soup dumpling magic

Sometimes, I really should know better.

A month ago, some friends and I went on the prowl for soup dumplings near the office, having caught word that a Shanghainese restaurant near I-90 had a terrific rendition of xiao long bao. For some reason, I ignored that voice in my head telling me that great soup dumplings (along with great dim sum) simply don't exist in the Seattle area. I really should have listened to that inner voice. I won't mention the venue we visited (I don't like posting negative reviews)... suffice it to say that instead of delicate dumplings filled with explosive broth, we had mass-produced, frozen, gummy/chewy nuggests of disappointment which ultimately sent two in our group home ill for the day.

Yes, such exploits are best reserved for Vancouver... or more specifically, Richmond, our own little culinary mecca of Chinese food to the north. For that purpose (and really that purpose only), we hopped in the car and happily drove 150 miles, pulling into a nondescript strip mall for what we'd heard were some of the best soup dumplings in all of the greater Vancouver area. Destination: Chen's Shanghai.

Within 30 seconds of being seated, I knew we were in for a treat. Through a window into the left side of the kitchen, we watched as a woman deftly formed and rolled out handmade dumpling wrappers, one after another, with nothing more than the dough, a weathered wooden dowel, a rolling pin and an experienced touch.

This hand crafted care translates directly into the resulting xiao long bao. Unlike lesser versions, the dumpling skin is both resilient enough to hold the broth without disintegrating (no cabbage lining the bottom of the steamer here) while simultaneously being delicate enough to practically melt away in your mouth upon your first bite. The broth is clean and pure, bursting (literally) with glorious seasoned pork flavor... but not at all heavy. Amazing. Our eyes are bugging out as we have half a dozen each.

These may very well be the best I've ever had... certainly the most extraordinary dumpling wrapper I've ever consumed for xiao long bao. All served in the most ordinary of restaurant settings, with a customer base full of regulars who know the owner and a staff that still warmly welcomes first timers. They know how good their dumplings are, and their happy to watch people experience it for themselves.

They say that Shanghai Wonderful, around the corner, has xiao long bao that can go head to head with the ones here. We'll head there next time and find out if that's possible.

Have I mentioned how much I love Vancouver and Richmond?

Chen’s Shanghai
8095 Park Road
Richmond
604-304-8288

phenomenal ramen... in charcoal

There are certain foods that warrant a life-long search for perfection. The ultimate pain au chocolat... opulent, pristine sushi... a life-changing burger... freshly made ramen...

That's right, ramen. I'm not talking about the instant stuff (although there is a place for that too; thank you Momofuku Ando). No, I'm talking about fresh, hand made ramen, epitomizing everything that is good about noodles (and pasta in general). Silken exterior, slightly toothsome texture, in any one of a variety of carefully slow cooked, flavor packed natural broths. The subject of one of my favorite movies of all time and the inspiration of fanatics around the world... you can have the best bowl of ramen in your life and it only makes you want to keep searching even harder for the next bowl that might just top it.

Being in Seattle, our standby ramen house is Samurai Noodle. Great noodles, super rich tonkotsu broth (if a bit on the salty side) and a great little space where devotees can concentrate on slurping rather than chatting. But Vancouver has always been reliably dominant for asian food, so we figured we'd make ramen part of our quest on our day trip this weekend.

The undisputed king of ramen in Vancouver is Daiji Matsubara, who runs the always jam-packed Kintaro Ramen and the more forward-thinking Motomachi Shokudo, both just steps away from each another on Denman. Motomachi uses a chicken broth, rather than the much richer and more intense pork broth typical of ramen joints, balanced by just a bit of fish broth. But the restaurant is most known for its signature ramen in a broth of bamboo charcoal.

Intensely dark, like squid ink, the flavor of the broth is striking. Packed with complex flavors--rich chicken broth, bamboo, light smoke--the broth's medium body also keeps it from weighing you down. But to make sure you don't miss the richness of pork broth, the bowl includes the most decadent slice of simmered pork ever... meltingly tender, unreal, magnificent. And the noodle texture was simply amazing. Totally balanced, giving the most pleasing mouthfeel... the best I've had. A master is at work here.

