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2009-01-28
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Quarry Bay has many small hidden joints. Here on the same street leading up to a few busy greengrocers, we could find an Indian place, a Western eatery and one that supposedly claim the trophy of "Soup Filled Bun...Anytime after 2:30pm is not a good time to visit, as the kitchen closes until dinnertime comes. I was here that day when the owner invited me in, only if I don't mind eating without the light on. I ditched the seemingly comfortable booths and opted for a table closer to the window. Lu
Noodle Soup with Braised Riblets was my prime selection after some considerations to unavailable dishes (the more elaborate ones). An order of steamed soup-buns is a must. The noodles arrived, broth steaming, with a lone spot of green in the bokchoy and a sharp reddish brown pile of riblets on the top, against a milky broth. To my surprise the broth tasted bland, but I found myself slurping up noodles by the bunch. The braised riblets were cooked through nicely through prolonged simmering on the stovetop, with a slight caramel sweetness in the finish, even the cartilage gave way to bite. If there was anything, they were too 'chopped', as I would imagine riblets to be a little bit more chunky. Soy-milk was the complimentary. It's housemade but tasted slightly sweeter and despite ordered 'hot', it's only tepid.
The anticipation of soup-filled buns was extinquished by the sight of a bamboo steamer arriving and being set in front of me. Uncovering the lid revealed 4 scrumptiously rich soup-filled buns so filled-up. The wrapper was thin and the juices ran clear from inside out, tasting of napa cabbage, chicken and pork. It's also lighter and leaner than most soup-filled buns. But the smaller lump of pork filling was the perfect size for a soup-filled bun as it's about the soup, and the thin wrapper, not a big chunk of meat the size of a baby's fist like the ones you see elsewhere. Tempted to dip into Chinese Black Vinegar with juliennes of ginger, I held my chopsticks against the pleaded wrapper, dangling on the soup filled bun to make sure the steaming soup didn't leak out...This, was surprisingly fun.
I also realized 4 ways of eating soup filled buns to prevent the soup from spilling.
1). You place the soup bun on a spoon, take a bite from the top and let cool slightly. Then you proceed with the rest of the dumpling, in small bites.
2). You carefully pick up the soup bun with your chopsticks, make a small bite on the side, tilting the dumpling on one side supported with the spoon. Then let cool slightly and proceed.
3) You flip the dumpling with the pleaded side (thicker) on the bottom, held by the spoon. Then with small bites you can swallow the soup before proceeding.
4). Let cool slightly, and put the entire dumpling -- soup and all -- into your mouth. Embrace the scrumptiousness altogether.
All in all, the dumplings were good -- structure wise the well-filled soup buns were remarkable, and what made it better was the balance it bears with thin wrappers, proportional pork filling and the soup as well. Now this place certainly deserves some recognition from lunch crowds here, and I'll consider coming back at some point, to try other dishes as well...
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