Camy Shanghai Dumpling & Noodle Restaurant
Editorial
Long beloved by students, late night revellers and impoverished bargain hunters, Camy is one of Melbourne’s open secrets and has the benefit of being quick, cheap, casual and central. Tucked away down a laneway off Chinatown, despite recent refurbishments it remains much as it ever was.
Chinese accoutrements adorn the walls and the dining area has been revamped with slightly more style than the usual cafeteria. However it is still basic, noisy and crowded, with the same karaoke music on endless repeat and brusque staff with a cursory grasp on the meaning of service. What keeps people flooding through the door despite the no frills, do-it-yourself ethos is the incredibly cheap menu, mostly devoted to Northern-style dumpling and noodle dishes.
The fried pork or beef dumplings are the star attraction here – the kitchen dishes out plateful upon plateful of these crisp, doughy parcels – but the steamed dumplings, especially the mushroom and vegetable or prawn and chicken, and the chilli oil dumplings in a chilli-laden broth are also excellent. Other menu items include various noodle dishes which can be hit and miss, but the spring onion pancakes and fried sweet potato cakes are worth trying, while the Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce is almost essential to add some vegetable content to a meal. Know what to expect – a queue most nights, the likelihood of sharing your table with strangers, self-serve tea in plastic mugs and melamine tableware, short shrift for lingerers – and Camy will invariably satisfy.
There’s a friendly BYO policy, but the beers on offer are, like the food, extremely cheap. A cash-only deal is the price you pay for prices this low – come in a group and you’ll have change from a tenner.
Angela Costanzo, April 2010
User Feedback
cheap eater
February 25, 2009
This is one of the hippest eateries in Melbourne. There's no flash decor, the service is to the point and the food is CHEAP. The dumplings are great - fab to share.
July 30, 2010
Dumplings are the main reason for going to this place, very cheap, don't forget the free Chinese tea as well.
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