But did I really just eat charcoal? What gives? Well, charcoal powder is apparently used in some traditional dishes from Kyoto and is thought to be a healthy ingredient that can absorb toxins and aid in digestion (due to the many small pores and cavities in each particle). Kinda sounds like you're turning yourself into a Brita filter to me, but hey, the flavor definitely works. Come to think of it, I felt great after the meal and pretty energetic for the rest of the weekend... maybe there's something to this after all...

Motomachi Shokudo
740 Denman St.
Vancouver
604-609-0310

In search of the $100 "baguette"

Some time ago, Lav was reading in her Vancouver city guide that Urban Fare, an upscale market in the Yaletown district of Vancouver, carried baguettes flown in from France, and that these "authentic" treasures could be yours for the simple price of $100 each. Now I know that Yaletown has quickly become a super trendy, ultra-monied neighborhood--Maserati and Ferrari sightings are not uncommon--but that was just about the dumbest, most unneccessarily extravagant thing I'd ever heard. So of course, I wanted to see it for myself.

Things have been relatively busy of late, and somehow three months have passed since our last visit to Vancouver. We always start our Vancouver day trips with a pain au chocolat from Cafe Besalu en route to a magnificent Vancouver-area dim sum excursion (reason enough to make the trip). This past weekend, we set our sights on the Richmond location of Sun Sui Wah. One of the things I like best about surveying the dim sum scene in Richmond/Vancouver is that there doesn't seem to be a clear-cut winner for which restaurant has the best dim sum; instead, each restaurant has its own unique strengths. Whereas Kirin (Richmond) has amazing steamed items and luxurious dishes (dumpling in shark's fin soup), and Sun Sui Wah (Vancouver) has a special touch with fried items, the Richmond location of Sun Sui Wah has mastered the element of texture.

Among the highlights were a spectacular dish of sauteed pea shoots and abalone mushroom, perfect pan-fried daikon radish cakes (lo bak go, 蘿蔔糕), incredibly velvety rice noodle rolls with shrimp (蝦腸), an impressively thin and delicate wrapper on the har gao (蝦餃), and unctuous tofu skin wrapped around pork (sin jyut gyun, 鮮竹捲).

We next took a little detour through the Punjabi Market area of Vancouver, a colorful commercial corridor full of Indian shops, restaurants, and grocery stores reflecting another dimension of Vancouver's diversity. We stepped into All India Sweets (half buffet restaurant, half dazzling array of colorful confections) to pick up a variety of sweet Indian treats, like milky Barfi flavored with pistachios and almonds and topped with varak (edible silver leaf), flaky Sohn Papri, rich Kaju Katri, and golden Besan... seems like Seattle should have a place like this, but I haven't found it yet.

We somehow always have fantastic luck with our trips to Vancouver. So far, we've never been stuck with any real waits at the border, and this time, I narrowly dodged a speeding ticket on the way up. We also were blessed with an unexpected spectacularly sunny day... which made for an ideal afternoon of roaming around Yaletown.

We found Urban Fare and eagerly stepped in to confront the $100 baguette in all its wastefully elitist ridiculousness... only to find out that it wasn't a baguette... it was a giant 4 pound sourdough round made by Poilâne. And it wasn't $100. It was $40. Ok, so it was a giant $40 loaf that would probably cost $20 from a domestic bakery... expensive, but not the evil exclusive extravagance I had expected. Even more disarming, it is sold by the half loaf ($20), quarter loaf ($10), and even by the slice ($1.50)... dang it... it's downright accessible! And hey, ten Canadian dollars used to be like eight bucks in the U.S.... next thing I knew, I was buying a quarter loaf to bring home. Alas, I'd become the very thing I had intended to mock...

Yaletown has all sorts of other distractions... lots of unique boutiques, furniture stores, bookstores and galleries... there's even a nifty Mini showroom. Definitely go inside and sit in one of the cars... the folks there are super friendly and laid back.

