Yummy Seafood Restaurant

The amount of lobsters, mud crabs, whole fish and platters of pippies on the tables here is absurd. There are $20 options on the menu but this is one of Sydney’s best Cantonese seafood restaurants, so pretty much no one comes here for beef in black bean sauce (and neither should you).

Here’s the night’s run sheet for the full seafood experience. Before you even sit, check on the seasons for Sydney crustaceans and check the tanks for whatever looks best – and cross check with the price list (if you pick something that’s out-of-season, the bill will punish you for it). When you’re ready to make your order, choose how you’d like it prepared and with what – you can choose from steamed, deep-fried with ginger and shallot, salty egg yolk, and garlic butter to name a few.

Minutes later you’ll be presented with a creature from the tank – like somms do with a bottle of wine – to give the all-clear on (unless you’ve picked one yourself, of course). Then, make sure you clear everything away from the centre of the table, because a massive amount of dishes are about to rain down.

There’s also an interesting alternative experience to be had here, but unless you can read and write Cantonese or Mandarin, it’ll take a bit of work. Yummy has several menus, two of which are written entirely in Chinese characters. Some of these dishes are intricately prepared, seasonal Cantonese specialities – which means a lot of offal, ferments, dried seafood and other items that would be rare orders for non-Chinese customers.

If you only speak English, you might get someone working the floor who has good English. Otherwise, you’ll just have to point and hope for the best.