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    Shandong Mama

    3.8 (58 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Shandong Mama Photos

    SHANDONG MAMA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Shandong Mama

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    Exterior
    Jonny M.

    My buddy had wanted to check out Shandong Mama a few days earlier but we couldn't make it work. So after a long day of tennis, we dropped in for a late dinner. It's inside of a Mid City Mall (shop #7 on the ground floor). We came on a Friday evening (around 8:45pm) and the place was packed. At least we didn't have to wait but they sat us at a communal table. Service isn't half bad here. You go up to pay at the counter when you're done. The menu is ridiculously huge. The pages seemed to go on and on. We kept it simple and focused on what they do best: dumplings. There's some soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil on the tables. The chili oil mixture was pretty subdued. Sad. - 2x tea ($0.80 AUD each) - they give you a mug. Pretty watered down but at least it's hot. - Noodle soup with braised beef brisket (N5) ($12.80 AUD) - the broth was sweet and reminded me of what you get when you order wonton soups. Pretty standard bowl of noodles but would have liked more noodles for the price. - Mackerel fish fried dumplings (FD2) ($16.80 AUD) - fresh mackerel fillet with coriander, ginger and chives. The filling was great! I wasn't expecting such a good texture to the inside. We would have liked the outside to be crispier. - DILL-icious pork boiled dumplings (D3) ($14.80 AUD for 12) - finely chopped pork mince and fresh dill, spring onions, ginger and sesame oil. These were merely decent. I liked the medium thick skins but the filling was dry. The dill didn't taste as fresh as I'm accustomed too. Decent but I'm a bit puzzled by all the hype on Shandong Mama. Cash only.

    V C.

    Shandong Mama holds a good reputation as having one of the best home-made Chinese dumplings in the city. But despite the word of mouth, I honestly don't see any spark of magic. Well, the boiled dumpling was something different, with the skin being ultra thin (almost translucent) but the meat filling was extremely watery and bland. The spicy crispy chicken was also another disappointment. It was super dry and flavorless, the only flavor we picked up was from the dried chili. Sad. The pan fried dumpling, on the other hand, was quite satisfactory. It was simple pork+prawn meat wrapped in a semi-open crispy dumpling skin. This was probably the only single dish we enjoyed that night. The prices were on the higher side, with each plate of (10 pieces) dumplings cost between $14-$18. Service-wise, don't expect tender loving care, you'll be disappointed. Short to say, this place is worth trying, but not revisiting.

    Corn and scallion pancake
    Amy W.

    One of the best places for dumplings in Chinatown Melbourne! The pastry or skin of the steamed dumplings are silky, light, soft and melts in you mouth. The meat stuffing is tasty and fresh. Well seasoned and marinated. The pan fried mackerel dumplings were excellent and yummy too! Loved the traditional pie, crunchy and fresh! One of the best places for this traditional pie! A very busy place!

    Amanda U.

    We were walking in chinatown and wanted to try HuTong dumpling bar city (seen many reviews in travel books). But the place was already full on reservations. I googled another dumpling place in the area and found Shandong Mama. Our misfortune turned into luck!! Found this little gem hidden in a mall. The menu pricing was affordable and the food tasted really good. We ordered 2 plates of dumplings (fried pork and steamed lamb) and a sweet/sour fish with rice to share with 4. It was just enough. We could later grab dessert on the go. The fried dumplings were crispy and the steamed ones were nice with some broth in it. Service was pretty quick as I can recall. Looked like a family run restaurant. Children friendly place.

    Chantelle T.

    Serves me right for following the Time Out guide to dumplings in Melbourne. I was feeling positive on the hunt for dumplings and was so keen to come here. Such a disappointment. Service from the moment we walked in was brisk and efficient, but definitely not friendly. We were quickly seated and ordered the pan-fried beef dumplings, boiled pork and cabbage dumplings and fried chicken wings. All underseasoned and tasteless. The beef dumplings were too thick and served without care. They were still stuck together and just sad looking. The pork and cabbage dumplings literally tasted like nothing. Even with the addition of chilli oil and soy sauce there was nothing there. The wings were crispy and served hot, but again a miss. A complete lack of seasoning meant the side of mayonnaise with the wings was the winner of the whole meal. With two drinks included the total came to $48 which I think was a total rip off. Completely overrated and underwhelming. Given there are so many other options for dumplings all over Melbourne I will definitely not be coming back here.

    Cumin lamb, Crab roe tofu
    Terri T.

    Solid place for some Chinese food that is a good price for big portion sizes. I'm from California and we get a lot of genuine-enough asain food here, and I would consider this same. We got the crab roe tofu dish, shrimp cucumber stir fry, and cumin lamb (apologies that these dish names are not exact). They were all pretty good and came out quickly within ten minutes. My favorite was the cumin lamb- it was flavorful and the onions were yummy. Rice does not come with man dishes so make sure to order them on the side. One con is thst because the place is small, it's quite echo-y, making the restaurant super loud indoors.

    Holly K.

    Plenty of tables available when I arrived just before midday on a Saturday. Service is a little lacking, with the waiter forgetting to give me a menu for 5 minutes, though the place was pretty empty. I had to get my own water and glasses. The food is reasonable. I had the mapo tofu, which was a reasonable size. Though no mince in it. The tea with green jelly was super sweet.

    Hot and sour soup. Loaded with protein and veggies.
    Tresna L.

