from China and handmaking hundreds of dumplings a day to stave off boredom, Mei delivers a batch of pan-fried pork and chive dumplings to the table and I’m moved in an entirely different way.
The chewy handmade wrappers are expertly seared on the bottom, adding texture and flavour. They hold up perfectly against the filling, which not only consists of tender and juicy pork but also, somehow at the same time, heroes the chives.
Having any ingredient shine when put in a head to head with pork is pure alchemy in my opinion.
While I enthusiastically dunk my dumplings in the chilli, vinegar and soy sauce mixture and deliver them to my mouth, Claire tells me about the food of this region of China.
“China is so big and we have lots of different styles of food across the regions. In Jiangnan, the food is a little sweet and not too spicy. We let people choose if they want to add spice,” she says.
“We’re seeing a trend towards vegan; our seasoned fresh cucumber is popular, as is the salt and pepper crispy tofu but the slow-cooked pork belly is really our speciality.”
Dumplings are made by hand and perfectly pan fried. Photo: Tenele Conway.
For such a small setup, the menu is quite extensive. Ten varieties of dumplings each come in a serving of 12 plump packages (from $14). Trust me, you’ll clean your plate and be looking for more.
Each of the dumplings can be consumed within sour and spicy soups (from $14), as can the handmade noodles that Mei and XJ specialise in (from $17).
“Initially we weren’t thinking of handmaking all the noodles and we started with handmade and store-bought. But the handmade noodles were more popular as they taste better, so now we just do those,” Claire says.
A number of speciality rice dishes also appear on the menu including rice with slow-cooked beef brisket ($17) and fried rice with special seasoned pork ($17).
Classics such as honey chicken ($25), sweet and sour pork ($25) and satay beef ($22) provide comforting and familiar options while stir-fried pork tripe with green hot pepper ($22) is an exciting departure.
Expensive fitouts and glitzy openings can often overshadow the food. But Claire, Mei and XJ are so grounded in the simple concept of sharing food and culture, it’s an experience that shouldn’t be undervalued or exchanged for a front row seat in what is becoming increasingly performative dining experiences.
A plate of dumplings, shaped by lived experience, and a conversation entirely made of smiles and expressive hand gestures is all I need to be one happy eater. Oh, and some absolutely killer dumplings also helps.
Flavours of Jiangnan is located at G6/8 Cape Street Dickson and is open for lunch 7 days a week and dinner from Friday to Monday.
