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*New owners - now Xu's Wonton House*Probably against better judgment and sanity, Viv and I ventured out to Crystal Mall for some shopping and eats. If you haven't been to the food court here, you are missing out. There are gems to be found here on the cheap. Originally Vandelay had written up a post on Wang's; but being the control freak that I am, I decided to do my own. When we think of good Xiao Long Bao in the GVRD, there are a few places that come to mind such as Lin, Shanghai River, Shanghai Wonderful, Chen's, Top Shanghai and #1 Shanghai. However, I believe some of the best can be found at this food stall tucked in the back
of the food court. Normally, there is a lineup here and whenever we see a lineup, the food has to be either really good or really cheap. Both were true in this case.We got an order each of Xiao Long Bao and Potstickers. Since they are made fresh and cooked to order, we had to wait 10 minutes. Once we got the xiao long bao, the darn things were steaming hot. We delicately picked each up (with a spoon and chopsticks) to prevent an epic fail where all the juice leaks out. And boy there was a lot of sweet, non-fatty, meaty juice inside.
The dumpling skin wasn't ultra-thin; yet it was still very easy to eat. The potstickers were equally good. Nicely fried up on the bottom and with a good amount of meaty juice inside as well, these just plain tasted good. For less than $4.00 each, I believe these are some of the best values around. On another visit, we had the XLBs again and they were solid once again. Skin was a bit thicker; but not a huge issue. We decided to try something different and got a bowl of Dan Dan Noodles. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of the noodles. They were soft and the flavour was too subtle. Sure, there was both sesame and peanut for me 
to see visually; however, there was no impact whatsoever. It was slightly sweet with not much in the way of savoury or spice. For me, I'll just stick to the XLBs. I know I sound like a broken record regarding the parking. Yet, if you choose to park in the underground circular parking lot with only one way in and out, be prepared to be frustrated at the people who do not know how to drive or park a car.The Good:
- Really good xiao long baos
- Cheap
The Bad:
- Long lineups
- Crazy parking lot at Crystal Mall
Wang's Shanghai Cuisine
Crystal Mall Food Court
4500 Kingsway
604-909-6688
6 comments:
This was the place Jen mentioned to you, Sherman. Her mom loves this place and spends far too much of her time milling around the food fair there. Instead of your usual unruly group of teens hanging out at your standard food courts, Crystal mall is crowded with middle to retirment aged ladies milling about waiting for their dumpling fix.
This of course, provides me no comfort, I'm equally disturbed by both of these crowds. If not for those siu long baos, I'd be keeping my my distance.
Yes, I go to this food court and especially for these siu long baos almost weekly!
Tip to avoid many clueless drivers at the parking lot: drive and park at the outer circle of the parkade instead of the inner one.
How cheap is cheap?
Well, if you know our dear friend, Sherman, you will know that "cheap" is indeed cheap. He's all about value. Ask him about the time he got his laser printer for $10 (with free shipping included). And this printer purchase was years ago, so when he says cheap, its cheap!
$3.75 for 5 dumplings.
Yes, that printer was a great deal. The replacement toner cost more than the printer, so you would buy another printer instead of a toner for a refill.
I actually get the refill toner which costs $8.
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