RFK Cuisine · Dim Sum · Sydney
Best Dim Sum Restaurants in Sydney 2026
Yum cha & Cantonese carts · Sydney · 8 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 27, 2026 · Updated June 27, 2026
Golden Century closed its Sussex Street doors in 2021 and Sydney grieved like it had lost a monument. For thirty-two years it had been where chefs ate after service and where Cantonese families marked every birthday. In January 2025 the Wong family brought it back inside Crown at Barangaroo, with the longest dim sum list they have ever run. That reopening reset a yum cha scene that splits cleanly in two: the old Chinatown and Haymarket rooms where bamboo carts still rattle past your table, and the CBD dining rooms where everything is cooked to order off menus eighty dishes deep. Australia has no Michelin Guide, so reputation here is earned table by table over decades. These are the eight Sydney rooms worth a weekend morning in 2026, ranked on the cooking, the room and the value, with the dish to point at and how to book.
1.Golden Century
The Wong family's reborn institution runs an eighty-dish list at Crown; book Golden Century for har gow, XO pippies and a piece of Sydney history.
Golden Century is back. The Wong family, Eric, Linda and son Billy, founded it on Sussex Street in 1989, closed it in 2021, and on 20 January 2025 reopened it on Level 3 of Crown Sydney at Barangaroo with the longest dim sum list they have ever offered, more than eighty dishes. The har gow and the pork-and-shrimp siu mai are the benchmarks, but the house signatures stretch to the XO-sauce pippies and the live-tank seafood that made the original famous. Yum cha runs 11am to 5pm; plan on roughly A$45 to 70 a head, with siu mai around A$13 a serve. It is a la carte rather than trolley, cooked to order, booked through the Crown and Golden Century sites.
Book through Crown Sydney; the har gow, the siu mai, the XO pippies, the live-tank seafood.
2.Mr. Wong
Dan Hong's 240-seat Merivale room turns weekend yum cha into theatre; book Mr. Wong for truffle wagyu puffs and scallop-prawn shumai.
Mr. Wong, down Bridge Lane in the CBD, is Merivale's modern-Cantonese flagship, opened in 2013 and run by executive chef Dan Hong with a dim sum menu credited to Michael Luo. The weekend yum cha, served in a 240-seat basement room before the main lunch service, is a la carte and polished: scallop-and-prawn shumai, the truffle wagyu puff, crab with golden soup dumpling, and pan-fried chicken-and-chive dumplings. Plan on roughly A$60 to 90 a head. Yum cha runs Saturday and Sunday from about 10:30am, and the room books out, so reserve through the Merivale site well ahead.
Book through Merivale; the scallop-prawn shumai, the truffle wagyu puff, the golden soup dumpling, the chive dumplings.
3.The Eight
Sydney's biggest yum cha room, roaring by eleven; go to The Eight for har gow and crispy radish cake with a full Chinatown crowd.
The Eight, on Level 3 of Market City in Haymarket, is the engine room of Sydney yum cha, a banquet hall seating around 750 that fills with multi-generational Cantonese tables every weekend. The kitchen runs the full classic repertoire, fresh prawn har gow, pork-and-prawn siu mai, crispy radish cake and spinach dumplings, at a fair A$35 to 55 a head. It is a perennial fixture on the city's best-yum-cha lists. Book on (02) 9282 9988 or online, because the weekend queues are long; the locals' trick is to arrive before 11am or book the first sitting.
Book or arrive before 11am; the har gow, the siu mai, the crispy radish cake, the spinach dumplings.
4.Zilver
One of the last Sydney rooms keeping the carts rolling daily; go to Zilver for cheung fun and xiao long bao straight off the trolley.
