| Author |
Message |
bleucheese
Veejay
Joined: Aug 01, 2003
Posts: 2000
Location: this side of the tracks
|
 Posted:
Apr 23, 2005 - 04:11 PM |
 
|
| Post subject: Taiwanese dumplings? |
Ive been over Chinese food for quite sometime now. Last week, I had a meeting with the boss out in Suzhou and he insisted I leave my habitual brown bagged lunch and 'enjoy' a local restaurant with him. I was extremely skeptical as Suzhounese food...is not to my palate.
We ended up going to a joint called (I think) Ding Tai Fung. The card also says Shanghai Guangcheng Restaurant. Apparently, they also have a Shanghai Branch.
Not only was the place surprisingly clean (my number one complaint in local restaurants), but the food was excellent. I was blown away by the beef soup with noodles (pardon my ignorance- thats the best i can do with a description) and of course their specialty- the dumplings.
Delectable! I think I put away at least 3 dozen.
My questions: Has anyone been to the Shanghai Branch? Any good?
Is there a better place to enjoy these 'taiwanese dumplings'?
How are the different from local ones?
BC |
|
|
|
|
cks69
Ranter
Joined: Aug 06, 2004
Posts: 562
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 23, 2005 - 04:51 PM |
|
|
Din Tai Fung is well-renowned. Their flagship store is in Taipei and they also have stores in HK and Shanghai. The one in Shanghai is also pretty good, but not as good as the one in Taipei or HK for that matter...I never knew they had one in Suzhou...but the one in Shanghai is worth trying. If you are really into dumplings I'd also suggest trying 大娘水饺... |
|
|
|
|
|
Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 23, 2005 - 09:09 PM |
|
|
Ding Tai Feng in Taipei is absolutely excellent. They don't take reservations. You just queue up outisde and wait your turn. The entrance takes you right through the kitchen, and the walls above the work areas are set with mirrors, letting you see exactly what is happeningon the bench. They are proud of how spotless the place is. I remember their sticky rice in bamboo leaves with pork (粽子 - zongzi) as being outstanding. Really simple tasting. No extra flavorings. Just the flavor of the pork and the rice and the leaf. The xiaolongbao, beef noodles and wontons are all good. Nothing disappoints.
I've somehow never made it to the Shangahi branch. Heard mixed reports about it actually. But I must check it out sometime.
That style of steamed dumplings are originally from around Shanghai, not Taiwan. But yeah, Dingtaifeng does them better than anywhere else I have found. Gotta love the Taiwanese eh?
Didn't realize they had a branch in Suzhou.
BTW, I wouldn't recommend 大娘水饺 (da-niang shui-jiao). OK if you want to fill up on some cheap dumplings (shuijiao style ones, that is, water boiled rather than steamed). But not high quality or anything. I think some of the little dongbei restaurants do much better shuijiao than 大娘水饺. I used to like the one on the north side of Fuxing Road, between Xiangyang road and Shanxi S road. Just a scruffy little hole in the wall place, but a plate of 'lao hu cai' (a kind of cucumber, tomato, pepper and corriander salad) + shuijiao (I like the beef and coriander) + a beer makes for a cheap and tasty meal. |
_________________
[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
|
|
|
|
cks69
Ranter
Joined: Aug 06, 2004
Posts: 562
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 25, 2005 - 12:27 PM |
|
|
大娘水饺 definitely isn't as good as dintaifung, but yeah, its cheap and they have a good variety of dumpling types - vegetarian, chicken, lamb, beef, pork, shrimp etc. and yes, boiled, not steamed...decent IMHO. |
|
|
|
|
|
Anniboodk
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 2788
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 25, 2005 - 02:48 PM |
|
|
I go to the 大娘水铰 (daniang dumplings) on Nanjing Rd (E) at least once a week, it's a great place for a cheap lunch. And it's a 3 minute walk from my office. I always get the "cabbage and pork dumplings" and a bowl of "vermicilli and beef soup".
