Aunty's Dumplings

Joris, her mother Guixia Li and her father Hua Zhao fold and seal a thousand dumplings a day between them, six days a week, and buy the produce for them from Queen Victoria Market up the road.

Why go

The fillings come from Jinzhou, a coastal city in Liaoning in China's northeast, which is a narrower claim than "northern Chinese" and it shows on the plate. Sauerkraut and pork is the one to start with: Dongbei suan cai is the northeast's own fermented cabbage, and its sourness does something to pork fat that vinegar cannot. There are eight regular dumplings and a few seasonal ones, and when the market has the right fish, mackerel or black squid go in the wrapper instead. Broadsheet put it on the Hot List within months of opening in 2026.

Order this / avoid

• Order: sauerkraut and pork first. Then pork, chive and prawn. Ask what the seasonal filling is, because that is the one that changes. Dongbei jelly on the side, tofu under a savoury jelly with century egg and pork set into it, plus the cabbage and carrot pickles.
• Avoid: coming for a long menu. It is short because everything is made by hand that day.

What locals & experts say

• Broadsheet Melbourne put it on the Hot List and wrote that it "was added to the Hot List recently and has the whole city talking," calling it "a beloved local spot that has become an essential part of its neighbourhood." ref
• Broadsheet, on the work: the family "makes up to 1000 dumplings a day from scratch," six days a week, by hand. ref
• One masthead only. Time Out and Good Food were checked on 1 August 2026 and neither has covered it. For a kitchen this new that is normal, and it is worth knowing the buzz has one source behind it.

Good to know

• Where: 117 Cardigan Street, Carlton, a short walk from Queen Victoria Market where the produce comes from.
• Timing: six days a week. Nobody has published which six, or the hours, so check before a special trip.
• Booking: walk in.
• On the master list's advice: it told you to get the cumin lamb. That is a Xinjiang dish and this kitchen cooks Liaoning. The row has been corrected.
• Safety: Victoria publishes no per-venue hygiene rating. Safe Food Victoria's register of court convictions under the Food Act 1984 was read in full on 1 August 2026 and does not list this venue. ref

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: none. Melbourne has no saved-places export in the repo, so nothing here can be traced to Jeff's own words.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — Three people, one family, a thousand dumplings a day, six days a week, folded and sealed by hand. Joris runs it with her mother Guixia Li and her father Hua Zhao, and the fillings come from Jinzhou on the Liaoning coast rather than from the generic northern-dumpling playbook, which is why the sauerkraut and pork tastes the way it does: Dongbei suan cai is the northeast's own fermented cabbage and it cuts pork fat better than vinegar does. The produce walks over from Queen Victoria Market, and when the market has the fish there are mackerel or black squid dumplings that will not be there next week. Eight regulars, a handful of seasonal, cabbage and carrot pickles, and a Dongbei jelly with century egg and pork set through it. It opened in 2026 and Broadsheet put it straight on the Hot List. Cheap, walk-in, and the menu is short on purpose.