One of my most favourite people in the whole world was visiting from Japan for New Years and when she asked to go for dinner somewhere she could get a good stir fry Ding Hao was the first place that came to mind. I have never eaten at this Adelaide Yum Cha institution and was unsure of their night dining menu so I did some enquiring... and everyone I spoke to only had glowing things to report... so I booked table.
When we arrived the restaurant was really empty (it was 5.30pm) but by the time we left around 7pm the place was totally packed, so if you want to eat here I would highly recommend a booking. The restaurant is quite large and spacious but the decor is basic and a little dated. We were quickly served and offered water and menus, and our drinks orders were taken. It didn't take us long to decide, obviously my friend wanted a stir fry, Ding Hao have a decent range of options and she went with the beef and vegetables. I ordered my staple Chinese restaurant items, the Shallot Pancakes and the Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai dumplings/soup dumplings). Drinks were brought to us not long after and I think we waited around fifteen minutes for our food. I had ordered both dishes as mains (they are usually entree type items) and everything was brought out at the same time as requested.
First up, the beef and vegetables, this was served steaming hot with a thick, flavourful sauce that wasn't overly salty. The vegetables were still crisp and fresh and the beef was juicy and very tender. My friend was really happy with this dish, she hadn't had a good stir fry in months and this ticked all the boxes! My two dishes are my go to choice of food when I want to test out a new Chinese, and Ding Hao did not disappoint. The shallot pancakes were golden, crisp, airy and had plenty of spring onion flavour. The serving size was generous and they weren't oily or soggy. These were my favourite of the two dishes. The Xiao Long Bao... *sigh these are one of my all time favourite foods from when I lived in Hong Kong and Adelaide has yet to blow me away with any attempts, Ding Hao was no different. Yes they were good, they were juicy, the skin didn't fall apart, they were uniform and were steaming hot but they just didn't pack the flavour punch I get in Melbourne's versions. Not a bad dish, and if I had to recommend somewhere in Adelaide to eat these Ding Hao would have to be my choice for best attempt hence far.
Overall experience? Great, I would most certainly come here for Chinese food again and plan to head back to try out the infamous Yum Cha in the future. The quality is high, nothing left me choking for water hours later or feeling gross from MSG, service was friendly and quick, servings generous and the pricing is fair and reasonable.
