Luyu & Yum Yum196 King St
Newtown, Sydney
If you were about to read an article about a newly opened restaurant that features authentic yet innovative dumplings, vibrant loose leaf teas and amazing tea infused cocktails, you’d probably be expecting this to be in Haymarket, Chatswood or even Hong Kong, right? Well, wrong!!One of Sydney’s newest dumpling houses (probably one of the most stylish) has recently opened in Newtown. Yes, that’s right, Newtown. Right in the heart of King Street, tucked away in a surprisingly large upstairs space away from the hustle and bustle.
Luyu and Yum Yum opened its’ doors about three months ago. Boasting a stylish interior with striking yellow neon colours contrasting against dark wooden features and an open plan dinning area that can be easily sectioned off for large private groups, Luyu and Yum and Yum is the home run in the dumpling game.
Count J and N arrived for lunch on a beautiful sunny Sunday. We got there right on midday which is when the venue opens and although there was a small line of people already queueing outside, we had no difficulty finding a table once we got upstairs. As we took our seats, we noticed an extraordinary wine display behind a very intricate set up of wooden panel doors. It was quite a unique feature which also can act as a partition to create a private dining space. Quite amazing actually.
We started with a pot of refreshing Yellow Leaf Chrysanthemum tea. A traditional way to start a dumpling feast. The tea was freshly made and was bursting with flavour and colour. A great start though we both were in the mood for some bubbles. Luyu and Yum Yum is fully licensed and has a great wine and champagne list. There are some great choices both by the glass and by bottle, so its sure to satisfy any requirement you might have. We love champagne, so we chose a glass each of the NV Monmousseau Brut Etoile. A solid Champagne, not too dry.
Whilst we studied the menu, two very colourful starters arrived at our table. The pickled vegetables were freshly prepared and quite delicious. We don’t normally go for pickled vegetables but these were crunchy and fresh. The seven flavour tofu was just as the name suggests, a crispy shelled explosion of many flavours with a soft and silky finish.
Luyu and Yum Yum have some outstanding cocktails. We tried the the YumYum Jasmine Tea, a house made infused Jasmine Tea vodka with Lychee and Elderflower liqueurs. A smooth and quite strong cocktail, guaranteed to wake up your senses. We also had The Lady In Red, with a house made Strawberry, Lychee and Lime vodka, this was a more refreshing cocktail but again quite strong and definitely beautifully presented.
The Manga Dumpling ‘Hedgehog’ is filled with three different types of mushroom baked in flour dough. Soft and full of flavour.
If you like meat, you’ll love “Kiss Me” dumpling filled with Pork and Ginger swimming in Luyu’s Homemade soup which explodes just as you take your first bite. It’s a very exciting process.Gluten free admirers will fall in love with the Snow White Dumpling. Generous pieces of Prawn, Asparagus and Bamboo shoot swimming in Luyu’s home made creamy soup cooked in a potato dough which is infused with Chrysanthemum. We highly recommended this one.
Next up we had a serving of four lovely duck pancakes. These were crispy pieces of duck rolled in golden pancakes.
These are seriously so good and we liked them so much we almost ordered a second serving!
Count J said that the last time he had a duck pancake this good was in Beijing.
Luyu and Yum Yum might have amazing dumplings and lots of share type food on offer but that’s not all you can have here. There are quite a few main dishes on offer as well, again with the same amount of diversity, catering for gluten free, vegetarian or other dietary requirements.
Our last dish (but definitely not least), was a vegetarian choice, the Eggplant. Cooked with Chrysanthenum Honey Soy and deep fried onion, it was tasty and a bit on the sticky side which we don’t mind at all.
Its not often that the counts say no to dessert - almost never in fact - but today it was just not possible, so we’ll definitely have dessert the next time we visit Luyu and Yum Yum.And it won’t be long till The Counts are back either. Luyu and Yum Yum is a certainly a very stylish and sophisticated Dumpling House.
The service is quick and efficient and the staff are available to answer any questions you may have about the menu.
Luyu and Yum Yum is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
The Counts, who are now doing reviews for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of Luyu & Yum Yum. Special thanks to David Kang, General Manager, Co-founder and owner, for arranging this.