Yaletown is also full of interesting objects and textures... the area itself can give off a little bit of a snooty vibe, but if you look past that, there are some genuinely interesting natural visual features... really great if you want to snap some photos.

We randomly stopped into Ganache, an amazing patisserie run by Vancouver-born pastry master, Peter Fong. They happened to be celebrating their 4th anniversary, so we were treated to a whole host of samples of new dessert concepts. Decadent truffles with intense dark chocolate flavor, delicious pate de fruits, gorgeous macarons, modern interpretations of classic desserts... an amazing shop whose delicious offerings and incredibly friendly staff make it hard to leave.

Glancing at Lav's watch, we realized we had just enough time to make it to happy hour at Rodney's Oyster House, just a couple of blocks over. $1.50 oysters, a good selection of beer, and a comfortably low key atmosphere... much more so than most other restaurants in the area. Never a bad way to whet the appetite for dinner.

Our last stop was for an early evening sushi excursion. We visited Yoshi on Denman. I was hoping for a small, sushi-only bar with an intimate, down to earth atmosphere. This was not that place. What Yoshi does offer, though, is spectacularly fresh fish (much of which is flown in from Tokyo) in the hands of expert sushi chefs. Particularly good were the geoduck sashimi salad with peppery daikon sprouts, a smooth and decadent ankimo in ponzu, truly excellent amaebi, pure and clean saba, and sweet local uni.

As an added bonus, I got to see Tak-san, our chef, methodically dispatch a live lobster for sashimi, which can be difficult to do properly without damaging the delicate flesh. All in all, a full, fantastic day trip... and time to head home.

So how was the not-quite $100 Poilâne round, with its stone-ground flour, wood oven pedigree of "retro-innovation"? To be honest, it was actually pretty good. Dense, consistent crumb, hearty nutty whole wheat flavor with a subtle sourdough backdrop (made with a starter that is over 150 years old) and a good, chewy crust. Worth the money and effort to fly it in directly from France? Probably not in this day and age, when we have such amazing local bread artisans in the U.S. But fun to try nonetheless... so, mission accomplished... sort of.

Sun Sui Wah
102 4940 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC
866.683.8208


All India Sweets Restaurant
6507 Main St.
Vancouver, BC
604.327.0891


Urban Fare
177 Davie St.
Vancouver, BC
604.975.7544


Rodney's Oyster House
1228 Hamilton St.
Vancouver, BC
604.609.0080


Ganache Patisserie
1262 Homer St.
Vancouver, BC
604.899.1098


Yoshi on Denman
689 Denman St.
Vancouver, BC
604.738.8226


Some info on shops in Yaletown.

our monthly Vancouver "day" trip... 24 hours this time

We're continuing our quest to try all of the best dim sum spots in Vancouver/Richmond, and it's turning out to be an awesome excuse to stop by what is quickly becoming one of our favorite cities. On our most recent trip up across the border, we came up with a pretty decent 24-hour itinerary:

8:30 a.m. Cafe Besalu

Get your day started with pain au chocolat perfection at this quaint Ballard bakery. An 8:30 a.m. visit should have you there before the crowds get to their usual insane lengths, but don't linger for more than one double tall americano... hit the road by 9 a.m. so you can get through the border crossing in time for dim sum.

10:30 a.m. Peace Arch - Blaine, WA
Smile at the officer, bring your identification, don't make any jokes. When they ask you why you're going to Canada, tell them the truth... you're going to eat your way through the city.

11:00 a.m. First stop: Dim Sum (Richmond or Vancouver)
This trip, we hit the Vancouver location of Sun Sui Wah so La Verne could compare it to the Richmond branch. According to La Verne, the Richmond location is clearly superior. That's not to say this visit wasn't without its highlights. Among them:

Braised tofu with enoki mushrooms and nori. Deep fried tofu topped with enoki mushrooms and wrapped with nori, then braised in a rich, thickened chicken broth. Warm and satisfying, with a soup-like consistency from the absorption of broth into the tofu and enoki.

