Nine of the best Chinese restaurants in western Sydney leagues clubs and RSLs

Super fresh yum cha. Live steamed fish. Sweet-and-sour pork on every menu. Australia has always had a wealth of excellent Chinese restaurants – and many of them can be found inside our bowling, returned services and leagues clubs.

Why there are so many Chinese restaurants – usually Cantonese – in clubs may have its roots in the 19th century. Research by historian Barbara Nichol found that Chinese people began arriving at the goldfields in the 1850s, where many of them could find work only cooking in country pubs and outback stations. This gradually evolved into Chinese people owning “cookhouses” that served Chinese and Western meals.

By the 1970s, after relaxation of the White Australia policy allowed more migrants from China, Chinese-Australians began opening restaurants attached to clubs across the country. (The elephant in the room is the unfortunate reality of the links to the gaming industry, with the majority of NSW pokies parked in clubs. Chinese is one of the more popular cuisines in Australia, so it’s almost guaranteed to get bums on seats.)

In Sydney, there’s an abundance of fantastic Chinese restaurants dotted around the city’s RSL and sports clubs. In Cabramatta and Canley Vale, huge restaurants cater to an audience hungry for live Cantonese seafood; clubs along the Western Line, in suburbs such as Blacktown and Granville, roll out the yum cha trolleys every day of the week. Here are nine of the most delicious club restaurants recommended by Good Food.

Markets Chinese Restaurant, Markets Club, Homebush West

The laidback Markets Club is an “if you know, you know” kind of place, with locals celebrating birthdays and special gatherings on our visit. The unassuming building is adjacent to Flemington Markets and the decor is classic Australian leagues club: colourful carpet, white tablecloths and crockery, sterile downlights. Stick to the “Chef’s Specials” menu and a competitively priced live seafood offering. A live steamed fish ($43.80 for a half-kilogram parrot fish) or XO pipis ($43.80 for half a kilo) won’t set you back too far compared with restaurants closer to the CBD and the service is attentive, friendly and efficient.

Ocean Treasure Asian Dining, Club Blacktown

With flavours that rival the Cantonese powerhouses of the CBD, chef Stevenson Su’s Ocean Treasure also has a second outpost at Cabra Bowls. Yum cha is excellent here (and 25 per cent off for members on weekdays), with fresh har gow (prawn dumplings), steamed pork ribs and cheung fun (rice noodle rolls) firing out of the kitchen and straight on to the trolleys. The Cantonese barbecue is top-shelf too (roast duck is a must-order) while dinner time is all about the live seafood, with some of the most competitive prices in Sydney. Meanwhile, the steamed “pyramid shaped” pork belly is something of a signature, with meltingly soft pork wrapped around preserved mustard greens.

Poppie’s Brasserie, Granville Diggers

The energy at this classic club can be described only as frenetic. There’s a wonderful yin-yang situation, with pub classics such as chicken schnitzels and steaks available on order at the counter while hordes of locals mostly clamour for dumplings and egg tarts. Two yum cha specials fly out of the kitchen: XO stir-fried radish cakes and congee (coral trout, abalone and chicken, or sea cucumber and fish maw) for $9.80 a dish, Tuesday to Friday, or $13.80 at weekends.

Jade Swan, Club Rivers, Riverwood

It might be a sleepy suburb, but Riverwood is home to a number of excellent casual Cantonese restaurants. Club Rivers can feel like a maze to find Jade Swan (use the Thurlow Street entrance), but the dining room does a roaring trade every night. Nearly every table orders the hand-pulled salt-baked free-range chicken with jellyfish, and I love the chirpy and enthusiastic waiters who are always down for a chat and a laugh. Impeccable Cantonese cooking is on show here, perhaps best represented in the dried scallop and egg white fried rice – umami heaven.

Crown Dragon, St George Leagues Club, Kogarah

A yum cha institution for southern Sydney, the auspiciously named Crown Dragon has some of the most efficient trolleys in the city, generously wheeling around dim sum classics like siu mai (prawn and pork dumplings), har gow (prawn dumplings), cheung fun (steamed rice rolls with prawn) and lo mai gai (sticky glutinous rice with mushroom and pork). Try the chicken feet: perfectly braised, gelatinous and savoury.

Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, Mounties, Mount Pritchard

It’s an offer that seems too good to be true, but true to its name, Jumbo Seafood serves up massive discounts for members on weekdays, including 50 per cent off all live seafood. Flavours tend to lean towards the sweeter spectrum (perhaps to placate the local Vietnamese-Chinese audience), but the live mud crab ($76 a kilogram) and XO pipis ($29 for half a kilo) are cooked to order. Service is hit-and-miss, but at these prices, all is forgiven.

Horizon, Cabravale Club Resort, Canley Vale

This 100-year-old club, formerly known as Cabra-Vale Diggers, relaunched with much fanfare last year, complete with a new 140-room hotel, steakhouse, Italian restaurant, reception and, of course, gaming area. Cantonese restaurant Horizon is still here though, and its yum cha is highly popular with the south-west faithful. The deep-fried section is a must-try, including the seafood roll and ham sui gok (football-shaped glutinous rice dumplings filled with pork).

The Dynasty, Canterbury League Club, Belmore

I had to include my local on this list. Once you get past the ridiculous water features (six in total) you’ll find Dynasty, a reliable yum cha restaurant. My favourites here include the salt-and-pepper whitebait and mango pancakes, but the kitchen is adept at all the usual dim sum suspects.

Jin Yan, Castle Hill RSL

Hovering around 3.5 stars out of five on Google Reviews (the unofficial thumbs-up for a great Chinese restaurant), Jin Yan is the undisputed yum cha temple in the Hills. With capacity nearing 300, there’s always a boisterous dining room come lunchtime. Salt-and-pepper whitebait is crisply fried and the house-made egg tarts never miss.