July 22, 2012
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Taipei…..Last Stop – Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall - was our last stop for this trip. The must-see event is the changing of the guards ceremony which happens every hour. During our visit, there were throngs of crowds, mostly from Mainland China, jousting for a good vantage point watching the ceremony…..The entrance to the Memorial Hall Square…..
A panorama of Memorial Hall Square, with the National Concert Hall (right) and the National Theater (left)…..
The Representatives of the armed forces guarding the main hall…..
A very short amateurish video of the ceremony…..
Back To L.A. – Random Eats - I was craving for Xiao-long-bao and stumbled upon this small mom & pop place. They offer similar dishes to Din Tai Fung, and even has an open kitchen so everyone can see the chefs making xiao-long-baos. Wang Xing Ji is the first American branch of a popular dumpling house in Wuxi, a lakeside city about 45 minutes out of Shanghai. Actually, Wang Xing Ji is the dumpling house in Wuxi, almost a century old, the one restaurant every guidebook seems to mention. Wuxi cooking is sometimes considered one of the 14 essential styles of Chinese cooking, although it seems mostly by people from Wuxi. The dishes are famous for their sweetness — on the menu at this San Gabriel Wang Xing Ji, it is the unsweetened dumplings, of which there are not many, that are marked with cautionary stars. The entrance is nothing fancy…..
Each table has a speical cautionary sign for the juicy dumplings…..
The see through kitchen…..
First course – Appetizer – cold cucumbers in sesame oil…..
Tofu slices…..
Smoked fish…..
Xiao-long-baos…..
Single serving large size xiao-long-bao…..
How to suck the juice out of this gigantic siao-long-bao…..
Overall, the smaller Xiao-long-baos may not be as precisely machined as the ones at Din Tai Fung, but the thicker wrappers are soulful somehow, engineered to absorb just enough black vinegar. The idea of sweet pork may be vaguely repellent, but the traditional xiao-long-baos wins every time. The sweetness brings out the slight wild flavors of the pork and oniony seasonings; the unsweetened ones seem colorless and bland. The lunch tab came to approxiamtely US$15 per person, which is quite reasonable and I’ll definitely try this place again!
Comments (13)
I think I know what I’ll have for lunch today. *LOL DTF here I come.
More pictures! I love how sharp the picture is on the smoked fish. I also hope you take more videos (and longer ones). btw – I’m surprised that there were a lot of mainland Chinese at the Chiang Kai Shek memorial. I would have thought they would stay away.
@beowulf222 - Sounds good, and I think you have several locations to pick from, right?
@ElusiveWords - Yeah, I thought so too, this must be part of the drop off routine for a day tour within the city. And BTW, the iPhone photos turned out pretty good!?
You always make me hungry! hmmmp lol
I was very impressed with the video of the changing of the guards. And the food pics….a feast for the eyes indeed. I am emailing this to my husband.
@oxyGENE_08 - More coming! Haha
@ZSA_MD - I’m sensing a future trip to the Orient is in the works for you guys? (Think Taiwan)
how woud you rate wang xing ji against din tai fung? i often find china-style dumplings skin too thick, in comparison to taiwan-style/hong-kong style thinner skin. hence always prefer the thinner skin. however, judging from the pics, i think i would still able to gorge them down easily
As always, delicious pictures. I’m curious as to what line of work you’re in that allows you to travel so often- you’re clearly doing something VERY right!
@rudyhou - Yes Rudy, you are right about that. The skin is little bit thicker, and the juice is more intense than DTF. I have found the DTF in LA has really bland tasting xiao-long-baos, after eating those in Asia. My taste buds have been spoiled! LOL
@secade - Thank you, I work in the real estate field….Hey, you’ve managed to live and immerse in a foreign country, that’s as good as a vacation! I want to do that too!
@CurryPuffy - yeah, when the real stuff has always been here in asia, one can safely expect less than perfect when encounter it outside the continent of asia.