Our Story
A dumpling house with a difference
ShanDongMama, run by a family offierce, strong women, each has put her own unique stamp on their unique dumplings. Meiyan Wang (affectionately known as Mama)started the business in a nalle yarcade in Chinatown,making the delicate skinned traditional dumplings of her hometown Yantai, a fishing town on the Chinese Shandong Peninsula.The Shandong Province is best known for its seafood dishes,and ShanDong’s signature fish dumplings showcase this heritage. The parcels are made from scratch and filled with mackerel,chives,coriander,ginger and spring onion.No greasy full filling after these dumplings, they are astoundingly light,fresh and filled with complex flavour.
There are flavour pairing rules I inherited from my parents’ generation. For example Chinese chives get along with almost all seafood, sichuan pepper can’t pair with beef mixing when it comes to making dumplings. I moved the original flavor of Shandong dumplings onto the Australian dining table, because I believe great flavor is a universal language.
Quality is in the details. From the ocean-fresh, line-caught Spanish Mackerel to the finest locally farmed pork, my perfectionism drives every sourcing decision I make. At Shandong Mama, we don't just follow recipes; we honor the ingredients."
"Not all dumplings are created equal"
Owner & Executive Chef
Meiyan Wang
"New generation should have some more innovition"
Chief Executive Officer
Ying Hou
Flavor pairing is an adventure to me, every time I set myself off to try different mixing : squid and basil was a fine matching, with a dash of coriander and fish roe, then it felt right, wrapped with squid ink skin, makes more sense. There’s only one rule for me: as long as it tastes great. I guess perfectionism is a genetic thing: we are still polishing our dough mixing for it to be thinner and crispier for panfried dumplings, softer in boiled ones. You’ll always find something new on our menu, because it’s driven by curious minds.
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