ILikeToEatAndDrink » Chinese

Dump Day! – Din Tai Fung the gold standard

Canela — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:04:19 +0000

Okay, I give. I wasn’t going to write this one figuring they really didn’t need any further promotion from me. But, there is no denying that Din Tai Fung is truly deserving of all the hype. After a year of leaving no dumpling house unturned, Sis and I have both decided that when it comes to Xiao Long Bao (aka XLB or Soup Dumplings) nobody can touch them. The thin skin, the meaty filling, the fragrant soup all perfectly assembled in a beautiful symphony of flavor that literally explodes in your mouth. Din Tai Fung’s other offerings also do not disappoint. DTF uses fresh, clean, quality ingredients and you can taste the difference in everything they make. One tip – Go early! This place fills up with eager regulars waiting to get their fix.

The Heavenly Xiao Long Bao

How to Eat XLB’s part 1

Create your dipping sauce with fresh ginger, soy, vinegar and chili sauce as you like.

Dip dumpling in sauce transfer to soup spoon top with ginger.

How to Eat XLB’s part 2

While dumpling is on spoon carefully bite a hole in the top to let hot soup out.

Wait a second to cool and pop that beauty into your mouth.

Excellent Hot and Sour Soup not too starchy with good sour balance

Fresh Crunchy Garlic Green Beans

Chicken Fried Noodles – a little light on seasoning but nothing a bit of soy can’t fix

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Dump Day! – Dumpling House Restaurant (Temple City)

Canela — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:43:21 +0000

Next on the Sister’s tour of San Gabriel Valley is… Dumpling House Restaurant (Temple City) (nice website). Dumpling House Restaurant serves authentic northern style Corten Chinese food. Northern style Chinese cuisine is known for its noodles and dumplings. This is because the cold climate of the north is much more suitable for wheat while rice flourishes in the warm southern climate.

Wow, we loved the big comfortable room and the large menu selection. We were excited to find a place we could bring the dumpling-phobic members of our family; there’s something for everyone here. But the big bonus was… BEER AND WINE! (Next girls night out, yeah)

The food? Great. I can comfortably recommend this spot. We’ll definitely be back and try some more of the non-dumpling options. UPDATE – On our second visit with the kids we must say we were a bit disappointed overall the food seemed a bit greasy so I must amend this by say it can be spotty.

Garlic Vinegar Cucumber Salad- fresh, light, good starter

Kim Chi- solid

Fried Pork Dumpling- OMG! Excellent.

Boiled Fish Dumpling- very good but no one holds a candle to our beloved Kingburgs.

Green Onion Pancake- Soo good I forgot to snap it before we dove in. I think this is my favorite GOP; crispy, flakey, chewy!

Mandarin Style Beef Chow Mein- Lovely; not oily or over sauced, great balance of light and hearty. This made me want to try some of their other options. Can’t wait to bring my noodle obsessed daughter.

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Adventures in Exotic Groceries – Square Market

Canela — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:14:31 +0000

After our visit to the food court Sis and I went for a stroll through Square Market (formerly 99 Ranch ) in Rosemead. I hear this is smaller and less glorious than 99 Ranch in San Gabriel but it was still quite exciting to me. Check it out…

Oooh Shrimp balls!

Fresh Sashimi!

Large Live Maine Lobster $6.99 a pound! I’m so tempted to get a lobster pot but still squeamish about having to actually kill it. I may have to get over that.

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Dump Day! – East Dumpling King

Canela — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:46:36 +0000

Oh how I look forward to Wednesday’s, our beloved Dump(-pling) Day …. and now that I’m on a serious health kick this little cheat gets me through those lean days…..

Anyway, as I’ve said before, shopping in Asian markets and dumplings are two of my favorite things in the whole world. So imagine my glee when I stumbled upon Square Market (formerly 99 Ranch) in Rosemead; a two for one-derland. You see, Square Market has an attached food court and this ain’t your typical pizzahut/taco hell kind of joint. This food court is populated with an assortment of Asian “mom and pop” stands. A veritable cornucopia of culinary wonders, although I admit there’s really no ambiance to speak of- this is a down an dirty experience.

Last time I went to the market I was lucky enough to grab a quick snack at East Dumpling King which kept calling me back so, I knew I had bring Sis. East Dumpling King is run by one lady who does it all, takes your order and cooks it from scratch. They also sell frozen bags of dumplings. YUM!

The unassuming yet delicious East Dumpling King

Beef Roll- This is by far our favorite Beef Roll of all that we’ve tried, crunchy, chewy, succulent…we still dream about it.

Pan Fried Pork Dumplings- Another winner right up there with Luscious Dumplings.

Juicy Pork XLB’s- nice respectable but compared to the rest of the meal just aiight.

The secret black vinegar, soy and chili sauce given to you premixed

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Newport Tan Cang

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:57:40 +0000

House Special Lobster-Full Monty!

Garlic Pea Shoots-Tasty Grass

Clams with Basil-Succulence

Salt and Pepper Shrimp-Crunchy Goodness

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