I haven't been to yumcha for quite a while, especially after the closing of my local favourite, Haoke. It is no doubt that with the economy in it's current state, businesses find it difficult to stay afloat and a lot of the yum cha places in Brisbane have put up their prices aggressively. Having heard a few horror stories of other people being rudely shocked by wildly expensive bills means it's hard to dine out and support small businesses whilst our employers do not put up our wages. With this in mind, I was sure to verify that Parkland hadn't drastically raised prices before going there with some friends for lunch the other week.
Prices are a little bit more expensive on weekends and it's still not as cheap as yum cha used to be (who still remembers when a small used to be $3.50 lol), but at least all prices and charges are made clear on the door to avoid any nasty surprises at the end.
It was super busy and I am glad that we arrived at 11.30am on a Saturday which meant we didn't need to wait to get a table. There was a significant queue when we left
There were no trolleys of dimsims but we had a tick sheet to order instead, which is my preference actually because it's far more efficient and you don't need to wait to get what you want.
We had a Chrysanthemum tea and this was on the weaker side. Next time I'll have to ask for it extra strong.
Despite being told that the wait would be considerable, our food actually came out very promptly and our table was quickly filled.
I was most keen on having beef offal which I haven't had in a long time. Compared to my favourite at Haoke, the flavours were not as rich and deep, but it had some fragrance of star anise and soy. I liked the tripe the best and it went well with chilli oil.
The BBQ pork bun was fairly standard. There was a lot of bun and not too much filling which I don't particularly mind. They really weren't that much different from frozen ones you can buy at a supermarket and steam at home, but I didn't mind them at all.
Another favourite of mine is the steamed tofu skin rolls. These were done really well with fresh tofu skin, wrapped around flavoursome pork mince with veggies. I really liked the rich oyster sauce with its sweet umami flavours.
Next up were the baked char siu pastries. These came out fairly cold which was disappointing. The pastries were flaky though and they had an ample amount of bbq pork in them. They would have been way more enjoyable warm.
This was the glutinous rice dumplings. They were a bit small but the rice was tender and sticky. There was also not too much by way of chicken inside.
In line with the generality that steamed dishes came out hot whilst the others didn't the shao mai was also warm and fresh. These were meaty and mincey with an ample amount of prawns inside of it.
Of course you can't go to yumcha without prawn dumplings and these were also done quite well with whole prawns and reasonably thin skin. Having said that, the price was quite steep for what it was.
This was the deep fried sticky rice dumplings. There wasn't too much mincey filling but there was a thick skin. Again the fried items were served cold, making it a bit unappetising.
Our one dish which was supposed to be cold, the coconut pudding, was served chilled. This was a crowd favourite of the day, and a sweet dessert.
Our last dish to arrive, even after the dessert was the rice noodle roll with deep fried bread sticks. This was definitely freshly made and expertly executed. The rice noodle was fresh and soft without being overly thick. The bread sticks were crunchy but a little stale and hard.
Overall, a few of the dishes were a bit of a hit and miss, however given the state of yumcha in Brisbane at the moment, I wouldn't mind coming back at a later date.
Price Range: $20 - $30
Taste: 5.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10
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