Kam Fook, Chatswood

Wishing all mother's and people who celebrated Mother's day, that you all had a lovely Mother's Day. My side of the family have a Mother's Day tradition, where we always have yum cha at Kam Fook in Chatswood. Since, Chatswood is a good midway meeting point for all three families involved. With Dumpling Mummy and siblings, my aunties and their families at 10am we managed to get a table for the fifteen of us, as no bookings are permitted for yum cha.

My Cantonese is truly limited, I can order yum cha dishes perfectly fine by speaking Cantonese, but ask me to spell these dishes out, it's a different matter all together. My family forgives me as I am an ABC, so hopefully you will too. There's a lot of us, so there's a lot of food. My side of the family are mainly restaurateurs, so we all eat lots and well. We generally eat the standard favourites, so I won't babble on each one.

We start with har gow, and I think we ordered four servings. It's a favourite of Cheesecake Boy's and my other family members, but I never eat these.

Har gow or prawn dumplings

Deep fried vegetarian bean curd skin roll

Pai gwa or black bean spare rib

I am getting these dumplings mixed up, but the more steamed dumplings the better, I say. It gets hard to remember the different types at this time of night.

Steamed dumplings...

and more steamed dumplings

Snake beans with mince is always a favourite of Cheesecake Boy's. It's the first time that I have actually noticed it at yum cha though.

Snake beans with mince

Meat balls with corinader and Worcestershire sauce

Deep fried calamari and white bait

Cheesecake Boy did manage to try a piece of tripe, but it was not up his alley. Kudos to him for swallowing this and eating the whole piece :)

Beef tripe

When everyone else goes for the har gow or prawn dumplings, I go for these. Siu mai is one of my must haves at yum cha.

Siu mai or pork and prawn dumplings

Scallop and seafood dumplings

Chive and seafood dumplings

You sometimes have to especially order the ja leung or rice noodle rolls filled with you tiao at Kam Fook. If you're lucky you might be able to see this floating around at times.

Ja leung or rice noodle rolls filled with you tiao

Since, I was a young I have referred to these deep fried dumplings as footballs, as I kept forgetting what they were called. It's now the name our whole family has adopted and my friends, for these crunchy savoury dumplings that have a slight sweetness and chewiness about them. It's a delightful contradiction all in one.

Ham sui gok or football shaped dumplings with shrimp and pork mince

Chicken spring rolls

Cheesecake Boy likes the sauce of the chicken feet, but can never get over the texture. I can eat these, but they are never a must eat for me.

Fung zhao or chicken feet with black bean sauce

I think one of the uncles ordered the beef tendon, and I never tried it. Cheesecake Boy was not even going to attempt this one.

Beef tendon

Deep fried calamari

Cheong fan or pan fried shallot and shrimp rice noodles

I tried a piece of ox stomach, and the texture was not an issue for me. However, I was not too fond of the sauce. There was no use asking Cheesecake Boy to try, the visuals for him were more than enough to stop him in his tracks.

Assorted offal

I like chiu-chau fan guo or steamed dumpling with pork, shrimp and peanuts as they are a bit different with the inclusion of peanuts that gives it that crunch. Also, the chilli oil for dipping for these dumplings gives these dumplings a nice kick and that additional point of difference.

Chiu-chau fan guo or steamed dumpling with pork, shrimp and peanuts

Lo bak go or pan fried radish cakes are my number one must eat at yum cha. We never leave without these. However, they must be nice and crunchy on both sides for me to avoid disappointment.

Lo bak go or pan fried radish cakes

This was the first time that I tried chu kiok chou or pig trotters with old ginger, boiled eggs and black vinegar. However, Cheesecake Boy and I only halved an egg, we were not that brave. Plus, my stomach was about to explode.

Chu kiok chou or pig trotters with old ginger, boiled eggs and black vinegar

We got a few plates of the dan tart and shared. I decided to take a photo of the imperfect ones, as the perfect ones always tend to get photographed. Lovely flaky pastry that melted in my mouth with a nice sweet egg custard filling. Dan tart are definitely one of my favourite yum cha desserts.

Dan tart or egg tarts

Kam Fook is mainly the place of our large family get togethers be it yum cha or dinner. We come here mainly due to the consistency of the food and convenience of location with three hours parking available at the Westfield. Yum cha is awfully popular on the weekends here, and the queue does tend to get crazy, so try to get here early for a table. Otherwise, you will really have to wait your turn.


Happy celebrating, Dumpling Girl.


Kam Fook
Westfield Chatswood, Level 6
Anderson Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
Ph: (02) 9413 9388
http://www.kamfook.com.au/