M.A’s Dumpling Den

Kind of average. If I had never been to a truly great dumpling house then it might get one more star but price, variety, serving size are all far worse here than my benchmark. If you’re a dumpling house then be a great one, Phở and sizzling beef dishes have no place on the menu. If you’re just another vaguely Asian lunch place then change your name. Quality is good, restaurant interior better, but I’m still going to get on a tram to Little Bourke St. and wait in the line next time I want dumplings.

Perfectly inoffensive interior and fresh, tasty spins on old comfort foods, combined with half price Mondays and sweet service staff make this an easy bet for anyone looking for old reliables. Try the salt and pepper chicken ribs. It won’t come better than this very often.

Atmosphere
I actually like the atmosphere here! It is styled in a very classy and modern way with a touch of Asian trinkets here and there. This place is very clean and the kitchen is in open view. It’s pretty casual, but still maintains a sense of class at the same time.
Service
I had a young Asian woman as my waitress and she was very courteous and efficient as well. After I finished my food, a young man came to take my dish away but he was polite enough to ask me first. My waitress was quick to take my order and the time it took for my food to arrive was pretty reasonable as well.
Food
The first thing I should note is that their menu definitely lacks a bit of variety, so there is no guarantee that you would be able to find something you like here. They have dim sum, noodles, and rice, but no variety within those categories. Luckily I spotted «Xiao Long Bao», a dish I always enjoy (steamed pork dumplings, delicious!) for 9.50. In contrast, their drinks menu has a lot more variety than their actual food menu, which I find a bit silly but that’s okay! They have alcohol as well as a vast assortment of non-​alcoholic drinks and I went with the coconut juice for 3.50.
Time it took for food to arrive: 11 minutes.
I LOVED my meal. The Xiao Long Bao was delicious. When I bit into it, I tasted the rush of the soup in my mouth and mmmm… sooooo good! The coconut juice was very flavourful and had bits of actual coconut in it as well!
NOTES:
~ They have a policy that if you are not allowed to split the bill, so something to keep in mind.
~ At each table they have two identical looking soy sauce bottles but LOOK AT THE TOPS. One will be labeled «V» and the other «S» — for vinegar and soy sauce. Both the sauces are black, so it is very easy to make a mistake. When I first sat down I thought they just had 2 soy sauce bottles at every table until I took a closer look!
I would definitely recommend this place, but if you are really picky with Chinese food, it might be a bit tough to find something you like here with the lack of variety in their menu. But if you find something that you might enjoy, this place will probably deliver quality.