Zilver, on Level 1 of 477 Pitt Street in Haymarket, is one of the few Sydney rooms still running genuine trolley service every day, which is reason enough to come. The carts bring the classics, har gow, cheung fun rice-noodle rolls, xiao long bao and soy-sauce noodles, and the quality has long made it a benchmark for the city. Plan on roughly A$35 to 50 a head. It runs from about 10am, earlier on weekends, into the afternoon, and the weekend morning rush can mean a wait approaching two hours, so book ahead or come early.
Book ahead, ride the carts; the har gow, the cheung fun, the xiao long bao, the soy-sauce noodles.
5.Palace Chinese
Eighty kinds of dumpling off metal trolleys inside a Castlereagh Street tower; go to Palace Chinese for the dying art of cart yum cha.
Palace Chinese, tucked into the Piccadilly Tower on Castlereagh Street, keeps one of the last genuine metal-trolley yum cha services in the CBD. Around eighty varieties come past on the carts: char siu bao, prawn toast, har gow, siu mai and slices of roast pork belly, pointed at and stacked up as the trolley rolls by. Plan on roughly A$40 to 60 a head. Yum cha runs seven days, 11am to 3pm, booked by phone or online. For the old-fashioned theatre of choosing from the cart rather than a menu, this is the central-city pick.
Book or walk in, flag the carts; the char siu bao, the har gow, the prawn toast, the roast pork belly.
6.Sky Phoenix
A packed Westfield lunch room where the pork siu mai is the move; go to Sky Phoenix for fast, central, reliable yum cha.
Sky Phoenix, on Level 6 of Westfield Sydney on Pitt Street, is the Phoenix group's central-city yum cha room, open since 2002 and near-always packed at lunch. The full classic range is here, with the pork siu mai the standout, at a sensible A$35 to 55 a head. Yum cha runs 11am to 3pm, from 10:30 on Sundays, booked on OpenTable or by phone on (02) 9223 8822. Recent reviews flag the service as occasionally rushed, but for a fast, reliable, dead-central yum cha between shopping floors, it does the job.
Book on OpenTable; the pork siu mai, the har gow, the cheung fun, the egg tarts.
7.Emperor's Garden
A Chinatown survivor still pushing carts from half-past seven; go to Emperor's Garden for budget yum cha and the famous custard puffs.
Emperor's Garden, spread over two floors at 96 to 100 Hay Street in Chinatown, has run since 1979 and is one of the last true push-cart yum cha rooms in Haymarket, opening as early as 7:30am. The carts carry the classics at budget prices, roughly A$30 to 45 a head, and the famous Emperor's Puffs, custard cream puffs under a dollar each, come from the bakery next door. It is walk-in driven, with phone bookings for groups. Recent 2026 reviews note the upkeep has slipped, so this is the nostalgia-and-value pick rather than the polished one, but the carts and the puffs endure.
Walk in early; the custard puffs, the har gow, the cheung fun, the Peking duck.
8.Star Capital Seafood
Chatswood's best trolley yum cha, endorsed by Nagi Maehashi; go to Star Capital for generous har gow without the city crowds.
Star Capital Seafood, on Victoria Avenue in Chatswood, is the north shore's leading Hong Kong-style trolley yum cha, the room that RecipeTin Eats' Nagi Maehashi sends people to for generous, properly made dumplings. The carts bring prawn har gow, cheong fun, fluffy pork buns, salt-and-pepper squid and roast duck across thirty-plus tables, at a fair A$35 to 50 a head. Yum cha runs 11am to 3pm, booked on (02) 9412 3888, with weekend queues but less of the Chinatown crush. For trolley yum cha away from the city centre, this is the one worth the train.
Book ahead, ride the carts; the prawn har gow, the cheong fun, the pork buns, the salt-and-pepper squid.
How Sydney does yum cha
Sydney yum cha splits between two traditions. The old-school Chinatown and Haymarket rooms, Palace Chinese, Zilver, Emperor's Garden and Chatswood's Star Capital, still run bamboo-stacked carts that are wheeled past your table for you to point at. The CBD dining rooms, Golden Century and Mr. Wong, cook everything to order off menus eighty dishes deep, trading the trolley theatre for freshness. Either way it is fiercely a weekend ritual: Cantonese families and big tables descend from late morning, the best rooms are roaring and queueing by 11am, and the carts taper after 2pm, so arriving early is the unwritten rule.
