I absolutely love oriental food, even before Shane and I opened The Good Luck Club I had a soft spot for this kind of cuisine, so when my friend Ying said that she would take me to one of her all time most favourite Chinese restaurants in Cyrildene called Shun De, my stomach instantly started doing somersaults.
Shun De is a bit of a hidden gem located on the ever bustling Derrick Avenue in Cyrildene. If any of you have ever been to this specific area which is affectionally called Joburg’s Chinatown, you will know that it is full of people, cars, cats and lots of different unassuming restaurants that often go unnoticed, unless someone has recommended them to you.
That’s why I was so excited when Ying told me that her whole family often goes to Shun De for Sunday brunch, which is traditionally called ‘Yum Cha’, when translated this means ‘to drink tea’. At Yum Cha one drinks tea and eats dim sum – small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates, which is exactly what we did.
Ying ordered a bunch of different things for us, which we wasted no time stuffing our faces with. We had things I had never even heard of before. We had Gluten Free Rice Dumplings (deep fried), which was a first and definitely not a last, I’m going back specifically for those, they were amazing. We also had Prawn Dumplings, Fried Northern Dumplings, Marinated Cucumber and Seaweed (also amazing), Cantonese Roast Duck, Steamed Pork and Chive Dumplings, Crispy Beef with Sesame Seeds, Garlic Buk Choy, Coconut Milk Pudding with Aduki beans and we ended with Egg Custard Tarts, which were very out of the ordinary, but so good.
The bill in the end came to R700, including a really good tip. Seven of us ate for that amount, so you definitely get value for your money and an experience like no other. So if you’re looking for a place that serves some of the best dim sum, steamed buns etc around, then I highly suggest Shun De. The place itself is nothing to write home about, but you are most certainly not going there for the decor.
Head on over to Jobest for the full review on Shun De and while you’re there you can check out some of the new spots we’ve just recently visited.
Contact: 079 980 9591
Operating hours: Lunch: Monday to Sunday 11am – 3pm
Dinner: Monday to Sunday 5pm – 9pm
Address: 1st Floor, 30 Derrick Avenue, Cyrildene, Johannesburg
1 Comment
Oh that cucumber thing is a favourite of mine at the chinese restaurants in Barcelona. I love that street in Cyrildene, and trawling through all the supermarkets. I try to go there every time I am back in JHB. I’ll have to try Shun De next time. Thanks for the hot tip. Also loved that photo of the girls through the foliage.