Our first stop was Tasty Dumpling. I’d asked around and this was the only place I hadn’t heard of in the past; the other places, everyone talks about.

Once we went in, I was surprised; despite the small space, it was pretty popular and there were a lot of people ordering dumplings. They were out of the pork & cabbage dumplings, so we all ordered pork&chive dumplings, fried.

The order came out quickly – 5 dumpings for a mere $1.25 – and each dumpling was fried properly with a crisp bottom.

However, the flavor was lacking a little bit, and the skin a bit too thick. The meatwads could have been juicier, which was fixed with a quick dip in the dumpling sauce found in the bottles on the table, but … eh.

We also opted to try the boiled pork&cabbage dumplings, figuring that the innards would be the same as the fried pork&cabbage ones, except… you know, boiled.

They were not good. Actually, they were pretty terrible. Thick skins that were mushy, soggy from the boiling, and the inside was incredibly bland. The others were adding hot sauce to make them better, but I opted to just not eat anymore.

Our next stop was Prosperity dumpling, where I’ve heard many people say have the best Chinatown dumplings. Another tiny hole – even smaller than Tasty Dumpling, actually.

The pork&chive dumplings here were 5 for $1 (!!!) – yeah, you thought Tasty Dumpling was cheap; Prosperity is cheaper. Again, properly fried.

The skins were thinner, and the innards were juicy, tasty. These didn’t require any sauce. I really enjoyed these – I also got a cold soy milk (housemade) that was refreshing, though unsweetened – so be warned if you get it, it’s not sweet. The dumplings were much better than the Tasty Dumplings.

No outside photo because it’d started raining steadily by this time, but our next and last stop was Vanessa Dumpling, just down the street from Prosperity, and another place that people talk about all the time. In fact, I posted briefly about the 14th Street location when I posted about Crocodile Lounge, and TT has posted about the 14th Street location itself as well.

Vanessa’s was by far the largest of the three places, with an actual full menu of other items as well. We stuck to dumplings though, as we were starting to get full… Since they had both pork&cabbage and pork&chives, though, I split an order of each with BeerBoor. Pork and cabbage first, which I thought were alright.

Then the pork&chives. These were fried alright – I dislike it when they stick and the skin rips.

These were better than the pork&cabbage in my opinion, but I tend to prefer pork&chives (which I find more flavorful in terms of dumplings, though I like cabbage in general) anyway. They still needed a bit of vinegar (as you can see on my plate), so though these had more chives than any of the other places, the flavor was muted. The skins also weren’t quite as good as Prosperity’s.

After we left Vanessa Dumplings, the skies opened up and it poured torrentially on our walk to the train.  Eek.

Yvo says: While each place had its good points (Vanessa had the biggest seating area and an actual full menu of food items; Prosperity had easily the best dumplings, and were the cheapest), there was one clear winner. Prosperity Dumplings had the best dumplings in terms of overall taste and you can’t beat that price point. Yum!
all are good in their own ways, but Prosperity Dumplings had the best of the bunch

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Post tags: dumplings

The girls get together every Friday for dinner, drinks, whatever to blow off steam after a long work week, and on this particular day, Bosie Tea was chosen as the location.

Though the place was empty when we arrived and never filled up, the pastry case was lit up and welcoming. Service was attentive and friendly, and we were never ignored.

The menus were scattered with tea-related quotes. I thought this one was particularly cute. “Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn’t try it on.” Of course, in today’s day and age, how many people do you know who have a tea cozy? Shoot, how many people even know what one is? /shakes head (Full disclosure: I don’t own a tea cozy, though I grew up having them… and yes, I am sure I’ve tried one on in the past!)

Along one wall were shelves upon shelves of various loose-leaf teas.

Since all of us ordered standard tea service, and there were 6 of us, the towers were brought out with two tea services on each. We waited a little bit for our food, but I’d known going in that it would take a little while as the sandwiches are made to order after you order it.

On the top plate were two mini scones per person. Though this was on top, I ate these last, and as a result, didn’t really eat much since I was super full with everything else already.

