I’m not really one for fried items at yum cha, but I liked the fried squid here. The squid’s nicely cooked and not too rubbery, and the coating is crisp and more-ish.

The cousin to the har gow is this little baby: prawns wrapped in rice noodle sheets (don’t know what the Cantonese name is, if someone would care to enlighten me). It’s a slipperly thing, frequently posing a chopstick challenge, but the slipperiness is part of its charm as the it goes down oh so nicely.

Haven’t been to yum cha in ages, so I was quite excited to go to Zilver for my fix. Yum cha, the Cantonese art of taking tea and assorted morsels, has really been embraced by Sydneysiders of all backgrounds. I was really surprised by the variety of clientele – Western and Asian families, couples, girly catch-ups, even what looked like the beginnings of an Aussie boys bucks day out.

This dish, har gow, is a staple. It’s a steamed dumpling of prawn wrapped in rice paper. Simplicity itself.