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I cannot for the life of me understand why dim sum in Cape Town is so astronomically expensive. It seems like every semi-decent place I visit charges a fortune for a few dumplings. But, luckily, I’ve just discovered Linko Restaurant in Observatory, which focuses on authentic Chinese food and good sushi, and visited them for the ultimate dim sum feast.

Linko Restaurant looks pretty much like you’d expect any place in Observatory to look like, with old-school architecture, high ceilings, and a simple, rustic design. But Linko adds splashes of colour with bright orange and purple walls, Asian artworks, and a good supply of plants.

Add in dark brown tables and a sushi conveyor belt, which currently isn’t running due to Covid-19, an extensive menu, and friendly staff that’s ready to greet you with a smile, and you have all the elements that make for a good neighbourhood restaurant.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Linko’s – Obs restaurants are a hit or miss for me – but I had asked my Instagram audience if they had been and had gotten good overall feedback.

Their sushi came highly recommended, which, of course, I wasn’t planning on trying for my dim sum feast. But I started to get the feel that Linko’s may just surprise me.

And surprise me it certainly did.

linko restaurant observatory cape town interior

The brightly coloured walls add some charm to this restaurant.

link restaurant interior

Everything at Linko’s is neat and clean, which I can really appreciate.

Linko Restaurant Menu & Prices

The first thing you’ll notice when you start browsing the Linko menu is that it’s seemingly never-ending. This place has everything.

It won’t seem like it if you’re looking at the online menu, which is quite a bit shorter, but head into the restaurant itself and be prepared to be hit by a wave of FOMO coz you’ll want to order everything.

The menu boasts classic sushi, gourmet sushi, and sushi platters, a wide range of dim sum, spring rolls, soups, beef, chicken, duck, pork, seafood, and vegetable dishes, as well as rice and noodle dishes, dessert, sides, and a good drinks menu.

Prices are also incredibly reasonable.

You’re looking at an average of R50 for 4-piece sushi dishes and R90 for Asian hot dishes, with duck and seafood dishes slightly more expensive.

The Dim Sum Menu

We focused almost exclusively on the dim sum and bao buns, all available in platters at phenomenal prices.

We had the following:

  • Dumpling Fully Loaded Box (R133 for 16 pieces): 2 BBQ pork buns, 2 pan-fried pork dumplings, 2 pan-fried veg dumplings, 2 steamed chicken shiomais, 2 steamed pork shiomais, 6 deep-fried pork & veg mix wong tongs
  • Shanghai Soup Dumplings (R99 for 12 pieces; R39 for 4 pieces): Hand-formed dumplings filled with pork mince, a rich veg broth, onion, and ginger
  • Shanghai Pan-Fried Bao (R99 for 9 pieces; R39 for 3 pieces): Pan-fried pork baos filled with pork mince, various seasonings, onion, and ginger

In addition to the platters, which really offer unbeatable value for money, you’ll also find all the usual dumpling goodness on the menu at an average of R39 for 3 pieces.

linko restaurant dim sum feast

How’s this for a feast?

fully loaded dim sum box

The dim sum box includes pretty much everything you could possibly want to try.

The I Love Foodies Review

Even though I like to call myself a writer, I have no idea how to best describe the Linko dim sum experience.

These dumplings were phenomenal!!!!

Dim sum platter

All of the dumplings and buns in the Fully Loaded Box were wonderful and full of flavour, and I can definitely recommend opting for this if you want a taste of everything.

Personally, I’m not too much of a fan of deep-fried dumplings, so the deep-fried pork & veg mix wong tongs were probably my least favourite – but even this is a far stretch as I still enjoyed them!

Soup dumplings

This was my first time trying soup dumplings, so I don’t really have much to compare it to, but I really, really enjoyed these.

I dragged my friend Jenny along, though, and she absolutely loves Asian food of all kinds and is familiar with most of it.

We actually lived together in Berlin a few years back and made it our unofficial mission to try all kinds of Asian food. Berlin may not be everyone’s cup of tea (it certainly isn’t mine) but it has a great selection of Asian restaurants, markets, and food stalls.

I digress.

Her verdict was that the soup dumplings were great but not quite as soupy as she’d experienced in other places.

We could both agree that this was a good thing, though, as you don’t run the risk of messing all over the place if you bite into the dumpling – meaning that you can bite each dumpling in half quite comfortably and prolong your enjoyment.

Sure, perhaps this isn’t the way dumplings are meant to be eaten, but if it provides maximum yumminess, why not?

Pan-fried bao buns

Jenny and I both fell in love with the pan-fried bao buns. Of course, we were both quite familiar with bao buns – but pan-fried buns? This was a first.

They’re perfect, though, and you’ll get to enjoy a slight crunchiness at the bottom with the usual fluffy dough on top.

And taste-wise, these are simply unbeatable.

They’re so incredibly juicy that every bite of this is a full flavour explosion.

My only word of warning would be not to devour all 9 pieces of these pan-fried bao buns in one go, though you will most certainly be tempted to do just that.

pan-fried bao buns

Pan-fried bao buns … be prepared to fall in love!

szechuan hot hell chilli beef with veg mix and bean noodle soup

The Szechuan Hot Hell Chilli Beef Noodle Soup isn’t just called “hot hell” because it sounds funky.

A Dive Into Szechuan Pepper

In addition to all the amazing dim sum, Linko’s also recommended that we absolutely have to try their Szechuan Hot Hell Chilli Beef with Veg Mix & Bean Noodle Soup (R99) as it’s one of their more authentic specialities.

I was a bit cautious because I can’t handle spice very well. But it sounded so good and I felt like I just had to try it. I’m glad I did because this noodle soup was divine!

But, be warned, “hot hell chilli” isn’t just a funky sounding name – this soup is insanely spicy!!!!

Oddly enough, I found most of the spice accumulated in the noodles themselves, which I thought would be the least spicy element of the dish.

But armed with a glass of milk to calm my slightly manic taste buds, I managed to enjoy the soup and not die in the process.

Now that’s a foodie win for me!

If you like the spicy side of life, then this soup is perfect for you. And if you try it, please let me know – just pop me a msg on Instagram. I’d love to hear about your experience!

Linko Restaurant Contact Details

All in all, I cannot recommend Linko Restaurant enough.

I have every trust in them that the rest of the menu is as divine as what I tried. I’m literally too excited to head back soon!

I had actually recommended the restaurant to a few friends since visiting and they have confirmed my gut feel that the other dishes are just as fantastic!

So Linko Restaurant definitely makes it on to the I Love Foodies must-visit list!

Linko Restaurant

Address: 88 Lower Main Rd, Observatory, Cape Town, 7935

Opening Times: Monday – Sunday (11:00 – 21.30)

Website: https://linkorestaurant.co.za

E-mail:

Call: +27 21 447 6509

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Written by Benike Palfi
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Article Date: May 2021

All information correct at the time of publication. We do not accept any liability caused by errors, including, but not limited to, changes in price, menu, opening times, address, or other contact details. 

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