South Melbourne Market Dim Sims
Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday: 8.00am - 4.00pm
Friday: 8.00am - 6.00pm
The South Melbourne Market is one of Australia’s oldest, commencing operation in 1867. It is a very popular destination for Melbournians, offering a great range of fresh seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables. Stalls abound, selling everything from clothing and homewares, to foodstuffs and mobile phone accessories. One of the most famous stalls in this foodie hotspot is the one simply known as South Melbourne Market Dim Sims & Spring Rolls. Like the American Donut van in Victoria Market, the dimmie stall is a Melbourne institution, being in existence since 1949. As shown in the above picture, people travel from everywhere to queue for the stall’s bill of fare.
For those who are not familiar with the dim sim, it is a Chinese-inspired meat dumpling style snack that is sold in fish and chip and takeaway shops everywhere in Australia. It was made popular by William Wing Young, the father of Melbourne celebrity chef, Elizabeth Chong. Mr Young used to peddle the meaty treats at football games to compete with the meat pie. These days they are usually made by Marathon foods, or otherwise they are home-made, like the ones in South Melbourne.
Dimmies can be steamed or fried, and both varieties are proudly offered at this venerable institution. Ordering is a little Soup Nazi-ish - be sure to know which type you want, how many, and in separate bags or all in the same bag. Pay your cash; dimmies are $1.20 each. You must keep the line moving! After getting your little brown bag of treasures, help yourself to soy sauce or fiery chilli sauce, but keep the line clear!
It ain’t pretty and you’ll be guaranteed to make a tremendous mess whilst eating, particularly if they’re steamed and doused in soy and chilli sauce, like ours. Long time fans know to bring your own fork and napkins; otherwise you can avail yourself to washrooms that are just around the corner from the stall.
But my God, the taste! I hold in my hand a cricket-ball sized parcel of flavour, a combination of pork, mystery meat, cabbage and spices, all deliciously encased in perfectly steamed dumpling skin. The chilli sauce was a great accompaniment but go easy as it is so spicy it will make your lips tingle! If you are game, the stall sells bottles of this fiery condiment, as well as soy sauce. Also for sale are take-home frozen dim sims and spring rolls.
The original owner, Mr Ken Cheng, sadly passed away late 2006, but his legacy (and secret receipe) lives on through the Cheng family, who are keeping this institution well and truly alive.
Written by ElegantGourmand on
April 24th, 2007 | Tags: Chinese, markets | Category: Uncategorized
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April 25th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
THE best dimsims for sure! There’s a cafe in the CBD that sells them as well. I think at the corner of Flinders Lane and King or William???
April 26th, 2007 at 4:37 am
What a great post! Wonderfully informative and who doesn’t love a dimmie? I haven’t tried them myself so I have to ask- are they clearly superior to the standard fish and chip shop fare?
April 26th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Hi Mellie,
Good to see that those dim sims haven’t lost there magic!
Now I have to go get some!
ps. I’ve tagged you -> 5 Things
April 26th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Mellie, OMG I love these dimmies. I always make sure I get a couple every time I’m at the market.
April 27th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Aren’t they too salty?
I like them more plain though.
Just too much salt in there I’m afraid…
April 28th, 2007 at 12:52 am
Hi cin, that’s not surprising given that they also do a roaring trade in takeaway frozen dimmies. Mel and I saw a dude walk away with a HUGE bag. I wonder if the other dimmies in the market, e.g. Mamma Tran’s, are also from this stall? I must check out this place in the city too!
Hi Truffle, the standard fish and chippery ones are usually Marathon. They’re OK because they’re consistent. IMO, though, the home-made ones are always better. it’s like comparing Four N Twenty pies to a country bakery.
Hi gourmand and cherrie pie, glad to know of fellow dimmie fans!!
Hi anon, for my taste I don’t think they’re too salty. though, with the amount of soy that I’ve seen people drown them in, I’m not surprised if this was the impression
also, for a home made dimmie, they’re not too fatty either, with a fair proportion of meat.
April 28th, 2007 at 6:16 am
FOr sure, they are meaty.
But the saltiness is just too much….
April 28th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Mmmmm… dumplings! I’ll have to try these the next time I’m in Melbourne!
April 29th, 2007 at 3:04 am
I just bought some dim sims recently from a take away shop I used to work with. When I worked there, I remember how I loved to eat the dim sims. They were literally addictive (probably lots of msg), I couldn’t stop at one. But now I’ve tried them again and they’re just not as good as before. They used a lot of chicken instead of pork and beef mince.
Isn’t the smell of dim sims just so recognisable, especially if they’re steamed. You can smell them from a mile away. The cabbage smell is quite bad but they do taste great.
April 30th, 2007 at 2:25 am
Mmm, I had the good fortune to try these once: brilliant!
