And yet, if you believe the hype, there is really only one. One that feels both ancient and modern at the same time. One that hand makes their dumplings fresh from scratch, every morning, and serves them with the politest of smiles. One that does so in the ambient surrounds of a sleek space reminiscent of some kind of new-wave, minimalist Sino-Nordic design.

Eight Buns. Newcastle's best place for dumplings? You decide.

Enter off Beaumont Street and wait to be seated. Perhaps, at a table with a white timber wrapped back chair, or somewhere on the long bench seat set out with cushions for neatness and comfort. The cute tables for two at the front of the dining room have a little stool to put your things on, so there is more room for dumplings.

The menu at Eight Buns is vast and expansive with many wonderful and exotic sounding things. For instance; fried cockerel with green chili and pepper, dry fried shredded beef, roast duck with lychees and chili plum, Shanghai stir fried noodles, laksa, soup, fried rice, and so many different types of dumplings. Even brightly coloured ones. Simply mark down what you want in the blank 'Qty' box beside each dish, grab a drink, sit back and relax.

A bit like bread, the humble dumpling is a truly universal food, emerging independently from several cuisines. While it might be a stretch to call an American pizza pocket a dumpling, nonetheless, it is similar in intention and design to any other dough wrapped fodder; from the Italian ravioli, and Spanish empanada to the Polish pirozhki, the Japanese gyoza, and the Chinese jiaozi. In all likelihood, each different dumpling was invented as a way to stretch out a small amount of protein to feed a large amount of people.

According to legend, Chinese stuffed dumplings were invented during the Han Dynasty by Zhang Zhongjian. It happened when Zhang returned to his ancestral village during the winter. He noticed that many of his fellow citizens were suffering from frostbite, particularly around their ears. As a way to solve this problem, Zhang cooked up a batch of mutton, chili and herbs and wrapped them in scraps of dough. He folded the dumplings to look like little ears, boiled them and handed them out to his afflicted neighbours. Who knows if they cured frostbite, but the villagers loved Zhang's creation so much that they continued making dumplings for a long time after.

From recent experience, I can tell you that the dumplings at Eight Buns cured what ailed me and my hungry accomplices. We ordered Tsing Tao ($6.50) beers and a raspberry and mint ice soda ($6.80) to start. We could have ordered a bottle of Tamburlaine Organic Wine ($31) too, but, we'd brought wine (BYO $8/bottle).

Order the barbecue pork buns ($7.90).They are delicious. Salty pork slathered in sweet barbecue sauce surrounded by fluffy white dough, all viscid and sticky. The pan fried prawn and pork dumplings ($14.80) are brilliant. Textual and flavoursome. Even better when chased by a sip of Tsing Tao and a chopstick full of crunchy fresh Chinese broccoli and piquant garlic sauce ($14.90). Be sure to soak them all in a little pool of soy and chili and sesame oil.

Now, it says 'Must Try' and try you must; the Chinese roti with Beijing duck and cucumber. Crispy, crunchy, chewy, salty, saucy ... really, just really, really tasty, actually.

Ultimately, though, as with most yum cha, you choose your own adventure when dining at Eight Buns.

If you believe that the pro tips above are anything to go by, you're going to have a good time dining on dumplings at Eight Buns.

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