Deep fried savory taro dumpling (mashed taro, stuffed with shiitake mushrooms, shrimp and pork). Sun Sui Wah has a special skill with the fried items. The exterior of this dumpling was impossibly crispy, comprised of an effervescent lattice of texture. Not at all greasy (which tends to be the norm with this dim sum item at lesser places)... really superb, clean flavors.

Deep fried glutinous rice dumpling. My absolute favorite, this is pretty much the greatest dim sum item ever... magically transcending the barriers between sweet and savory, chewy and crispy... a profound study of mind-bending contrasts. Again, showcasing Sun Sui Wah's mastery of deep frying, I've never had a version of these dumplings that was quite as impossibly crispy on the exterior while at the same time having only a minimal amount of residual grease.

12:30 p.m. Chinatown Markets
After enjoying your dim sum feast, walk off the meal by touring through the Chinatown area in Vancouver. You'll come across all sorts of interesting food products; some of them are pretty tame, others more adventurous. Pay attention to your whereabouts, as Chinatown is adjacent to some of the grittier parts of Vancouver. We spotted a couple of used hypodermic needles by the sidewalk just a few blocks from these dried squid:

Fresh live blue crabs... a little odd to see these on the west coast. They must have been flown in from the Atlantic.

You'll also see some slightly more intense things, like this bucket of live yellow eels (the adult form of the American eel). Random fact: females can reach a maximum length of five feet, and males grow as long as two feet.

Dried gecko, anyone? Used for medicinal purposes (lung and kidney ailments), these geckos supposedly have a seafood aroma, with a very salty flavor.

Taiwan fungus, supposedly rich in nutrients like iron... and "delicious." A health food item eaten primarily to treat heart disease.

Ah, and back to some sights of things we're more accustomed to, like these roast ducks hanging in the window of the butcher shop.


1:30 p.m. Head off to Stanley Park
Stay active and explore the expansive forested sanctuary of Stanley Park. At just about 1,000 acres in size, Stanley Park is one of the great urban parks in North America, just a mile from downtown Vancouver. You could spend hours here exploring the forest and the waterfront by car, foot or bicycle. We visited just in time to catch the tail end of the intense, symphonic array of fall colors.

4 p.m. Some light shopping on Robson Street and hitting Yaletown for happy hour

Take a bit of time to check out the shopping scene on Robson (H&M is coming in the beginning of 2008, ensuring that Lav will be ready to visit at any time), then head over to Yaletown, Vancouver's uber-trendy converted warehouse district. Lots of cool little boutiques to visit and a good smattering of bars and restaurants. Stop by Rodney's Oyster House for freshly shucked oysters... $1 each if you can make it before happy hour ends at 6 p.m.

8 p.m. Parkside on Haro
Vancouver has a fantastic dining scene and no shortage of very good restaurants. Parkside on Haro is one of the real gems among neighborhood restaurant options. Located just a few blocks from Robson Street, the restaurant is nestled in the lower level of a building along an otherwise wholly-residential street. If not for the glowing blue sign, you'd probably walk right past it. Reminicent of an Upper East Side supper club from the outside, the place has tons of warmth and charm on the inside, casually sophisticated in its cuisine and atmosphere.

During our visit, Parkside was having its second annual Game and Wild Mushroom Festival, a great opportunity to eat some less common preparations. Our collective menu that evening:

Japanese mushroom consommé, wild boar gyoza
Napoleon of wild sockeye salmon, crisp potato, chive crème fraîche, pickled girolles and leeks
Quail ravioli with sage butter and black truffle
Paglia e fieno with wild boar bacon peas and chanterelles
Roast loin of red deer, celeriac purée, red currant jelly & mustard, brussel sprouts, bacon & walnuts
Panna cotta with wild mountain huckleberries

10:30 p.m. To the B&B
After dinner, head back to your bed and breakfast (instead of staying at one of the numerous posh but sterile hotels in the area) and relax with a bottle of scotch or port in the quaint charm of a slower, simpler Vancouver from days gone by.

The Barclay House is a good option, with comfortable and tastefully decorated rooms, champagne and fresh baked cookies when you check in, and a simple, flavorful breakfast to send on your way the next day, along with plenty of genuine smiles from the friendly staff.