Mr Bing jianbing pancakes, Chippendale

Who said Sydney doesn't do street food? The jianbing is a streetside snack you'll find all over Beijing and Taipei, a thin pancake or crepe cooked to order and eaten hot and fresh off the griddle. They come with all kinds of fillings, but a cracked egg is mandatory, the egg yolk and egg white swirled across the top so you get an omelette and pancake all-in-one.

Mr Bing, a self-declared Asian Wrap Artist (heh), only opened late last year but has quickly gathered a loyal uni student following. How have you missed them? They're a literal hole-in-the-wall takeway, positioned on City Road in-between the Lansdowne Hotel and Toby's Estate. Broadway Shopping Centre is only a few hundred metres away.


Mr Bing Asian Wrap Artist menu

Everything's under ten bucks on this concise menu. The Chinese-style jianbing pancakes include the classic you tiao fried bread stick as well as meatier variations including a peanut chicken (Chookie Run), beef patty (Moo the Cow) and Korean barbecue pork (Miss Kim).

The Taiwanese-style ABT is lighter on the filling but cheaper too - that's ham and cheese, pork floss and crackers or all of the above for $5.90 or less.


Spreading the pancake batter on the hot plate

The open window gives you a standing view of all the kitchen action. The griddles you often see used for French-style crepes are repurposed here for making jianbing. They even use the same wooden paddles.


Flattened pancake

First goes a ladleful of pancake batter, smoothed out to an even thinness.


Cracking a fresh egg over shallots on the jianbing pancake

Add a handful of shallots and crack over a raw egg while the pancake is still cooking.


Spreading the raw egg across the pancake

The raw egg yolk and white is broken up and pushed across the surface of the pancake.


Egg cooking on the jianbing pancake

What you get are pockets of egg yolk and egg white cooking on top of the jianbing pancake.


Flipping the jianbing pancake

The entire pancake is flipped in an impressive display of precision and speed.


Grilling spam on the hotplate

If you order extras of spam like I did, they get a gentle crisping on the outer edge of the griddle.


Brushing sweet bean sauce onto the Mr Bing jianbing

My Mr Bing pancake gets a generous brushing of sweet bean sauce.


Adding garlic chilli sauce

This is followed up with a layer of garlic chilli sauce. brushed evenly across the surface.


Sprinkling on sesame seeds

Shake out a handful of sesame seeds for crunch.


You tiao fried bread stick and coriander on the Mr Bing jianbing

And add a deep fried bread stick and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.


Taiwanese street food lunch ready to go

It all gets wrapped up in greaseproof paper and handed to you in a brown paper bag.


Taiwanese drinks including milk tea, jasmine tea and black tea

Add a Taiwanese tea drink for $2.50.


Chookie Run $8.90
Chicken with peanut sesame sauce, crackers, sweet and sour carrots, fresh salad and coriander

If you're lucky, you'll score one of the four wooden stools out the front. If you ask extra nicely, they'll give you a paper takeaway box so you can take photos of your lunch before it gets eaten.

The Chookie Run is one for the peanut fans, chunks of chicken doused in a runny peanut sesame sauce and wrapped up with salad, pickled carrots and bits of crushed crackers.


Mr Bing $7.90 with spam $2 extra
Fried bread stick, garlic chilli sauce, sweet bean sauce, sesame seeds and coriander

My vote goes for the original Mr Bing. It's all about the texture here: soft egg crepe, crunchy fried bread, a sweet and saucy mix of bean paste, garlic and chilli, plus the refreshing pop of coriander and sesame seeds. Add Spam just because you can.

Swing by for lunch or an early afternoon snack. They have two new menu items too: Taiwanese braised beef and crispy fried chicken bites. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?






Mr Bing
20 City Road, Chippendale, Sydney
Tel: +61 (0)404 093 479

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 8am - 4.30pm
Saturday and Sunday 9am - 3pm


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