May 1st, 2007 at 3:16 am
I have measure of sympathy for anon, a few years ago someone was playing around with the ’secret’ recipe and they became far too salty to enjoy. These days they are better, but yes, the taste of salt is strong.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:05 am
Funnily enough I have seen the queues for the dim sims but never joined it because I didn’t think much of it. I will make a mental note to join the queue the next time I’m at the South Melbourne Market
December 12th, 2007 at 7:52 am
I haven’t tried a South Melbourne Market dim sim but one time I ate 10 standard fried dim sims in one sitting…
Yum.
(I was drunk)
January 11th, 2008 at 2:05 am
I’ve eaten 18 steamed in one sitting and wasn’t drunk :p
Does anyone know of a supplier to get these in bulk? My local Charcoal Chicken sells dim sims called “South Melbourne Market dim sims” which are fantastic!
January 17th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hi kris - you can actually buy them in bulk from the South Melbourne Market shop.
18?!? My god woman…how could you possible do that?!?
January 17th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I acknowledge Kris’ awesome effort of eating 18 steamed dimmies.
I must however defend my somewhat meager effort of eating 10 fried dims sims.
Fried dim sims are completely different from steamed dim sims. I think I could eat twice as many steamed dimmies.
Not only do they go down better, but they are so much more tastier!!!
It’s 10:28 am, and now I’ve got a craving…
January 18th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Thanks for that Kieran. It’s now 4.15pm on a Friday afternoon and I now have a craving
Seriously, I don’t know how anyone could get into the double digits of dim sim eating, unless of course you are talking about those little sui mai dumplings.
I think the most I could tackle at Sth Melb market was 3 (…and one spring roll on the side). They are the size of tennis balls!
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 am
If you Love Homemade Dim Sims, You will love this group…
Join our facebook group and talk about the culinary delight we know as the humble dim sim.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9737871155&ref=mf
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
Thanks w3z - unfortunately I haven’t gone the way of facebook, but if I ever do, I’ll be sure to look you up.
Do any of you guys blog?
February 21st, 2008 at 3:11 am
I tried the Sth Melb Mkt dim sims some time ago. I found them over seasoned To much salt and to much pepper.
On the positive side they are gigantic and piping hot
February 21st, 2008 at 11:40 am
My parents came from Port Melbourne, so “Market Dimmies” have been a family tradition for four generations.
I moved to Tasmania a few years ago, and I’ve been missing Market Dimmies badly … until my sister came to visit recently, and brought with her a great big box of them frozen!!!
OH THE JOY!!!
February 21st, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Living in Carlton the market I go to for my meat and veg is the Vic Market. There’s a cracker of a place to go for dimmies that really make the whole market experience all the better.
It’s a Chinese take away place that’s across the road from the top of the market (the west side, furtherest away from the meats etc) There’s even a sign proclaiming best dim sims in the market. They’re home made, with quality ingredients you can taste and they’re only $1.10 each. And before you ask, no I don’t work there, nor am I benefiting in anyway from typing this recommendation.
(Except for their great taste that is!!!)
Try them on your next trip to the vic.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Hey elliot - yes, the are gigantic and piping hot. And the overseasoning has probably escaped me as I douse them in so much chilli sauce and soy, a little extra salt is not noticeable, same with the pepper
Hi clownfishdesign - ahh, I checked out your post about your delivery of dimmies. I too would be happy to receive such a gift over the waters.
Hey kieraan - ahh, I’ve actually spied that shop and sign, but have yet to venture in to test their claim. The Queen Vic is my local market too, so its not a stretch to give them a try out. Thanks for the tip!
February 28th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Great posts, and thank you all I am now starving and no chance of getting to SMM for a few days……the horror
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 am
Hey mad about smm dimmys - ahh, I know your pain
July 14th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Does anyone know if you can buy Sth Melb market dimmies anywhere in the
city?
July 15th, 2008 at 11:43 am
has anyone got any further details on a CBD location for these glorious pieces of heaven????
thanks
July 19th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I’ve seen them for sale in a place called Sparta (souvlaki bar) on Little Bourke St between Swanston & Elizabeth (sorry..don’t have a street number).
They’re selling for $2 a pop!
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
There is NO competition for these beauties…Been eating them myself since my Nana lived in South Melbourne in 1975.When I moved to Sydney she used to fly up with bags full of them, and when I moved back down, the tradition continued.If they don’t get free rent there they should because the market owes them big time for patronage…Gotta go to get some now…Cheers
July 24th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Regarding where to get them in the CBD, there are a number of locations, but one I know of for sure is near the Queen Vic market at a cafe called Red Capsicum which is on the corner of Leicester and Queensberry Sts, Carlton.
I’m sure a few years ago the SMM Dim Sim people must have become a bit entrepreneurial and looked to offer (and perhaps deliver) their wares outside of the South Melbourne Market because they started popping up in all different places. I know they were being sold in places near Swinburne in Hawthorn and I’ve seen them at quite a few other, out of the way locations as well.