Although jiaozi, Chinese dumplings, are available all over China and all over the world, it is said that the best dumplings are found in the side-street restaurants of Beijing. Any non-native Chinese who has made the trek out to beautiful Beijing will tell you that Chinese food in China tastes very different from Chinese food elsewhere. In fact, a true Chinese takeout aficionado munching on commercially made Chinese noodles or spring rolls in Egypt or the US will probably find Chinese food in China odd-tasting… even… "bad"!
Of course, that’s unfair – just because Chinese food has morphed to accommodate to the tastes of countries to which it traveled as well as the ingredients available in the market, doesn’t mean that Chinese food in China can be judged as the “other”. So, for anyone doubting the deliciousness of Chinese food from China – I recommend heading to the streets and looking for some good Chinese dumplings.
My trip to Beijing included a very memorable visit to a dumpling restaurant. Packed with Chinese people, along with large and loud Chinese waitresses, the bustling atmosphere at Dong Fang Jiao Zi Wang Orient King of Dumplings (whose sign is written only in Chinese) was both welcoming and intoxicating. Tray after tray of dumplings landed on the table – we were a group of 20. The dumplings arrived in different colors to help dumpling munchers discern what they would be biting into, but in all honesty, we were picking dumplings based on the reactions of those who has chosen them before and were leaving our palettes in the hands of fate.
Chinese dumplings in China come in three forms: in soup, known as xiǎolóngbāo; pan-fried, when they’re called guō tiē or "pot stickers"; and most recently, steamed – which means you’ll have to ask at the restaurant whether or not they serve steamed dumplings. The soup dumplings are meant to soak up some soup so take a bite out of your dumpling or stab it with a chopstick and dip it back in the soup to soak up some of the broth (if the dumpling is in broth). Otherwise, there is often vinegar and or some other option for dipping your dumpling before you eat it.
While Orient King of Dumplings was a great place to dumpling pop back in 2004, a little asking around has alerted me to two other Beijing dumpling spots. Below are the addresses of all three:
Dong Fang Jiao Zi Wang Orient King of Dumplings
Building 14, Chaoyangmennei Nanxiaojie, just north of Jinbao Jie
Shun Yi Fu
36-3 Ganyu Hutong (off Wangfujing), Dongcheng District
Laobian Dumpling Restaurant
Dong Dan North Street 3, Dongcheng District
