We love dumplings, so Barb and I have got to try out the Yan Yun Juicy Pork Buns at Shanghai Yan Yun Dim Sum House (3755 Main Street, 604 873-8896). And the positive review in the Straight (which I've quoted below because you never know if/when they remove their archives or change their URL scheme which they've done at least twice in the last four years, the Straight desperately needs a Web 2.0 site!) helps a lot!
Owing to the cooler climate and landlocked geography of their origins, wrappers for northern dumplings (jiaozi) are largely made of wheat and the fillings are meaty with pork, chicken, occasionally beef, and hardy vegetables such as napa cabbage or Chinese chives.
One good example is the signature dish: the Yan Yun Juicy Pork Buns ($3.60). Artfully pleated and pinched at the top, they come six in a medium-sized steamer accompanied by a saucer of gingered-vinegar dipping sauce. The ground-pork filling is made with a gelatinous stock rendered from pork rind that melts inside the toothsome wrapper when the dumplings are steamed. Perfectly seasoned and textured, they are some of the best we've had on either side of the Pacific. But be warned: eat them with care. I suggest taking a small bite out of the wrapper and sucking out the juices before taking it all in.
For a different take on won-ton soup, share a bowl of Shanghai Style Mini Wunton ($3.95), cute little pork-filled won tons suspended in a clear broth adorned with strips of egg crepe and nori. Follow that with a northern-Chinese breakfast favourite, Beef Sesame Cake ($3.95). It's a crispy pastry pocket studded with sesame seeds and stuffed with five spicepoached beef and pickled napa cabbage, a wonderful mélange of flavours and textures, and fabulous with a bowl of warm sweetened soy milk ($1). Along the same line is the Pan Cake With Beef Roll ($3.95): two green-onion pancakes lathered with hoisin sauce and rolled up with spiced beef and shredded cucumber. Also excellent is the Fried Turnip Cakes ($4.50), which are the closest thing to puff pastry in northern-Chinese cooking, filled with grated daikon and seasoned with diced Chinese ham.
For the vegetarian: Pan Fried Buns With Chives ($3.60), two half-moonshaped pastries that look a lot like Jamaican patties, filled with chopped Chinese chives and cellophane noodles. Also look for the Green Onion Cake ($2.95 for two) and vegetable spring rolls ($3.95 for four).
Altogether, Yan Yun's menu features 30 or so items of dim sum; a dozen small plates of Shanghai-style appetizers such as chicken in wine sauce, Nanjing-style salted duck, and spicy sliced pork in garlic sauce; more than a dozen noodle soups and dishes; and a good repertoire of typically Shanghai-style dishes. Variety won't be a problem. It also sells a collection of dim sum from a bank of freezers at the back of the restaurant to steam, fry, or bake at home. Just ask for a cooking-instruction sheet from the cashier.
SHANGHAI YAN YUN DIM SUM HOUSE 3755 Main Street; 604-873-8896. Open Thursday to Tuesday 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
