The Oriental Whisky & Dumpling Bar Underneath A Sydney Suit Shop
โ€” Updated on 17 June 2021

The Oriental Whisky & Dumpling Bar Underneath A Sydney Suit Shop

โ€” Updated on 17 June 2021
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Itโ€™s been a little while since this joint first opened its doors, but as the weather becomes less and less ideal for post-work beers in the open, we thought it wouldnโ€™t hurt to remind you of its existence.

Beneath a seemingly nondescript Sydney CBD building, youโ€™d be forgiven for thinking youโ€™re headed into a suit shop, until you duck down towards a red glowing door and take a step back in time into an opium den-inspired hangout.

Inside, itโ€™s as if someoneโ€™s actually dug a tunnel to China (albeit a very Orientalist, culturally explicit version), gave up, and built a cocktail, whisky and dumpling bar instead called Uncle Mingโ€™s. 

The dimly lit basement bar is enclosed within walls plastered with 1920โ€™s posters and illuminated by an array of tealight candles. Despite its Shanghai decor, the watering hole boasts an assortment of drops โ€“ everything from East Asian beers to Japanese whiskies and sake.

Itโ€™s common knowledge for regulars that the dumplings on offer arenโ€™t up to scratch with the likes of Din Tai Fung, though theyโ€™re about as good as you can expect for any chow that accompanies flamming cocktails in a dingy Chinese bar.

The establishmentโ€™s namesake, as penned by the bar itself, is sourced from one of โ€œShanghaiโ€™s most notorious figures โ€“ a sweet potato vendor who began a life of crime as a policeman collecting protection money from local opium traders. Having to leave China, Uncle Ming settled in Sydney in the 1920โ€™s and set up a place for the local community to meet and have a drink.โ€ 

Its setting might be the most attractive feature at first glance, though its impressive collection of more than 90 different types of Asian whiskies โ€“ 60 of which are from Japan โ€“ are what will make the average blokeโ€™s ears prick up.

No bookings can be taken, but youโ€™ll find it at 55 York St in Sydneyโ€™s CBD.

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