For a dish as simple as egg flower - or egg drop - soup, there's great dispute about technique. It's essentially chicken stock with beaten egg stirred through at the end to form threads as the egg cooks. Whether the egg should be poured from a height in a thin stream, cooked on the heat or in the stock's residual warmth, turned in a figure of eight with chopsticks or stirred vigorously is all a matter of choice. Additions include creamed corn, crab, tofu, minced meat or sesame oil and it's commonly thickened with cornflour. However it's done, it can be as comforting as any good chicken soup.
1. Emperor's Table
Diners who run the gamut of blinding carpets and flashing pokies to find this place upstairs will be well rewarded. Yum cha is the main game every day and the egg flower soup ($5) can be ordered from the menu. The beaten egg drifts like clouds in the clear, unthickened broth and there's added complexity from a decent slosh of rice wine. Finely sliced green onion tops add colour to the dish.
Emperor's Table, North Ryde RSL, Magdala Road, North Ryde, 9878 4766
2. Mama Takeaway
Avoiding any need to contemplate decor, the owners of this joint have simply plastered every wall and window with menu pictures. The egg flower soup ($7.80 special - $10.80) doesn't rate a mention on the bewilderingly large pan-Asian menu but can be requested. It's a viscous, cornflour-thickened mix with few ingredients: house-made stock, egg, sugar and enough salt to induce a thirst. It's fine but the Vietnamese pho might be a better bet.
Mama Takeaway, 173 Forest Road, Hurstville, 9570 8588
3. The East
Smack on the harbour's edge, it's no surprise this place gets a bit of tourist traffic. Cantonese dishes dominate the menu and there's a sense of the kitchen playing it safe to keep the international crowd happy. Being a minimalist dish anyway, the egg flower soup ($9.80) works well in this context. There's added sustenance from minced beef, the odd mushroom slice and the crunchy coriander stalks.
The East, Shop 8, 1 Macquarie Street, East Circular Quay, 9252 6868