The green capsicum was stuffed with a fish paste mixture and sat in a light black bean sauce. They tasted okay but green is my least favourite capsicum and the capsicum definitely needed more cooking.

After we had a chance to take a breath, we studied the extensive menu and ordered several dishes. First: siew mai (steamed pork and prawn dumplings, AU$4.20). The menu said they would be topped with caviar. I’m not sure what the dumplings were topped with but it certainly wasn’t caviar. We eat siew mai just about every time we have dim sum and were very disappointed with these – they were very bland.

The steamed prawn and pork bean curd rolls in oyster sauce (AU$4.20) were delicious. The skins were chewy and juicy with sauce.

The har gow (steamed prawn dumplings, AU$4.60) looked promisingly plump – but alas! They didn’t taste as prawny as we hoped – too much filler gave them a distinctly starchy flavour, and the dumpling skins were too thick. Bland siew mai and har gow are pretty much a dim sum epic fail, aren’t they?

The deep fried prawn dumplings (AU$5.60) were served with mayo. Having tasted the har gow I was worried these wouldn’t be great either, but was I pleasantly surprised and relieved at how tasty they were.

The best dish of the meal – and thank goodness we ordered it – was the chicken chok (rice porridge, also called jook and congee, AU$8.50). THIS really was yummy. A lovely big bowl of steaming porridge of perfect consistency – not too runny, not too thick, so satisfying when eaten with a Chinese spoon. It was full of chicken pieces, topped with crispy pieces of deep fried dough and chopped spring onion. A drizzle of soy sauce and I was in savoury heaven. If the chicken porridge is any indication, I would say skip the dim sum and go for the porridge. Yummy House serves many varieties of rice porridge, including: century egg and lean pork; fish filets; shredded lettuce and homemade fish balls; beef and coriander, and minced beef with raw egg.

Jac’s mango pudding ($4.60) had real mango in it, but sadly, like the dim sum fails described above, it tasted quite bland. She didn’t enjoy it very much and didn’t finish it.

I ordered the banana fritters with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup (choice of vanilla/chocolate ice cream; chocolate/caramel/honey/maple syrup topping, AU$7.50). The banana fritters would’ve been tastier had the banana been riper, but I still enjoyed the hot crispy fritters with the cold ice cream and the sweetness of maple syrup.

I’d forgotten how wonderful vanilla ice cream and maple syrup are together. I definitely needed the magic of ice cream and maple syrup by then – those bland pork and prawn dumplings and the obstacle course of uncleared dishes on our table had made me very cranky.

Based on this experience we don’t plan to return to Yummy House for dim sum. It’s such a shame. A couple of the dim sum dishes were tasty enough but the bland steamed pork and prawn dumplings were dim sum deal-breakers for us. You’ll find better dim sum and service elsewhere. The chicken porridge was a delicious and worthy resident of a Yummy House. I plan to go back just for the porridge and will order a bowl all to myself.