Another place that has really good dumplings (wontons actually) is Gill's Wonton. They are a chain that is all over the place, yellow awning with a red little dumpling. Their Shanghainese wontons are the best that I've had in Shanghai. The only exact address I can think of is the one in Huai Hai Park, right next to Times Square. It's a cheap hole in the wall, but absolutely delicious.
Sorry, going off topic, back to Ding Tai Feng. Never tried it, but sounds very promising. |
_________________
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken over there? I am going to eat the next thing that comes out of its butt." |
|
|
|
|
Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 25, 2005 - 08:03 PM |
|
|
Can we please differentiate 'cheap and decent' from 'really good'.
Gill's Wonton is far from being really good quality. If they are the best wonton's you've had then please do yourself a favor and go try some really good quality wontons.
However, for the price you certainly can't criticize Gill's Wonton. Good free delivery service too. My only criticism is that they often run out of the good flavors.
Gill's Wanton near my place used to have such a cute little wonton delivery girl. "Number 703" she was. I never knew her name. Always smiling as she cycled around with her wontons. Whenever we ran into each other she's say hello. Nicest person in my neighborhood by a mile she was. She went back to Hunan a few months ago. These days Gill Wonton gets delivered by this scruffy scowling spitter from Anhui. The new 703 isn't a patch on the old one. In fact I wonder if the new "Number 703" isn't slightly retarded. Oh how I long for the old "Number 703". Recently I've pretty much stopped getting Gill Wonton to avoid visits from "the dreaded spitter". |
_________________
[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
|
|
|
|
Anniboodk
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 2788
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 26, 2005 - 07:51 AM |
|
|
Kiwi, I totally hear you on Gill's wontons not neccesarily being tip top quality. However, I still think that they are the best Shanghai style Wonton's around, especially the pork and preserved eggs one!
The best wonton's I would say are Hong Kong style wontons with a really really thin wrap and crystal shrimps inside, have yet to find really good HK style ones in Shanghai. The ones at Bei Feng Tang and Zen are crap. The ones at crystal jade are semi-ok. Would love it if you could recommend somewhere good. Thanks. |
_________________
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken over there? I am going to eat the next thing that comes out of its butt." |
|
|
|
|
Magnolia
Board Biatch
Joined: June 01, 2004
Posts: 31091
|
| Posted:
Apr 26, 2005 - 08:19 AM |
|
|
| Annoboodk wrote: |
The best wonton's I would say are Hong Kong style wontons with a really really thin wrap and crystal shrimps inside, have yet to find really good HK style ones in Shanghai.
|
I am not sure if they are good, although a coworker from HK swears by them... a restaurant on Xiang Yang Road, right across from the market, basically at the intersection of Nanchang Road. Has a black facade, although I always forget the name of it. Very noticable though. Right near Punjabi and next door to a hair dresser. Whenever I have eaten there, I have walked away happy. The owner is from HK, the place is large and clean and so far, things have been good. |
_________________
BOYCOTT BENSON SALON |
|
|
|
|
Anniboodk
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 2788
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
Apr 26, 2005 - 08:24 AM |
|
|
Magnolia, I think I know which restaurant you are talking about, I think they have a bunch of pictures outside with the owner and all sorts of HK movie stars! Thanks for the tip. Will give it a try. |
_________________
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken over there? I am going to eat the next thing that comes out of its butt." |
|
|
|
|
Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
May 04, 2005 - 09:54 PM |
|
|
I went to the HK place by Xiang Yang Market today. It was called 沙田 (sha tian) or something similar.
Unfortunately they had run out of prawn dumplings! Had a fried beef rice noodles （干炒牛河) instead, with a 鸳鸯 ('yuan yang' - or mixed coffee & tea).
The noodles were not bad. The rice noodles themselves were a tad sub-par, but in Shanghai rice noodles always are. The beef was quite good. Bit over salted, but not too oily. Better than average for Shanghai.
