Third Wine Bar on our hitlist, the low key wonderful Snack Man in Fortitude Valley by the owners of their neighbour, the ever popular Happy Boy. Like their famous neighbours, I was a little apprehensive to try based on the fact that the food they serve was relatively non traditional but keen to try.
Arriving at around 6pm we were seated at a large communal table. The menu comprised of a selection of dim sim dishes and there was a very large variety of wines on offer too. We ordered at the counter and awaited our food.
Kicking off our meal, we had a glass of white and rose. Crisp and refreshing, it was a great way to commence our dinner.
First dish of the night was the Xianbing, a Chinese Pan Fried Pie with ground beef and onion. I really liked the mincey beef filling with crunchy fragrant onion. The outside pastry was thin and chewy with a crisp bottom too.
Next up we had the Shaomai, a basket of open top dumplings with prawn, chicken and mushroom. Compared to the regular pork dumplings topped with roe, I would have to say that I prefer the originals better. The chicken was fairly chunky and dense without the springiness you would get from other shaomai and the mushroom taste wasn't particularly strong either.
This was the Char Siu Sou, a croissant pastry with honey glazed chicken. Compared to the usual enclosed pork char siu sou, this was obviously served open and had a lot more filling. The chicken was sweet and well marinated whilst being quite moist despite being open. I really enjoyed the flaky croissant pastry too.
Highlight of the evening for me was the Dandan Mian, wheat noodles with sesame and ground pork. The noodles had a wonderful texture striking a good balance between soft and just enough bite. I enjoyed the well seasoned spicy ground pork and the sesame paste and chilli oil on top, making for a very moreish type of dish.
Another dish we shared was the Wortip, Pan fried dumplings with pork and chives. With a large pool of options for dumplings in Brisbane, these didn't stand out to me as particularly special. The skin erred on the thicker side whilst the fillings weren't especially juicy. I did however really enjoy the crispy base.
Another favourite for the night was the non traditional deep fried Char siu bao, Fried pillowy buns filled with bbq chicken. Like the Char Siu Sou, the chicken was really enjoyable and sweet. I particularly enjoyed the fluffy deep fried buns with their crisp outer shell and fluffy soft filling. Definitely something I would come back for.
Last of the savoury dishes, this was the fairly traditional Fu Pei Gyun, Deep fried tofu skin rolls with prawn inside. The tofu skin was thin and crisp. The prawn paste inside was mincey and had a good spring to their texture which I definitely enjoyed. I only wish it was served with some dipping sauce.
Finishing off with dessert, this was the Daahn Taat, a macanese custard tart with flakey pastry. Being a fan of egg tarts at yumcha, this was a bit of a let down. Firstly the pastry wasn't as flakey as any of the yum cha places I had before in Brisbane, it was instead fairly thick and doughy. The filling wasn't served hot, it was caramelised and sweet without the strong egg taste that I'm used to. Next time I'll have to try the other dessert dishes.
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
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