The middle tier held our tea cakes and macarons. Everything is made in-house.

And on the bottom were our sandwiches.

Your choice of three; though AB and I (we happened to sit across from each other) chose independent of each other, we traded the one sandwich chosen differently from the other. Cucumber, salmon, chicken, and pickle & cheese. We both really enjoyed the salmon; the cucumber was very refreshing; the chicken was also very good… but both of us thought the pickle & cheese was odd. I’d expected a slice of cheese, but instead, it was shredded cheese. Granted, my experience with pickle&cheese sandwiches is very limited, but that wasn’t really what made it odd. I just felt the type of cheese and the type of pickle didn’t quite go well together for my tastes.

Jam and clotted cream for the scones, which I only used briefly… very tasty.

Last but not least, the cakes & macarons! I tried the salted caramel and the peanut butter & jelly, but unfortunately, the macarons were not up to snuff. The exterior didn’t have that crack I look for, and the filling was a bit greasy. The peanut butter & jelly one had a lovely taste to it though – it really tasted like pb&j – but the salted caramel slid around like it’d been warmed too much before serving/eating.  Maybe it was – afterall, it sat on the tower while I ate the rest of the food.  Either way, the flavor wasn’t bad, it was just the texture that really sent me packing.  On the other hand, though, the cakes were lovely – chocolate orange was rich, moist, and had a light chocolatey flavor. The lemon cake was also moist, and the citrus brightened the cake entirely. A great end to delightful tea service!

(Edited to add: Upon rereading this before posting, I decided to Google around to see what others have thought of the macarons.  I was incredibly surprised to discover first that other people whose opinions I trust found them to be fantastic, and second that the pastry chef responsible came to Bosie by way of Laduree.  Either my tastes and expectations are way, way off, or I had a bad batch.  I’m going to have to believe it’s the latter, because the exact things I look for in a macaron – specifically, the crack of the shell – were missing in my macarons [and my friends' macarons as well], but described aptly in the other reviews.  I suppose this just means I need to return to sample more macarons!)

Yvo says: Bosie Tea House is a lovely place to sit, relax, and enjoy tea service if you like that sort of thing. I love afternoon tea, tea sandwiches, so this place is excellent for me – and reasonably priced. The size of the place makes me think it would be a nice place to have a bridal or baby shower, too… which might just have to happen soon
recommended for afternoon tea service; those tea cakes are really awesome too!

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Post tags: cake, Macaron, sandwiches, Tea

When I saw housemade rhubarb strawberry soda on the menu, I knew what I had to get.  Imagine my shock when I realized I’d ordered an $8 soda.  Um.  It tasted good – like what it was supposed to – but $8 for a soda is just not acceptable.  I’ll make this at home next time with my once-a-season rhubarb bunch (in my CSA). 

One of the appetizers listed was housemade potato chips with I believe Roquefort cheese. These arrived quickly (there was no one else in the restaurant), hot and freshly fried… doused in the melty Roquefort.  I liked how crispy they were, but I would have preferred the blue cheese be served on the side.  It warmed and just… made the chips soggy eventually.  Wah. 

And then the main event arrived: fried chicken, with fried okra, mac&cheese… and three pieces of fried chicken.  Yum! 

The fried okra wasn’t quite as crispy as I’d have liked, and could have used a little salt.  A nice munch while eating the fried chicken, since I didn’t have to wipe my fingers to use a fork to eat them. 

The mac&cheese was a little too bland for me, with a very mild cheese used. 

As for the star of the show… the chicken.  Disappointingly, my favorite piece, the thigh, was missing.   

A breast, a drumstick and a wing piece appaeared, but the thigh… gone.

So I picked up a drumstick and began nomming. 

The chicken was juicy and flavorful.  Crispy exterior.  But it lacked something, a little oomph.  I thought it could be better, that while the meat was juicy, the exterior crisp… it lacked a bit of seasoning or salt.  A sprinkle of salt or a bit of seasoning in the batter would do this chicken wonders, it’s a shame that it was missing.  Maybe this was an off night?  I’m not really sure… But it’s also on the expensive side (not just the soda, but everything), so I’m not entirely sure when I’ll revisit.  Hmm. 

