Panda Dumpling wows Brighton crowd with handmade flavour bombs
Brighton dumpling shop owner Wenxiao “Panda” Wang has a secret weapon — his mum. The talented cook can roll a dozen skins in one hit and often produces 2000 flavour bombs in a day — and customers are banging on the doors for their fix.
Inner South
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When Wenxiao “Panda” Wang first opened his Brighton restaurant he would stand at the front door handing out free dumplings to passers-by.
“It was a way to show people who we were and encourage them to try our food,” Panda said.
“There wasn’t another dumpling place on Church St and there were quite a lot of people who hadn’t had dumplings before.”
Six short months later he has the community hooked on the exquisite flavour bombs.
The restaurant offers dumplings in four flavours — vegetable, beef, pork and prawn and chicken.
They are served steamed or fried.
Curious customers can see first-hand how the dumplings are created by looking through a large window at the back of the restaurant.
Behind the glass is Panda’s mum, Zhenghua Wang, who spends every day hand-rolling and filling the skins. On an average day she makes about 180 every hour.
But when the restaurant is extra busy she ups the ante and produces up to 2000 in a single day.
Panda, who moved to Australia from Beijing, China about 14 years ago, said “every parent” could make dumplings.
“But my mum has a special skill,” Panda said.
That skill includes the rare talent of hand rolling a dozen skins in one hit.
“I have never seen anyone else do that,” he said.
While he called his eatery Panda Dumpling, Panda he is keen to spruik his other 140-odd Cantonese dishes.
“I love Sichuan cooking and we use a lot of spice,” he said.
“When I first moved to Australia people here didn’t like the spice. Now they ask for it.”
The growing interest in spice led him to create and sell his own chilli oil.
“It has 12 different Chinese herbs and our customers love it,” he said.
“They tell me they even put it on their salad.”
Panda is also working on some new dishes after demands from customers for duck and fish.
The restaurant closes from 3-5pm to allow the team to prepare for the dinner service.
But that doesn’t stop regulars from banging on the door to request their favourites.
“If the lights are on they come in whether we’re closed or not,” Panda said.
“I don’t mind.”
While the Leader was there a Brighton Grammar schoolboy bowled in and asked for a serve of fried rice.
“No peas, no carrots. You know, how I always have it,” he said.
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Another woman rushed in to collect a serve of freshly made dumplings.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she told Panda.
“My son is obsessed with your dumplings.”
As we were leaving another customer arrived armed with a book.
She was quickly served some jasmine tea and settled in at a table to wait for a bowl of hot and sour soup.
Panda Dumpling is at 130 Church St, Brighton
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