Content area
Full Text
Chinese Dumpling House Delights With Each Morsel
EXECUTIVE DINING
in Tai Fung, the famed Chinese dumpling house, opened two weeks ago at South Coast Plaza (entrance on the upper level next to Sears). I surmise that, having heard the buzz about its international reputation, the crowds will flow.
This location follows three in L.A. County and two in Seattle, plus more than 70 in nine other countries. The global expanse of these restaurants that dote on Shanghaistyle food is a family affair. It began with grandfather Bingyi Yang in Taiwan in 1958 (the family was originally from mainland China), and two generations later, it's still run by the Yang family.
Xiao Long Bao, the menu item for which the restaurants are most noted, are the beloved small Chinese dumplings made with a delicately twisted outer skin holding a bite-size mix of meat that gives up some broth inside the wrapping when they are steamed. They come in a bamboo steamer basket, from which we gently lift each one onto a Chinese soup spoon and drizzle it with a tad of soy-vinegar-slivered ginger mix. The trick is to bite a tiny hole in the side of the dumpling and suck out the juice, then devour the dumpling itself. Otherwise, you'd either find the juice splattered on your shirt or bum the inside of your mouth if you popped one in whole.
The quality of simple Shanghai-style eggfried rice is a guideline by which Chinese often test the skill of a chef.
Here, it is perfection, as is the clean, simple house chicken soup. My husband Patrick is from Shanghai, and he was in a heavenly place with these two items.
The rice dish must begin with perfectly precooked rice, each grain separate and not overcooked, with scrambled eggs and scallions tossed together in a searing wok.
This rice is clean tasting, with the most delicate balance of flavors. We had our fried rice topped with fresh shrimp, adding another layer of serious taste.
The soup, slowly cooked for hours with small pieces of chicken with bone, is absolutely bursting with fresh flavor-delicious. Food like this illustrates abundantly how terrific unpretentious food can be.
But there are 64 items, plus several desserts, filling out the...