Having celebrated my birthday lunch at Eastern Garden nearly 3 years ago, I still have fond memories of the place. To this day, I still consider this place one of the best places for Yum Cha in Adelaide. Of course things change over time, so it was time to pay Eastern Garden another visit. As I’ve already reviewed this place, I’m going to get straight into the food.

The Seaweed and Scallop Dumplings is a dish I’ve never had before. The minced prawn and scallop were well flavoured and juicy, and the chewy dried seaweed wrapping gave it a more unique taste.

The Siu Mai is a classic Yum Cha dish and this one was well executed. The pork filling was very juicy and succulent, and the wonton skin was nice and firm. The flavours were just right.

The Deep Fried Prawn and Tofu was crispy on the outside with a soft and delicate centre. The sauce that it was covered in was well flavoured and added depth to the dish.

The Pork Crescent Dumplings were light and crispy. The chewy exterior hid a minced pork filling which was a bit conservative in amount.

The BBQ Pork Pastry was very well executed. The pastry was nice and flaky, and baked to a light golden brown. Inside was subtly sweet morsels of lean barbecued pork. I loved this dish so much I had two servings.

The Chicken Feet is another Yum Cha classic. There’s nothing like skin and bone braised in black bean sauce.

Yet another classic Yum Cha dish is the Tripe. Chewy and rubbery in texture, the flavours of ginger and scallion are well infused.

For desserts, we had the Yam Buns. Again, I’ve never had this dish before. Inside the soft bright yellow exterior was a liquid yam centre that was subtly sweet.

My favourite dessert at Yum Cha is the Pineapple Buns. The buns were freshly baked and firm, and the pineapple paste inside had a subtle sweetness. Not all places get this right, but Eastern Garden execute it perfectly.

The staff were friendly and the service was fast and efficient. Freshly cooked yum cha dishes were brought to our table by trolley, and for the dishes that weren’t available, we simply ordered them. The atmosphere was vibrant, as this seems to be a popular place among locals. One of the main advantages of this place is the suburban location with car parking at the rear. Parking is an issue for Yum Cha places in the city, as are the long line ups. For 3 of us, the total cost of 10 dishes was $67 which works out to be just over $22 per person. That’s about right for a typical Yum Cha session.

It’s nice to know that after 3 years, Eastern Garden still deliver great quality Yum Cha.

WHERE: 351 Greenhill Rd, Toorak Gardens