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Tucking into yummy bite-sized wonders
By Xu Wenwen |
November 24, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE dumplings are delicious whether you prefer them fried, steamed or boiled. There are different types of dumplings but as a general rule people eat jiaozi in northern China while in southern China wonton is more common.
Despite both typically consisting of ground meat and/or a vegetable filling stuffed into a wrapper, jiaozi have a thicker, chewier skin and a flatter, more oblate shape. Wontons have thinner skin, are crescent-shaped and are usually served in broth.
Wonton is popular in the Yangtze River Delta, as well as Guangdong and Sichuan provinces. They can be served as a snack or a main course.
In Shanghai and Hangzhou, wonton filling is most often made with minced meat and vegetables served in broth. Usually the soup has tiny dried shrimp, dried purple seaweed, preserved pickle and some other ingredients.
Also in Shanghai and Hangzhou, there's a clear distinction between small wontons and large wontons.
The small ones are casually wrapped by closing the palm on a wrapper with a dab of pork and vegetable filling as if crumpling a sheet of paper. These are popular accompaniments to breakfast or brunch fare.
The large wontons are carefully wrapped and a single bowl can serve as lunch or a light dinner. They are available with a large variety of fillings, including pork, shrimp and all kinds of vegetables, though typically shepherd's purse and bok choy.
Many fast-food chains serve wonton, but there are also many good "hidden" eateries that serve some yummy wonton.
Shanghai Daily visits seven wonton restaurants in Hangzhou.
Old Wonton King
At the south side of the crossing of Jianguo and Fengqi roads, several wonton restaurants line along the street, and Old Wonton King is the oldest.
It opens daily from 5:30pm to 3:30am the next day.
The busiest time is around midnight when many people come for a snack.
They only sell large wontons with all pork stuffing or pork with vegetable stuffing, which are made to serve with broth, sauce, or are deeply fried. They cost 7 yuan (US$1.1) to 8 yuan.
The broth includes tiny shrimp, seaweed, pickles and two quail eggs.
The restaurant also sells duck head braised with soy sauce, it's a big seller, for 6 yuan each.
Address: 146 Jianguo Rd
Wonton Restaurant
This restaurant does not have a real name, it just put the characters for "wonton restaurant" on the gate. But don't let that fool you, this tiny eatery is always busy during meal times.
It opens daily from 6:30am to 9pm, but it's fairly common that they sell out of wonton before 8pm.
The wontons are good because the restaurant picks nice ingredients - the pork they use is meshed shoulder meat, one of the best parts of a pig.
The owner also buys seasoning at a supermarket instead of a wholesale market. The restaurant only sells fresh wonton made that day.
There are seven varieties of wonton priced from 9 yuan to 11 yuan.
Address: 599-1 Qingtai St
Baomei Snack Restaurant
The restaurant is open daily from 6:30am to 1:30pm and sells typical Hangzhou dim sum such as fried buns and small wonton.
Owner Zhao Baomei said she followed her grandfather's secret wonton recipe. The restaurant's small wonton is stuffed with pork, costing 2 yuan per bowl, and a fried bun costs 0.4 yuan.
Since the restaurant has been in business for 20 years, it has become something of a local meeting venue for people in the neighborhood. Expatriates can get a glimpse of how local people live.
Address: 1 Xiahexia Rd (near Daxue Rd)
Fat Guy's Shaobing Restaurant
This restaurant is known for its shaobing, a baked, layered flat bread with sesame seeds on top. It's a typical Chinese breakfast. The chef stuffs slices of hot pork into shaobing for a savory and spicy taste.
Shaobing is recommended to go with the small wontons. The soup has all the regular seasonings plus the scraps of fried wonton skin. It is the only place in town that does it this way.
Fat Guy's is open daily from 11am to 11pm, and shaobing costs 2 yuan to 3 yuan while a bowl of small wontons is 3 yuan.
Address: 188 Wensan Rd (beside the gate of Xuejun Middle School)
A Gen Wonton Restaurant
A Gen Wonton Restaurant is so small that there are only three tables. Still, it's a great place for wonton on Wangjiang Street, an old street that also features the former residence of Hu Xueyan, a business tycoon in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Most customers sit on stools while slurping up their wontons. It's funny to see adults sitting on children's stools while eating. Many customers drive over in their BMW or Mercedes-Benz to get their hands on these wontons.
It is open daily from 5:30am to 12:30pm, and a bowl of small wontons costs 3 yuan while the large one is 5 yuan per bowl.
Address: 210 Wangjiang Rd
Xiaotianjiu Hong Kong-Style Dessert Shop
The dessert shop mainly sells Hong Kong-style desserts like milk custard, yogurt and sorbet, but it is also serves northern China-style wonton because the chef is from northern China.
Theses wontons are larger and cost 10 yuan per bowl. The wonton skin is chewier than the local ones and it is filled more with vegetables than pork, making the wonton semi-transparent green.
Address: Rm 102, No. 18 Bldg, Zhijietansi Lane (the lane is opposite to Intime Store on Yan'an Road)
Dingshun Snack
Dingshun Snack sells Hangzhou-style breakfast and almost everybody here orders two things - wonton and a fried bun.
The restaurant has been in business for 25 years and charges a fair price, 2 yuan for a bowl of small wontons and 5 yuan for a bowl of large wontons. Despite only selling breakfast, it is usually quite busy until 1pm, when it closes.