Yvo says: I love the fact that Bubby’s is open late, so you can get your fried chicken fix anytime you need.  I was too full for dessert after eating, but they also have a lovely pie selection.  Unfortunately, the chicken lacks in just that one area, and it’s definitely somewhat pricey, but given that you can go anytime you want… perhaps that’s justified.  Hmm.  Definitely some thought for me to return, but your reasons for going may be different from mine.  Lots of pie! 
middle of the road

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Post tags: fried chicken, soda

We decided that to try maximum goodies, we’d split a 3-taco platter and a grinder. 

First was the bulgogi.  Pretty tasty, with just the slightest bit of a kick from the drizzle of sauce on top. 

Spicy pork, which was again very tasty. 

Spicy chicken which I didn’t like as much as the other two, but a matter of personal preference (it was a little too spicy for me). 

We also ordered fries tossed with Old Bay seasoning.  While they were fine – I mean, they were fried properly, and the Big D’s Secret Sauce was good – they were clearly frozen, maybe Ore Ida fries?  Sysco?  And that’s fine, but I can make those at home, so next time, I’d stick to just the tacos and grinders, stuff they actually make themselves.  Though if you really want fries, you could do worse for $2! 

As for the grinder – an “Asian style hoagie sandwich” – I ordered the spicy pork.  It comes topped with pickled veggies, cucumber… sort of like a banh mi, but they are very careful to not call it that – and rightfully so.  People get really angry when you call sandwiches banh mi when they’re not. I’m one of those people. 

I liked how crisp the bread was on the outside, and the pork was juicy and flavorful enough to hold up to the bread.  I wished there were more pickled veggies, making their taste known, but overall, not bad.  Definitely filling for $7 (we paid $6 with the discount), so not a bad lunch.  If you’re a big eater, add on the fries. 

I’ve heard that the dumplings are also good, but we didn’t try those (I’m super picky when it comes to dumplings!).  I wonder if they make the dumplings themselves?  (Yes, I fully expect someone to answer.  Hahaha!) 

Yvo says: I’m interested to see how Big D improves over time.  I know that when he first started out, there was some constructive criticism about the chicken, and he took that into consideration and changed the recipe – which seems to have worked out well for him.  So while what we had was pretty good, I have faith that it will be even better as time goes on and they figure things out!  (This was back in mid-April that I went, so perhaps they’ve even already figured it out.) 
recommended – especially the spicy pork grinder

Check their Twitter for location info!

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Post tags: food trucks, sandwiches, tacos, trucks/carts

After Nom Wah, we decided to walk over to Cha Chan Tang, which was only a few blocks away.  A while back, StB told us about the Special HK Style Milk Tea, which was put into bottles that were then placed into buckets of ice, so as to not dilute the tea. 

We all ordered the special HK style ‘lai cha’ (literally, milk tea) for $3.95, though there were plenty of people around us eating dinner still.  The place was pretty bumpin’ on a Friday night, with people eating dinner, having specialty tea drinks, etc.  BB and I both commented on the taste; as it was not diluted and didn’t get more diluted as the ice melted, it was very strong, and almost bitter.  My tongue felt ‘dry’ after each sip; I think we both concluded that it was interesting to try, but at the end of the day, we preferred having the ice dilute it and make it smoother to drink.  This wasn’t our thing.  HB, BB and I all had adverse effects from the caffeine, too; I didn’t fall asleep until 4 or 5 am, which was a problem, as I had big plans for the next day (you’ll see soon on the blog!).  Boo. 

Yvo says: Though I won’t be going back for the special HK style milk tea, I did note a few dishes on the menu that fall into the HK cafe style of food that I really enjoy.  I will definitely be going back to try some of those, and to get a regular HK milk tea drink… or maybe going back earlier in the day so that I can have the excess caffeine not screw with my sleep schedule! 

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Post tags: Tea