Shopping centre food courts - they're not exactly the culinary epicentre of the world, but they are generally pretty cheap and sometimes, if you are lucky, you may just stumble across something that actually tastes pretty good. Such is the case with Jia, at Chadstone.
Located in the lower level foodcourt Jia attracts a lot of passing traffic. They have a take-away side and also do cooked to order meals, which can be consumed in their adjoining dining area. What attracts most visitors though are their specialty: pork dumplings. They are available steamed or grilled and a plate of 10 will set you back $8.80. They really are quite good and you get a substantial feed for the money. I find myself ordering them most times I visit Chadstone.
These dumplings are good because they're hand made and simple. Three ladies, who don't speak a word of English, work at the front of the shop stretching out dough and filling it with a fragrant mix of minced pork, coriander and spring onion. The dumplings are shaped, steamed and ultimately grilled. They are good and upon enquiry I find out that they sell at least 2000-3000 of them each day. Whoa!
Jia also does decent Asian meals and good hot soups, many of which are around the $10 mark. So the next time you are in Chadstone and need a food fix go past the greesy burger and chip joints and head down to Jia. You'll hopefully be pleasantly surprised.
Jia
Shop 70B - Lower Level Food Court
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Article by Melbourne Foodie
