Joe’s Ginger, New York NY

Posted on April 1, 2014 by rundlea
Joe's Ginger Soup Dumplings

Joe’s Ginger Soup Dumplings

I was in the mood for soup dumplings so I decided to check out Joe’s Shanghai in New York’s Chinatown.  But in what seems to be a re-occurring theme when I try to go to soup dumpling hot spots, Joe’s Shanghai had an hour’s wait for a table.  So instead I headed a few doors down the street to their sister restaurant, Joe’s Ginger.  Luckily Joe’s soup dumplings and a host of other dumplings are on the menu at Joe’s Ginger.

The Dumplings:  I tried the pork soup dumplings, the crab and pork soup dumplings and the shrimp and snow pea leaves boiled dumplings. Continue reading →

Posted in Boiled, Chinese, New York City, Shanghai, Shrimp, Soup Dumpling | Leave a comment

Huffington Post on Bao

Posted on March 27, 2014 by rundlea

In an attempt to “shift the spotlight onto another Asian carb experience: the baozi…” The Huffington Post just posted “10 Reasons The Bao Is The Best Sandwich You’ve Never Tried“.  The posting is a typical “listicle” with little written content but a lot of mouth watering photos of bao.  They give a shout out to Wow Bao in Chicago, which I rated as “meh”.

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Pão de Queijo, Brazilian Cheese Buns

Posted on March 24, 2014 by rundlea
Photo Mar 19, 6 18 15 AM

Pão de queijo

I recently did a business trip to Rio and had hoped to find dumpling restaurants to report back on, but the trip turned out to be too hectic to do much Dumpling Hunting.  One of the dumpling-esque things I did eat a lot of were pão de queijo, which are small cheese stuffed baked buns.  These delicious buns are similar to small Bao, but use cassava flour and require no leavening.  The hotel I stayed at served them for breakfast every morning and they could also be bought from street vendors and coffee/snack shops all over Rio.  Pão de queijo are also popular in Japan, having been brought to Japan by the migration of Brazilian born ethnic Japanese who have immigrated to Japan.  In Japan they are made with rice flour rather than cassava.

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House of Xian Dumplings, San Francisco, CA

Posted on March 17, 2014 by rundlea
Xian_dumpling_maker

Making pot stickers at House of Xian

House of Xian Dumplings has a great selection of house made boiled dumplings, there is a guy continuously making pot sticker dumplings at a dumpling station at the side of the dining room and another chef in the back kitchen making the dumplings for boiling.  The city of Xian is in China’s central-northwest region and is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army statutes. Historically, Xian has had a large Muslim population which influenced the local cuisine, so lamb and beef dishes are more prominent in Xian cuisine than in Eastern cities. Continue reading →

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Fang Restaurant, San Francisco, CA

Posted on March 10, 2014 by rundlea
Soup Dumpling in the serving spoons

Soup Dumpling in the serving spoons

I ended up going to Fang Restaurant because it was close to the Cartoon Art Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, but it turns out this is not a good enough reason to go to this restaurant.  Fang is in the SOMA district which is home to a lot technology companies, as a result there were fair number of tech guys wearing executive hoodies, loudly talking shop.  I learned that being a direct report to founders of start-ups is no fun and there was a lot of gossip about which founding partners will be forced out of various tech companies during the next round of investments.  On the plus side Fang has a full bar. Continue reading →

Posted in Chinese, Potsticker, Soup Dumpling | Leave a comment

Bund Shanghai Restaurant, San Francisco, CA

Posted on March 3, 2014 by rundlea
Boiled Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

Boiled Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

The Bund Shanghai Restaurant in San Francisco’s old Chinatown is named after the old colonial business district along the Huangpu River in Shanghai.  It gets good reviews online and so it was the first place I tried during my visit.  Like a lot of restaurants in Shanghai the Bund provides a bowl of small crunchy peanuts as a free appetizer. Continue reading →

Posted in Boiled, Chinese, San Francisco, Shrimp | 1 Comment

Review of “Chinese Special Dumpling Flour”

Posted on February 27, 2014 by rundlea

I am busy writing up some posts from my trip to San Francisco but in the mean time check out Andrea Nguyen’s recent post over at Viet Word Kitchen. She compares Shenzhen Southseas Grains Industries “Special Dumpling Flour” to unbleached Gold Medal all-purpose flour for making dumplings.

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Makana Hawaiian and Japanese BBQ, NY, NY

Posted on February 17, 2014 by rundlea

Just a quick review before I head out on a business trip to San Francisco.  As its name suggests Makana serves Hawaiian and Japanese BBQ. The Hawaiian BBQ is served “lunch plate” style with sides of rice, mac and cheese, and salad, while the Japanese BBQ is Teriyaki served Bento box style with rice, California roll pieces, Shumai and salad.  I tried the Hawaiian Kalua pig, which was a mix of pulled BBQ pork and cabbage, which a definitely recommend.

Photo Feb 10, 7 28 46 PMThe Dumplings:  There are pork, vegetable and seafood gyoza available in the appetizer section of the menu and some of the dishes come with Shumai.  I tried the seafood gyoza which, judging by the flavor, seemed to contain a mix of shrimp and some white fish which had been processed together into a “seafood” filling.  The flavor was reminiscent of fake crab legs that are put into California rolls and I am certain these are a commercially produced, frozen dumpling.  The dumplings are deep fried, which in this case was not a bad thing at all.

The Dipping Sauce:  Makana serves a light ponzu style dipping sauce that has a slight spiciness to it, which pairs well with the seafood gyoza.

Location:  Makana is located in the Manhattan Valley neighborhood of Manhattan which is on the West side between Broadway and Central park between about 96th and 110th streets.  This area seems to be on an upswing with quite a few new bars and restaurants opening up over the last couple of years along Amsterdam Avenue.

Posted in Gyoza, Japanese, New York City | Leave a comment

Moshi Moshi, Northampton, MA

Posted on February 10, 2014 by rundlea
Photo Jan 31, 7 42 02 PM

Steamed Veggie Dumplings

Moshi Moshi is one of my favorite restaurants in Western Massachusett’s Pioneer Valley and is the best sushi restaurant on the Northampton-Amherst axis.   Sam, the owner and head sushi chef, knows all his regulars by name and often gives out samples of new sushi rolls he is trying out.  Sam and his wife are originally from Korea so they will also whip up Korean dishes for regulars.  Stand out dishes to try include; the spicy-crunchy-tuna hand roll, the okominyaki pancake, the tempura sweet potato sushi roll and the grilled mackerel.  The weekday lunch time Bento boxes are a great deal and another bonus is that he has a satellite radio tuned to a great roots reggae and ska channel. Continue reading →

Posted in Gyoza, Northampton, Shumai, Vegan, Vegetarian | 7 Comments

Sriracha Taste Test

Posted on February 9, 2014 by rundlea

The guy’s gear and gadget blog, Cool Materials, just did a Sriracha taste testing, that’s right Huy Fong is not the only game in town.  Although the much discussed “Greta Huy Fong Sriracha Shortage of 2014” never really happened it is good to know we have alternatives.  Spoiler alert: Shark Brand does not win.

I bring this up because Sriracha is my favorite pepper sauce for making dumpling sauce, it adds both pepper spice and vinegar tang to a dipping sauce.

My dipping sauce:
2 parts soy
2 parts rice vinegar
1 part water
a few drops of sesame oil
Sriracha to taste
slivered scallions

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