Address: 5-12 Huimin Rd
Despite both typically consisting of ground meat and/or a vegetable filling stuffed into a wrapper, jiaozi have a thicker, chewier skin and a flatter, more oblate shape. Wontons have thinner skin, are crescent-shaped and are usually served in broth.
Wonton is popular in the Yangtze River Delta, as well as Guangdong and Sichuan provinces. They can be served as a snack or a main course.
In Shanghai and Hangzhou, wonton filling is most often made with minced meat and vegetables served in broth. Usually the soup has tiny dried shrimp, dried purple seaweed, preserved pickle and some other ingredients.
Also in Shanghai and Hangzhou, there's a clear distinction between small wontons and large wontons.
The small ones are casually wrapped by closing the palm on a wrapper with a dab of pork and vegetable filling as if crumpling a sheet of paper. These are popular accompaniments to breakfast or brunch fare.
The large wontons are carefully wrapped and a single bowl can serve as lunch or a light dinner. They are available with a large variety of fillings, including pork, shrimp and all kinds of vegetables, though typically shepherd's purse and bok choy.
Many fast-food chains serve wonton, but there are also many good "hidden" eateries that serve some yummy wonton.
Shanghai Daily visits seven wonton restaurants in Hangzhou.
Old Wonton King
At the south side of the crossing of Jianguo and Fengqi roads, several wonton restaurants line along the street, and Old Wonton King is the oldest.
It opens daily from 5:30pm to 3:30am the next day.
The busiest time is around midnight when many people come for a snack.
They only sell large wontons with all pork stuffing or pork with vegetable stuffing, which are made to serve with broth, sauce, or are deeply fried. They cost 7 yuan (US$1.1) to 8 yuan.
The broth includes tiny shrimp, seaweed, pickles and two quail eggs.
The restaurant also sells duck head braised with soy sauce, it's a big seller, for 6 yuan each.
Address: 146 Jianguo Rd
Wonton Restaurant
This restaurant does not have a real name, it just put the characters for "wonton restaurant" on the gate. But don't let that fool you, this tiny eatery is always busy during meal times.
It opens daily from 6:30am to 9pm, but it's fairly common that they sell out of wonton before 8pm.
The wontons are good because the restaurant picks nice ingredients - the pork they use is meshed shoulder meat, one of the best parts of a pig.
The owner also buys seasoning at a supermarket instead of a wholesale market. The restaurant only sells fresh wonton made that day.
There are seven varieties of wonton priced from 9 yuan to 11 yuan.
Address: 599-1 Qingtai St
Baomei Snack Restaurant
The restaurant is open daily from 6:30am to 1:30pm and sells typical Hangzhou dim sum such as fried buns and small wonton.
Owner Zhao Baomei said she followed her grandfather's secret wonton recipe. The restaurant's small wonton is stuffed with pork, costing 2 yuan per bowl, and a fried bun costs 0.4 yuan.
Since the restaurant has been in business for 20 years, it has become something of a local meeting venue for people in the neighborhood. Expatriates can get a glimpse of how local people live.
Address: 1 Xiahexia Rd (near Daxue Rd)
Fat Guy's Shaobing Restaurant
This restaurant is known for its shaobing, a baked, layered flat bread with sesame seeds on top. It's a typical Chinese breakfast. The chef stuffs slices of hot pork into shaobing for a savory and spicy taste.
Shaobing is recommended to go with the small wontons. The soup has all the regular seasonings plus the scraps of fried wonton skin. It is the only place in town that does it this way.
Fat Guy's is open daily from 11am to 11pm, and shaobing costs 2 yuan to 3 yuan while a bowl of small wontons is 3 yuan.
Address: 188 Wensan Rd (beside the gate of Xuejun Middle School)
A Gen Wonton Restaurant
A Gen Wonton Restaurant is so small that there are only three tables. Still, it's a great place for wonton on Wangjiang Street, an old street that also features the former residence of Hu Xueyan, a business tycoon in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Most customers sit on stools while slurping up their wontons. It's funny to see adults sitting on children's stools while eating. Many customers drive over in their BMW or Mercedes-Benz to get their hands on these wontons.
It is open daily from 5:30am to 12:30pm, and a bowl of small wontons costs 3 yuan while the large one is 5 yuan per bowl.
Address: 210 Wangjiang Rd
Xiaotianjiu Hong Kong-Style Dessert Shop
The dessert shop mainly sells Hong Kong-style desserts like milk custard, yogurt and sorbet, but it is also serves northern China-style wonton because the chef is from northern China.
Theses wontons are larger and cost 10 yuan per bowl. The wonton skin is chewier than the local ones and it is filled more with vegetables than pork, making the wonton semi-transparent green.
Address: Rm 102, No. 18 Bldg, Zhijietansi Lane (the lane is opposite to Intime Store on Yan'an Road)
Dingshun Snack
Dingshun Snack sells Hangzhou-style breakfast and almost everybody here orders two things - wonton and a fried bun.
The restaurant has been in business for 25 years and charges a fair price, 2 yuan for a bowl of small wontons and 5 yuan for a bowl of large wontons. Despite only selling breakfast, it is usually quite busy until 1pm, when it closes.
Address: 5-12 Huimin Rd
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