Sunday, September 30, 2012

Bai Jiao Yuan (100 Dumpling Restaurant)


People in China love their dumplings. There are different types, and for each type, there are different types of cooking methods. On top of that, the filling can be whatever the chef wants it to be. For example, there is the jiaozi, guotie, wonton, goubuli, or xiaolongbao. The methods can range from steaming, to deep frying, to pan frying, and cooking them in a broth. Just by seeing how many types there are, you can notice the popularity with them. That’s why I wasn't surprised to hear that one of the most popular restaurants in Tianjin is one dedicated to dumplings. Sure, they also serve other food, but the dumplings are the main attraction.

One of the Chinese students took me here and I absolutely loved it. Walking in, you can see a little room where all the dumplings are handmade. We sat down, and I let the other student order. When the food started coming out it all smelled delicious. First came out some pork feet, which are better than they sound. Following that was the curried pork and tofu, which was incredible. I absolutely love anything with tofu so I may be a little biased. 



Then came what we came for; the dumplings. There were many fillings within the dumplings, and they all look the same from the outside, so I won’t post many pictures. The fillings we got were shrimp and pork, cabbage and pork, chicken and corn, and curried pork. They were all delicious but my favorite was the one filled with pork and shrimp. We also got a type was completely deep fried and filled with egg and leek. I wasn't a very big fan of that one though. I prefer the texture of the steamed ones more.





Overall, this was a great experience. I loved the whole concept of the restaurant, and the food was very good. It was a nice way to get involved with one of China’s favorite food, and it made me appreciate the culture a bit more. Hopefully, I’ll get to try as many dumplings as I can before I leave so I can get a full sense of what they are all about. Until next time.


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