Chinese Dumpling House

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Chinese Dumpling House

Location: Commerce Gate (505 Hwy 7)

Access: Along VIVA bus line, public parking available

Price : $6 - $15

Blogsters' Rating: 4/5

Chinese Dumpling house is located in one of the oldest Asian plazas Commerce Gate in Markham among many other restaurants. I personally love Chinese dumplings so we come here quite often. Let's take a look at a few of our favourite dishes!

Sliced Pork Belly With Garlic Soy Sauce

For starters, we ordered the pork belly cold dish. This is a classic Sichuan dish that is very well known. The pork has a good distribution of fat and meat but it was not the smoothest and softest pork belly we had. The garlic and soy sauce was very flavorful but I wish the garlic was less chunky. A finer grind would give the dish a better distribution of flavour.  

Meat Balls in Hot Pot (AKA Lion's head) 

This hot pot consists of giant ground pork meat balls known as lion's head, nappa cabbage, vermicelli glass noodles, red dates and green onions in a special broth. Lion Head is another classic Eastern Chinese dish that I've always loved since I was a kid. This meat ball cooked in a savory broth was one of our favorite dish from this meal. The meatball had a perfect texture that wasn't too stiff or too mushy. We had it as if it were a soup and it was delicious!   

Spicy Grilled Fish

I am not a big fan of fish but this dish was an exception. It was fried to a crunchy coat and soft meat  and everything down to the bones were edible. 

Shredded Cucumber and Pork with Starch Sheets

This appetizer is a popular classic North Eastern Chinese cold dish. It consists of a translucent starch noodle mixed with some pork, cucumber, carrot, eggs, parsley and black fungus topped with sesame/ peanut sauce and soy sauce to taste. This is one of my favourite dishes as it is very refreshing for a hot summer day. The portion was larger than I expected too, very good for sharing.

Steamed Pork and Chives Dumplings

There are many different varieties of handmade dumplings to choose from at the Dumpling House but the pork and chives dumpling is our all time favorite! They come out fresh from the steamer and hot soup oozes out once you take the first bite. I can never get enough of dumplings.  

0

Super Spicy Szechuan Cuisine at New Greatime Corp

New Greatime Corp. (Szechuan Chinese Cuisine)

Location: 3875 Don Mills Road, North York 

Access: Public Parking available, Along TTC bus line

Blogsters' Rating: 3.5/5

Located in a small plaza in North York, New Greatime Corp is a Chinese restaurant that serves  Szechuan Cuisine. In case you're wondering, Szechuan Cuisine is known for their super spicy and tongue numbing dishes and that is exactly what we're here for! 

For appetizer, we ordered a cold dish which is shredded potato in hot and sour sauce. This is one of my favourite Szechuan dishes! It is indeed very appetising. Although this wasn't as spicy as I expected it to be but it was refreshing.

A main dish we ordered was the famous boiled fish fillet in chilli oil (or better known as water cooked fish). You can feel the spiciness by just looking at this picture! Some might find this dish too oily but this is a traditional Szechuan dish that you must try! The fillet had a very soft and smooth texture which I liked and it was marinated to the right level of saltiness. Underneath the fish is a layer of nappa cabbage which i think is the most spicy part of the dish as it absorbed all the chilli oil but it's oh so yummy!  Remember to eat this with a bowl of rice and a can of ice cold coke. You won't regret it. 

We decided to order a non spicy dish just to be safe and we got the Surimi and egg with Broccoli. This is another famous Chinese dish that you must try in your life time. This dish in Chinese literally means 'Comparable to crab meat' although crab is not an ingredient in it. Traditionally Egg white and fish meat is used to create a texture and fresh seafood taste that resembled fresh crab meat but over time, different adaptations came in and ingredients such as surimi ( imitation crab meat) and broccoli were introduced. The raw egg yolk is added last and diners would mix it in with the egg white along with red vinegar. The egg yolk gives it a smooth texture while the vinegar brings out the fresh taste of the imitation crab meat.

The restaurant's name in Chinese means the Coming together of Spiciness and Aroma which very much reflect the dishes they serve but its English name made me a little confused. Nonetheless this is a legit Szechuan restaurants in the neighbourhood with quality Chinese food which I enjoyed. I would return again to try other dishes. 

0