The yuan-yang was awful, a pale imitation of the real thing. It was made with a coffee creamer type mixture instead of evaporated milk! Obviously it was watery and awful. Weird. |
_________________
[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
|
|
|
|
okido
Rocker
Joined: Sep 14, 2003
Posts: 667
Location: A planet called Earth
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
May 05, 2005 - 02:22 AM |
|
|
Brief story about Ding Tai Fung:
A 21yo young man from Shan Xi province came to Taiwan around the time KMT retreated to Taiwan in the late '40s. He started a small business selling cooking oil with his wife. Around the '70s, Ding Tai Fung gave up it's cooking oil business and entered restaurant business by selling steamed dumpling, noodles, etc. It was a small and unknown restaurant in the "mainlanders" neighborhood (people immigrated to Taiwan around late '40s). Their products aren't anything special. Many mainlander families know how to make those food. But, high standard in quality control and process make Dingtaifung stands out and excel. Soon Dingtaifung become a must-go for many families in the weekends, for people to entertain friends from overseas, for tourists to taste traditional Chinese food.
Dingtaifung also is ahead of time in marketing. By advertising on in-flight magazines between Taiwan and Japan, Japanese tourists came by buses and queued for tasting the set-menu (steam dumplings of various choise, beef broth, fried vegetables, noodles) since the mid '90s.
Quality is still the key for thir success. If you ever visit and dine at Ding Tai Fung, don't forget to count the number of folds on each steamed dumpling. You will find each and everyone are with same number of folds. Although it doesn't affect the taste, it shows you how serious they are about quality. |
|
|
  |
|
Anniboodk
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 2788
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 07:25 AM |
|
|
Bumping this thread since I have just found the most amazing dumplings in the world. Granted it is in a hole in the wall place but it is just the tastiest place ever! They serve "guo tie" which is a thick skinned fried dumpling with delicious soup and meat inside. Soooo good.
The place is Chinese so I forgot the name but it's on guang xi bei lu which is a side street to Nanjing pedestrian street. If you are walking from peoples square to the bund. You'll see the no 1 food store, guang xi bei lu should be the first street on the left after the no 1 food store. Walk two blocks and you'll see a red awning, there will be a guy outside cooking the dumplings. A definite must try!
You buy them by the "liang" which is 4 in this case and they cost RMB 1.5/liang. |
_________________
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken over there? I am going to eat the next thing that comes out of its butt." |
|
|
|
|
bleucheese
Veejay
Joined: Aug 01, 2003
Posts: 2000
Location: this side of the tracks
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 07:49 AM |
|
|
Yummy.
Me love dumplings longtime.
And thanks for the intel that Ding Tai Fung is now in Xintiandi. We'll have to schedule a meal there soon! |
|
|
|
|
|
Bellam
Reacher
Joined: Sep 06, 2004
Posts: 222
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 09:12 AM |
|
|
Ding Tai Fung in xintiandi is pretty good, their chicken soups are fantastic also, pity that I tasted the MSG in it, but it’s still yummy (the chicken soups in HK DingTaiFung has no MSG) Their dumplings are just devils, had put away my diet plan and swallowed at least dozen....I was in heaven with those devils....
But it can’t compare with the Ding Tai Fung in Taipei, although I had waited for nearly 2 hours but since the moment I look at my dumplings, I realized the feeling of love in first sight....same mouthful size, crystal like...yet very juicy and just different than the other Ding Tai Fung.....that full mouth of happiness just reminded me how lucky I was..... |
|
|
|
|
|
dfoo
Post Roaster
Joined: Jan 19, 2005
Posts: 4140
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 09:50 AM |
|
|
We went to a really great dumpling place the other day... corner Changde Lu, Xinzha Lu. It has giant iron cannons outside, and inside the place has seats made from tree stumps. The dumplings were steamed, not boiled.
