A group of friends and I joined the frenzy one rainy Sunday noon. Given my preference for northern Chinese food, I hadn’t been to a Cantonese-style dim sum place in a long time. I let my friends do most of the ordering since they had been here before, I just sat back and prepared to eat.

Crispy shrimp cigars were spring rolls shaped like straws, with a single shrimp in each. They were so cute! The spring rolls were crispy and golden. Perfection.

Pan-fried pork and shrimp dumplings were a little burnt, but the wrapper held strong. The filling was average, mostly pork and chives with some little dried shrimps.

Pan-friend bean curd rolls had a vegetarian filling in a bean curd wrapper. The bean curd tasted surprisingly fresh.

Dessert in the form of steamed egg custard rolls arrived too early in the meal, but were light, fluffy, and not too sweet.

Steamed shrimp dumplings in a translucent wrapper sprinkled with roe, stuffed with plump pieces of shrimp. So tender, so delicious.

Steamed shrimp and roe shao mai, in a surprisingly tough egg wrapper. Not as tender as the steamed shrimp dumplings.

Jellyfish and mango salad was cold and refreshing. The biggest surprise? The jellyfish did not taste like canned jellyfish.

Steamed pork rice noodle roll. It was soft and delicious, especially with the light house sauce. If I knew how to make rice noodle rolls, I’d make them every day.

Another dessert that arrived in the middle of the meal, tapioca jelly cups, each with a different ingredient in the centre. One had red bean, one had egg custard (?), and one had a cream-coloured filling that I didn’t get to taste.

Coconut tapioca dessert, with chunks of real coconut, honeydew, canteloupe, and of course, tapioca jelly. Anything with coconut tastes good to me, and honeydew is only my favourite melon, so of course, I loved this.

Another bean curd roll, this time with a savoury ground pork filling that included wood ear (mu er).

This was also a steamed pork dumpling, but the wrapper is made of tapioca as opposed to flour. The filling did not hold together very well though.

The last to come was also the one we were dreading the most: curry octopus. One of my friends had ordered this on a whim/dare. It was a bad decision. The octopus was hard to chew and the curry was more messy than it was flavourful.

Desserts came at the same time as entrees, service was mediocre, but what do you expect from such a large banquet hall? At least the bathrooms were clean. The prices are reasonable, and (I am told) the quality of food is consistent, which is the biggest draw for its loyal customers.

Rating:

Dumplings (jiao zi) originate from the northern regions of China where rice is less common. Although they are considered an appetizer or “dim sum” in North America, they are actually a lone entree in China, especially during family gatherings, where everyone can help make the jiao zi before they are steamed. Savoury fillings usually consist of ground pork with some sort of vegetable, such as Chinese cabbage and chives. Mushrooms and other fungi family ingredients are sometimes included to enhance the savoury flavour. Dumplings are typically steamed, but a pot sticker is fried “on the bottom” and steamed “on top.”

Pot stickers

Ingredients:
Dumpling Dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
Filling:
8 ounces Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage)
3 tsp salt, divided
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
Other:
2 – 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Cut the cabbage across into thin strips (or use a food processor). Mix with 2 teaspoons salt and set aside for 5 minutes. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
2. In a large bowl, mix the celery cabbage, pork, green onions, wine, cornstarch, the remaining 1 teaaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and the white pepper.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour and 1 cup boiling water until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough on a lightly flour surface until smooth.
4. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a roll 12 inches long and cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices.
5. Roll 1 slice of dough into a 3-inch circle and place 1 tablespoon pork mixture in the center of the circle. Lift up the edges of the circle and pinch 5 pleats up to create a pouch to encase the mixture. Pinch the top together. Repeat with the remaining slices of dough and filling.
6. Heat a wok or nonstick skillet until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, tilting the wok to coat the sides. If using a nonstick skillet, add 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil. Place dumplings in a single layer in the wok and fry 2 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.
7. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook 6 to 7 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
8. Serve hot with vinegar on the side.

Duck stewed in Beer

Ingredients:
1 whole duck/chicken
1 bottle of beer (12oz)
1 head of garlic
2 tbsp ginger
2 star anises, broken up
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 stalk green onion
1/2 cooking onion, chopped
8 baby carrots

Instructions:

1. Chop the duck into big pieces with a cleaver. Slice the garlic and ginger.
2. Heat up the iron casserole pot and add some oil (1 tbsp). Put duck pieces in the pot, and stir-fry for 5 minutes till they become golden.
3. Add the garlic, ginger and anises, and then stir-fry for 5 minutes more.
4. Pour the beer in and boil for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, salt, sugar, onions, and carrots, and cook for another 5 minutes. If you are using chicken, you can stop at this point as the chicken will be fully done (the meat should be half-hanging to the bones). If you are using duck, continue to the next step.
5. Preheat the oven into 250F and put the iron casserole pot with the dish together in the oven to roast it for 1 hour. Then open the cover and add onions in it. It will be cooked after being roasted for another 15 minutes.

Kung Pao Chicken with Ssamjang

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 5 to 6 ounces each
Marinade:
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp ssamjang
Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tbsp gochujang
1/2 tsp Lao Gan Ma
Other:
small dried red chili peppers
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions (spring onions, scallions)
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cooking onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorn, optional
1/2 cup peanuts or cashews

Instructions:

1. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Combine with the marinade ingredients. Marinate the chicken for 15 minutes.
2. While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables. Cut the chilies in half so that they are approximately the same size as the chicken cubes. Remove the seeds. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Cut the green onion on the diagonal into thirds.
3. Heat the wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Stir-fry until it is 50 percent cooked.
4. Add the garlic and stir-fry until aromatic (about 30 seconds). Add vegetables, the chili peppers and the Szechuan peppercorn if using. Stir-fry until vegetables are soft (add water if needed).
5. Add the sauce to the wok. Bring to a boil. Stir in the peanuts and the green onion. Remove from the heat. Serve hot.

Fried Eggs and Tomato
Ingredients:
3 tomatoes
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
Oil

Instructions

1. Beat eggs and add in salt.
2. Slice tomatoes into sixths.
3. Heat up wok. Add oil to coat bottom. Fry egg (like scrambled eggs).
4. Add tomatoes when eggs are done. Add 1/2 cup water and sugar.

Other dishes: corn and cream of mushroom soup, beef and broccoli, stir fried Chinese greens.