Food & Drink
Dec 9, 2010 at 4:00 am
Yes, I Know What Xiaolongbao Is, and Yes, I Have Eaten Xiaolongbao in Bellevue, and No, I Wouldn't Bother
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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
My mom buys frozen ones from some Chinese hole-in-the-wall operation uptown in a semi-abandoned plaza (in Toronto) and we steam them at home. Pretty good. But yeah, I guess I wouldn't know. 2 hours is fucking ridiiiiiiiiiculous.
Competition is key when fad foods are involved.
Good, fresh soup dumplings are a treat. Bad ones are the food equivalent of a leaky diaper.
we use to go to the Din Tai Fung in Taipei when I was little, and it was good. As their popularity grow, so did the price, and the line. I have not been to one in years.
I would like to give it a try, but I will probably go on a weekday ......
BTW, I think it was good that Ms West pointed out the shortcomings of this operation, but some of the comments didn't read like criticism, they were more like straight up bitching, nasty and unprofessional. The one that needs to calm down is Ms West.
To quote my other hero (someone you probably mock for being such a successful hipster), Anthony Bourdain:
"I've eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world, I would have a very, very, hard time finding anything more perfectly constructed than these.. ..if you measure this one food item against any single dish that any chef anywhere in the world makes, this is as good"
Thanks for the review though, this is what I had been reading on Yelp... not worth writing home about, but worth writing an article about.
Now, go out and join my XLB Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=57…), and for the record, the XLB I had was not even in China or Vancouver (little China), it was in Malaysia... :-)
I also make my own aspic for the soup by boiling a half pig's head and some trotters, instead of the chicken-stock and chicken wing thing. Mmmm... viceral.
Makes about 60 dumplings, easy. Froze the leftovers and steamed them up when we were craving them. Delicious. Screw 2 hours of waiting and a drive to $#%&ing Bellevue.
Seattlites rave about their locavore pasta-making restaurants that sell small appetizers for $15, and where all of the plates are the serving size of tapas. Why shouldn't a beautiful Taiwanese-Shanghainese restaurant be seen as in the same league?
Or.... If you want the huge portions of Cantonese food that has been marred from the time in the U.S. with the thick, pre-frozen dumplings that would be sub-par anywhere in China or Taiwan, please go to the ID. Then my wait is shorter.
I'm pretty sure Tony Bourdain says that kind of crap about 10 different dishes a month. Not impressive.
Lindy, I love you because your reviews are honest and hilarious, without fluffy language and a bunch of pomp and circumstance.
Two hours for fucking dumplings? You gotta be shittin' me.
Hell no.
I dont go to Bellevue.
Period.
/thread
I went to the new DTF in Bellevue a few weeks ago and was both pleased and a little disappointed. I think Lindy is absolutely correct that none of the xiaolongbao were served hot enough, although I didn't find any fault with the texture of the wrapping (of course, we didn't let them sit around very long either).
I completely disagree regarding our spicy shrimp and pork wontons (which were delicious), a tender wrapping and good balance of sauce and spicy.
I'm not sure what the deal is with their dumpling temperature control (perhaps they're trying to avoid lawsuits from N. Americans who are unfamiliar with the scalding hot internal temp of xiaolongbao?), whatever the reason, I hope they get it resolved and crank it up because the quality is already almost there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla…
Like many in this thread, I have been to Din Tai Fung in Taipei. They were definitely the best xiaolongbao I have ever had. There are many restaurants in the SF Bay Area that also do a great job with them. Surprisingly, in Shanghai, I had pretty crappy ones that were not small and not soupy, and this was from a place where Bill Clinton visited.
I have to agree with Lindy that the rest of the food at DTF is not that great and kinda overpriced. Also, don't expect good service there, because their main objective is efficiency. That's why the hostess and servers have the radio headsets.
@19: AWESOME.
You don't go to a Chinese place and order green beans unless your Chinese food taste is honed at Wild Ginger.
You didn't order the spicy beef noodle. Why not? That's where you might separate pretenders from contenders, and since you didn't, let me tell you they were as good as those in Taiwan or China. Wonderful noodles.
And if you knew a little more about what dumpling houses offer, you would know that it's actually most appropriate to order hot and sour soup at a dumpling house where it's not made to fool Amurrikans.
And...."rice cakes?" What the....WHUT? Why would you ever ever order rice cakes at a dumpling house, and then JUDGE THE SAID DUMPLING HOUSE BY THE VIRTUE OF ITS RICE CAKES?
Yes, Lindy, please YOU relax and don't try to review Chinese food next time. Stick to film or Gallagher shows in Bremerton, where your ironic timbre is spot-on.
Also, not sure where you ate, but except for the long wait it doesn't sound like din tai fung.
Oh, and #30, there isn't any actual aspic in them once they are steamed at all. The aspic-y stuff turns into broth. Don't be afraid.
[snicker]
Nice try, Lindy, but you can't fool me!
Please stop calling them xihoaihwewh. Even the chinese people I know and have dined with at din tai fung don't call them xciehgwoiahewa.
I believe Lindy should also use the term "white cheese" when reviewing Italian restaurants -- even my European friends don't use the word mozzzamarellia!
Also, not sure where you ate, but except for the long wait it doesn't sound like din tai fung.
I'm not sure how you arrived at this comment thread, friend, but let me direct you to an interesting article about little oriental soupy dumplings: www.thestranger.com/seattle/please-calm-…
I do agree. Xiao Long Bao is overrated as a food, especially at Din Tai Fung. The first and only time I went, I had high expectations because of 1. The long wait, 2. The multitude of positive reviews, and 3. The fact that it was legit Chinese food. I was unfortunately, disappointed and vowed not to eat there again. Not too sure why there's such a demand for them. They're small dumplings. It puzzles me.
I'm hoping that the steamed-rib-glutinous-rice-yam concoction that I've fallen in love with hits it big next. At least then I'll know what it's real name is because the joint I visit doesn't stand on the kind of formality that gives you real names.