    The hot and sour soup calls to me, at all times of the day and night. I ate it the first time I visited and now can't not order it every time I visit Mama. On cold days I crave a steaming hot bowl of this protein-packed flavour broth and find myself trying to line up a meeting in the area so I can pop in for a serving. People rave about the mackerel dumplings. Yes, they're good and you should most definitely try them but expect a not-so-very dumpling like shape when they hit your table. All the other dumplings I've tried are excellent, except for the egg and spinach ones that come out fried, massive (like a quesadilla) and not at all what I'm used to. They were disappointing. My strategy when dining with a group of friends - just point like a mad woman at a bunch of things and then delight in what arrives.

    Hilary T.

    I found this place on Facebook and decided to give it a try. We weren't used to eating seafood dumplings, so it wasn't that great. Not bad, but not great.

    Madeleine W.

    Got along to Shandong Mama for a quick, cheap dumpling feeding frenzy. A must try are the mackerel dumplings, like no dumpling that has ever come before it! The table also ordered the Melbourne dumplings, pork and cabbage and prawn. Fav varieties were the pork, and the Melbourne. With one vegetarian dumpling option available, the vegan dumplings were delicious, but it would be great to see another option on the menu. The table also agreed a juicy prawn dumpling sans the pork would be a winner... I have to make mention of the great music Neil young, the Shins and Massive Attack to name but a few of the great tracks spinning. FYI Shangong Mama is cash only, and once they have approvals (happening soon I believe) they will be BYO.

    Prawn, Fungus and Chive boiled dumpling. Yum!
    Merrilee M.

    I've now visited ShanDong Mama twice and was pleased both times with the freshness and quality of dumplings. The menu is relatively small compared to some in Chinatown, but it does cater for vegetarians and vegans, which is nice! It's a pretty busy and noisy place though, so not recommended for intimate occasion or long lunch. Staff were efficient and friendly on both occasions and I would definitely go again. Make sure you don't turn up starving though, as you may end up waiting for 15min or so to get a table. Pro Tip: send someone else from your party around to Maxims Bakery to grab a couple egg tarts to tide you over!

    Sarina W.

    It's been quite a few months since I last visited Shandong Mama. I used to go every 2nd week when it first opened but once the joint got a bit popular, their quality started to slide. However my buddies from Brisvegas are visiting and they wanted somewhere with good dumplings. With 4 kids in tow I didn't want to chance the famous DTF at the Emporium so we decided to go for Shandong Mama. We got there way before the lunch crowd and we got a pretty gruff welcome from the waitress. No smiles & it felt as if I have intrude their shop and inconvenienced them. Not a great way to greet their first customers of the day. I went a bit cray cray and ordered a variety of boiled and fried dumplings including the Melbourne dumplings, DILL-licious pork, Mackeral dumplings, beef and chicken dumplings, as well as two noodle dishes for the kids. It all came to $95 bucks and it was certainly filling. The quality of the dumplings has also gone back up quite a notch and perhaps it's because of all these dumplings places opening up nearby. So yes, they don't have the XLB like DTF but f you want your dumpling fix with a variety, Shandong Mama is still the place to go.

    Fried chicken dumplings
    Amita S.

    Believe the hype - this place serves up delicious parcels of nom. Definitely go for the prawn and black fungus boiled dumpling! Also got the fried chicken dumplings and although they come out not looking like your usual pan fried dumpling (it looks more like little fried burritos) they are fried to perfection and deeeelicious. Small place, jammed packed, but we didn't have to wait for long. And when you do they give a raffle ticket paper thing and will call you out when the table is ready. Remember you're here for the food, not the service or the looks. One tip though - if you come as a pair and you get seated in between a table of 2 other couples, be prepared to be the sauce taxi cos you'll be moving the sauce tray back and forth either end of the table when they need it!

    Prawn & pork wonton rice noodle soup

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    Page 1 of 2

    Shandong Mama Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Shandong Mama

    My personal favourites are the prawn and black fungus dumplings, zucchini dumplings and the zucchini and egg pancakes.

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    Very nice hongkong style restaurant at China town. We came here for dimsum and another day for…read moredinner. This is one of the well known chinese restaurant in Melbourne Chinatown. It is better to make reservations. For the dimsum I can say is average like other dimsum places I visited before. The menu is overwhelming. So many dishes to choose from. For dinner it was very nice as we had live crystal crab which I never had before. The meat is soft. The other dishes which good is the beef cube. It was so tender. The shark fin soup which is banned in US is good. Price wise, they are pretty pricey. Overall it was a good lunch and dinner

    My family and I had a really great dinner dinner here while traveling in Melbourne. It's always…read morecomforting to have some Chinese food while abroad, and this place got the stamp of approval from 3 generations of my family!! The service was great our waiters helped us accommodate a disability within my family and recommended us some great dishes. However, the restaurant is upstairs and the elevator was broken, which made it difficult for us to get up. The food: -Seafood fried rice: Really flavorful, with generous portions of dried scallop and crab. The rice was cooked just right and the serving was big enough that for a party of 3, we had quite a bit leftover. -Snow pea leaves in garlic: A favorite vegetable of mine, and this was cooked in an amazing garlic-y soup!! Such a clean and delicious dish -Egg tofu: This was my first time having egg tofu and they were so silky and smooth. They look a bit like scallop and are served with a good amount of broccoli and mushrooms! Honestly really addicting. - Steamed trout: This fish was very pricey, but that's normal for a live fish dish. It was huge- definitely enough to serve a party of 5-6. The fish was cooked to perfection and the sauce paired amazingly with the mild trout flavor. Highly recommend if you're feeling like splurging! This place is also nice, quiet, and clean inside during dinnertime. Really amazing experience overall!

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