Steamed hairy crab roe meat and pork
dumplings |
What makes Din Tai Fung's
baozi, steamed pork dumplings, the most expensive in Beijing?
Ten pieces of steamed hairy crab roe meat and pork dumplings costs 58 yuan
(US$7). One piece costs 5.8 yuan (US$0.7). Ten pieces of steamed pork dumplings
comes in at 38 yuan (US$4.6). This triples the price of the best Chinese
mainland baozi, gou bu li , which costs about 1.2 yuan (15 US cents) a piece.
The answer seems to be "good taste and making."
Steamed pork dumplings, what the restaurant is most famous for, comes wrapped
in light, thin wheat-flour skin. The pork filling tastes juicy and savoury. Be
careful of the first bite; the dumplings are so juicy, these tender morsels
might want to splash you.
This is called guan tang bao , steamed dumplings in soup. Patrons can see the
cooks preparing these delicate mouthfuls at one corner of the restaurant. They
are then steamed on bamboo racks.
Good guan tang bao should arrive completely intact when they are served, with
no cracks on the surface. Although the skin is thin, it should not break or
stick to the bottom of the container. Din Tai Fung's baozi passes the test with
flying colours.
Besides steamed pork dumplings, steamed mini-dumplings dipped into chicken
broth, and steamed hairy crab roe and pork dumplings are two excellent
variations.
Two of the most recommended dishes include steamed shrimp and pork shao-mai,
and double-boiled chicken consomm. The shao-mai is made with a thicker skin,
with a shrimp on top and pork inside. The chicken consomm, made with free-range
chicken, is boiled longer to make it still more tasty.
The Taiwan-based restaurant is famous for steamed dumpling and simple foods,
what the Chinese call "small eats."
Its simple menu in Chinese, English and Japanese is only two pages long.
Besides its specialties, it also offers soups, noodles, wontons, fried rice,
steamed buns and desserts, many other hot and cold dishes, and some ice creams.
There is a separate menu for wine, including Western red and whites, Chinese
wines, liquors, and beers, and two beers are Japanese.
The restaurant has branches all over Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Japan, and even one in the Unites States. In 1993, it was rated by
Ken Hom, of the New York Times, as one of the 10 best restaurants in the world.
Its Beijing branch is its 20th. Formally opened on November 26, the
restaurant is already packed with customers, many of which come from Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Japan, where the restaurant has a great following.
Location: No 22 Hujiayuan, Dongcheng District, to the northeast of Yu Yang
Hotel 22
Tel: 6462-4502
