Chinese food has had a long standing history in most developed countries, that holds especially true for a place like Australia where "Salt & Pepper Squid" has unofficially become the national dish. I bet for every suburb in Sydney...
Chinese food has had a long standing history in most developed countries, that holds especially true for a place like Australia where "Salt & Pepper Squid" has unofficially become the national dish. I bet for every suburb in Sydney where there is a shopping strip, you will find at least one Chinese restaurant or takeaway shop and you will be able to get Chinese food relatively easily. But unfortunately, I feel like Chinese food hasn't always had the most glamorous of images...historically, people tend to only think of Chinese food as greasy and MSG-laden meals you can get at food-courts. Even our oldest venues like Golden Century have these images where it's the place you go when you're really drunk off your ass.
My point is: it's hard to tell someone that Chinese food is a refined ordeal. It's really not until recent years that we've had a surge in newer establishments that focused on produce, quality, presentation and highlighting the best parts of Chinese food (Mr. Wong, Lotus Dining, Billy Kwong etc) and I can see the image slowly start to shift in the minds of the people. Our recent visit to Hulu at King Street Wharf is a prime example of a restaurant that's trying to do one of the oldest cuisines in the world justice by giving people a look at what a refined and high-class Chinese dining experience would look like.
The Mrs and I were fortunate enough to have been invited to attend one of four sessions of complimentary dining intended to showcase what Hulu has to offer and generate excitement about this new venue. We had originally intended to attend one of the first sessions but due to a clash with my ACL reconstruction surgery, we had to push our attendance out to the very last session which wasn't a bad thing at all as we got to dine with some interesting and colourful people (have to admit, was a bit star-struck when @spooningaus walked in as I had been watching him eat on Where's The Food on Youtube)
We were ushered into a small private dining area near the back of the restaurant where we were seating at a round table with a large glass lazy-susan which you typically find at Chinese restaurants. The decor of the restaurant was brightly coloured with some mellow blues and Chinese themed ornaments all around. I was most impressed by the abacus shaped lighting which reminded me of when I was a child, first learning to calculate on a similar device.
As soon as all guests had arrived, we were promptly served where @teafortammi quickly and efficiently picked up the menu, asked what was recommended and got us sorted with a plethora of delicious delights including dumplings, soup and various chef's specialities.
For the night, we ordered:
The Hulu Mix Appetisers (served in a specialty hulu shaped dish)
Pan Fried Mushroom Dumplings
Hulu's Signature Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings
Nemo Dumplings
Pepper & Pickled Cabbage Soup w/ Pork Intestines
Sweet & Sour Pork On Ice
Spinach in High Soup, Eggs Trilogy
Homemade Tofu & Mushrooms, Fried with Egg White Sauce
Half Duck Smoked in Jasmine Tea
Beef Cubes Pan Fried, Black Pepper Sauce
Egg White Fried Rice w/ Fish Roe
and for desserts, we got the:
Osmanthus Cake
And, the Deep Fried Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Syrup
For the night, we ordered:
The Hulu Mix Appetisers (served in a specialty hulu shaped dish)
 |
| A hulu is a traditional Chinese gourd used to store liquids and medicine |
Pan Fried Mushroom Dumplings
Hulu's Signature Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings
Sweet & Sour Pork On Ice
Half Duck Smoked in Jasmine Tea
Osmanthus Cake
And, the Deep Fried Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Syrup
Overall, the Mrs and I had a great time dining at Hulu at King Street Wharf and we were really glad we got to share this experience with some other like-minded people. The venue itself is fabulously fit out and suites the location quite spectacularly as a finer establishment for diners to get an authentic Chinese feed by the wharf. My personal favourite item of the night had to be Hulu's Crispy Cheese & Prawn Dumplings which had a texture like Ham Sui Gok from Yumcha but with a more seafood based filling. I Imagine that if I got to eat that piping hot, I'd be able to down plate after plate of those dumplings.
Thank you again to Hulu at King Street Wharf and Red Productions for inviting the Mrs and I and we look forward to the next time we get to dine at such a fine establishment whenever the opportunity presents itself!