Matthew |
|
|
|
|
|
bleucheese
Veejay
Joined: Aug 01, 2003
Posts: 2000
Location: this side of the tracks
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 09:53 AM |
|
|
^ Been there. Its right near my house. VERY tasty. Cheap too! |
|
|
|
|
|
PKMAN
Barker
Joined: Jan 21, 2004
Posts: 137
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 12:26 PM |
|
|
My family just went to Gubei's Ding Tai Feng a few days ago and it was very good. Not quite as good as Taipei's, as many others have pointed out, but still better than any xiao long bao I have tasted here in China. We also went to Xintiandi's Ding Tai Feng before and it was equally good, but Gubei has more menu selections on other foods.
okido - my dad is a retired (mainlander but went to Taiwan at young age....now live in USA) chef that used to work in a restaurant where Mr. Ding Tai Feng sold cooking oil to. A few years ago when my dad went back to Taiwan, Mr. Ding Tai Feng treated him. No line, no waiting and as many xiao long bao as he could stuff his belly with. Lucky guy....
My dad, being a genuine Shanghai-cuisine chef, has very high standard for food. Yet he confirms that there's not xiao long bao like Ding Tai Feng's xiao long bao... at least of all he ever tasted and he has tasted a lot of xiao long bao in his culinary career. What a compliment! |
|
|
|
|
|
Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 01:36 PM |
|
|
| Anniboodk wrote: |
| Bumping this thread since I have just found the most amazing dumplings in the world. Granted it is in a hole in the wall place but it is just the tastiest place ever! They serve "guo tie" which is a thick skinned fried dumpling with delicious soup and meat inside. Soooo good. |
I might be wrong, but I am pretty sure that you are describing 'sheng jian' not 'guo tie'.
Aren't "guo tie" more like the flat ones, made from a thin sheet of noodle dough (i.e. like a wonton), that is wrapped roughly around a meat filling (creating a type of semi roll shape - a bit like a shuijiao made really roughly)?
"Sheng jian" should be basically like a fried version of xiaolongbao. That is, they are a meat (plus soup) filling, encased in a bread dough.
So far as I know you can't get a soup filling into "guotie" because "guotie" aren't even fully enclosed and anything liquid would just run out.
But maybe the names of these things are a little flexible. I'm not sure. |
_________________
[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
|
|
|
|
Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 01:41 PM |
|
|
It's been a couple of years since I've visited Dingtaifeng in Taipei, but I find the Shanghai branches very good. It beats the pants of any other supposedly good places. Those restaurants in the Yuyuan area are a complete joke, yet so many locals recommend them.
I guess when a restaurant with such high quality standards expands so rapidly you have to wonder a bit. But still I have been happy with Dingtaifeng here in Shanghai. The food is great.
Got to get back over to Taipei again one of these days and try the original again. |
_________________
[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
|
|
|
|
Anniboodk
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 2788
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 01:45 PM |
|
|
Kiwi:
Nope, It's not a "sheng jian", it's a "guotie" for sure. It says so on its sign and everyone who works around that area knows that place as the best "guo tie" place to go to.
The dumpling in question is shaped exactly like a "shuijiao", it's just got a thicker skin and it's fried. |
_________________
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken over there? I am going to eat the next thing that comes out of its butt." |
|
|
|
|
Kiwi
Post Boaster
Joined: May 07, 2003
Posts: 4763
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 02:43 PM |
|
|
Oh OK. . . I've never seen them with soup inside before. The standard shape for Guotie in most places I've had them is such that any liquid would flow out anyway (because they are open at both ends - similar to a shuijiao, but not 'closed'). |
_________________
[offensive signature removed by ADMIN] |
|
|
|
|
Anniboodk
Fire-eater
Joined: Feb 27, 2004
Posts: 2788
Location: Copenhagen
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 02:50 PM |
|
|
Seeing that I'm not exactly a food expert, I've probably mistaken the ton of meat grease for soup.  |
_________________
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken over there? I am going to eat the next thing that comes out of its butt." |
|
|
|
|
IAmNotYao
Reacher
Joined: June 16, 2005
Posts: 228
Location: Lost
Status: Offline
|
| Posted:
June 28, 2005 - 03:48 PM |
|
|
I've ate at Ding Tai Feng pretty much every location but have to say that of all places, the one in L.A. is the best, even better than Taipei...The one in Beijing is better than Shanghai too...but overall, extremely consistent food and taste, love it... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forum FAQ
Search
Preferences
Watched Topics
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