The whole thing rests on Cantonese tradition carried in via Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Yum cha literally means to drink tea, and the flowing pots of pu'er and jasmine are as much the point as the har gow and siu mai. Golden Century's 2025 reopening at Crown reset the top of the scene, while the trolley rooms keep a disappearing craft alive. For the rest of the city's Chinese cooking, the Sichuan, the roast meats, the late-night Haymarket noodles, see the best Chinese restaurants in Sydney and the full Sydney dining guide.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for real Sydney yum cha
Marigold. Sydney's great Sussex Street trolley hall served its last yum cha in December 2021 after 39 years, so do not go looking for it; the building is being redeveloped. For the closest thing to that old-school cart experience, ride the trolleys at Palace Chinese or Zilver instead.
All-you-can-eat buffet yum cha and supermarket-frozen dumplings. A heat-lamp buffet labelled yum cha or a plate of reheated frozen har gow misses the entire point, which is dumplings made and steamed to order. For fresh, book Golden Century or queue at The Eight in Haymarket.
Frequently asked
What is the best yum cha in Sydney?
Golden Century, reborn at Crown Sydney in 2025, and Mr. Wong in the CBD lead the a la carte, cooked-to-order end, where freshness is the priority. For the traditional trolley experience, The Eight at Market City, Zilver and Palace Chinese in the city, and Star Capital in Chatswood are the rooms to know. The best choice depends on whether you want carts wheeled past your table or a kitchen firing dumplings to order, and whether you are in the CBD, Haymarket or on the north shore.
Does Sydney have trolley (cart) yum cha?
Yes, though it is getting rarer. Palace Chinese on Castlereagh Street, Zilver on Pitt Street, Emperor's Garden in Chinatown and Star Capital in Chatswood all still run genuine push-cart or trolley service, where dishes are wheeled past for you to point at. The CBD's marquee rooms, Golden Century and Mr. Wong, are a la carte instead, cooking each dumpling to order for freshness rather than rolling carts.
When should you go for yum cha in Sydney?
Weekend late morning is the ritual. The best rooms are roaring and queueing by 11am, and trolley service tapers after about 2pm, so the locals' move is to arrive before 11 or book the first sitting. Saturdays and Sundays are the classic days for big family tables; weekdays are quieter and easier to walk into. Either way, book ahead at the popular rooms like The Eight, Zilver and Mr. Wong, where weekend waits can stretch past an hour.
How much does yum cha cost in Sydney?
It runs from roughly A$35 to 55 a head at the Chinatown and Chatswood trolley rooms, The Eight, Zilver, Palace Chinese, Sky Phoenix and Star Capital, where you pay by the dish. The CBD dining rooms cost more: about A$60 to 90 at Mr. Wong and roughly A$45 to 70 at Golden Century, where siu mai runs around A$13 a serve. Emperor's Garden in Chinatown is the budget pick, with carts and famous custard puffs for under a dollar each.
Did Golden Century reopen?
Yes. The Wong family reopened Golden Century on Level 3 of Crown Sydney at Barangaroo on 20 January 2025, after the original Sussex Street institution, which had run since 1989, closed in 2021. The new room runs an a la carte yum cha service of more than eighty dishes, the longest dim sum list the family has offered, keeping the live-tank seafood and XO pippies that built the original's reputation. It is bookable through the Crown and Golden Century sites.
More dim sum, by city
More from RFK
Browse the full Sydney dining guide, compare the global picks in the best dim sum worldwide, go deeper on the city in the best Chinese restaurants in Sydney, book a big table for a birthday or anniversary, plan a weekend yum cha to impress clients, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with the restaurants, OpenTable or Resy; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.