Do you ever accept bad advice because you’re desperate for human interaction and the only people near you are super scummy and not very clever?
Or maybe you’re just an eighteen year old at a club who has just angered his girlfriend who just needed a few tips to calm your significant other down?
I was once that boy and asked a random stranger what I should do (you’re not going to believe this but leaving the club before 2 am never occurred to me). The stranger instead dished this sage wisdom upon me:
“Man doo her and then buy her pancakes in the morning. Or dumplings, Mandoo that instead”
I finally heeded his advice and went to The Mandoo in Strathfield.
Once upon a time, Strathfield was the frozen yogurt capital of the world. The Mandoo took over the real estate that once housed DIY froyo machines and set up a handmade dumpling and noodle place instead.
The Mandoo is one of my local favourites that I recommend to anyone who journeys to the inner west. Let me take you on that tour right now:
The key difference between Korean dumplings and say Chinese dumplings is the sheer volume of filling within the dumpling skin. The bites are meatier and more satisfying. This is readily apparent at the Mandoo who stuffs its dumplings with delicious combinations such as the Kimchi and pork dumplings pictured above.
I love the subtle heat of the kimchi and the crunch the cabbage provides within the mixed pork. Doesn’t even need the included soy sauce considering how much flavour is packed within the dumpling walls.
Kim chi-ted on me so I turned her into a dumpling. And what a delicious dumpling she turned out to be.
Subtract the kimchi and throw a shrimp on that dumpling and you get The Mandoo’s pork and prawn dumplings. My absolute go-to dumpling order when I don’t feel like something deep fried (more on that later), I like the sweetness of the prawn in conjunction with the pork mince used by The Mandoo.
Food prawn at its absolute finest.
These deep fried gems are for when you want to transform a Tuesday into a Fryday. Deep fried to perfection and crunchier than a Crunchie bar, the pork & vegetable filling is just there to prevent you from eating deep fried flour (I’d try that to be honest).
Let it be Fryday everyday.
I’m a simple human, I seafood and I eat it. You throw some mussels, crab and prawn in some spicy broth with noodles and you expect me to remain civilised? Get outta here.
This is like the last match of the NFL season, it’s a Superbowl.
Satisfying, nourishing and delicious: three words I’d use to describe how I am in a relationship.
I’d also use those three words to describe the beef bone soup The Mandoo dishes out to its customers. It’s just a great winter dish that can and should be had during spring, summer and autumn too. These noodles are the noods I want sent to me on a daily basis.
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Here’s the TL;DR for everyone who thought I had retired without telling anyone
- I made the intro up, the odds of me clubbing are as high as a bird with broken legs.
- It’s virtually impossible to get bad dumplings at The Mandoo. So man doo it and head on down to Strathfield.
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The Mandoo, Strathfield
12A The Boulevarde
Opening Hours
Sunday – Saturday: 11:00 – 9:00
Korean dumprings? Who would have thought!! I can’t deal with hot pots and noodle(y) soups.; Am I strange? 🙂
wow.. nice post about korean food. thanks for sharing