A Bao Time

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

I'm sure you have noticed that many restaurants are pretty pricey these days.  Even going for congee and noodles can cost you a pretty penny.  So really, eating out is a luxury, even if it is fast food.  Well, there is a form of fast food that is still quite affordable and tasty.  The stuff from A Bao Time (love the pun...) is definitely affordable for most people and they don't cheap out on the ingredients and the size of their baos.  They are also conveniently located steps from Brighouse station in Richmond.

So let's get straight to the bao where there are 12 different versions to choose from.  We had them all so it would be too many to post all the pictures, but the 3 in this picture were Bolabola Chicken Deluxe, Spicy Crayfish and Spicy Pork with Long Bean.  As you can see in the picture, they were shy with the filling.  The bao itself was fluffy and light while still holding up to the wet ingredients.  In additon to the good BBQ pork bun, my favourite was the Bolabola with a juicy pork, salted egg yolk and sausage.  It was like the Dai Bao at New Town Bakery.  So full of stuff, it was meal in itself.

Beyond the bao, the other prominent items on display are the Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumpling) and Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling).  These are ready to go just like the bao.  We sampled both of them and you know what?  These were pretty solid with all things considered.  The ha gau had a semi-thick dumpling skin, but it wasn't too chewy.  Inside, the shrimp filling was decent with a nice shrimpy bounce.  The sui mai were quite good with tender pork and a whole shrimp on top.

Digging deeper into the menu, there was also a selection of Congee.  We went for the Seafood Congee with shrimp, squid and fish.  As for the congee itself, it was on the thinner side, but was properly seasoned.  The amount of seafood was modest, yet it was cooked just enough.  So the congee itself was average, but the Salty Donut was excellent being soft and a bit chewy with a crispy exterior.  It was well-salted and could've been eaten by itself.

We also noticed they had Xiao Long Bao available and of course we had to try those too!  Turns out they were decent as well.  The dumpling skin was fairly thin (despite being stamped and not pleated) where the amount of soup was significant.  It was sweet and not greasy.  Other things on the menu included Cured Sausage, Chinese Tea Egg and Salted Duck Egg.  These items were worth a shot if you wanted to supplement your congee. So there you have it, all the food you can get at A Bao Time!  I think the bao for $2.25 - $2.99 are a good value considering the size and amount of filling.  Definitely a good snack or a meal if you eat a few of them.  One of the last cheap eats we have these days.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Cheap eat
- Bao are big and have lots of filling
- Dim Sum is decent

The Bad:
- Congee is too thin
- Mostly a walk-up spot, parking is not that easy to find  

Tai Fang Noodle Company

Despite my inherent bias towards frozen Dim Sum, I still occasionally pick up some just for convenience. Hey, even though my grandma showed me how to make potstickers right down to the pleating, I really don't have the time to make it from scratch. Hence, I put up with the mediocre stuff found in the display freezers. The next place up to bat for frozen Dim Sum supremacy (is that an oxymoron?) is Tai Fang Noodle. And why is it this place? Well, I was on another one of my forays into Crystal Mall (why do I keep torturing myself so...) and it just happened to be there along my jaunt over to Pine House.

After perusing the decent selection of frozen dumplings, I settled on the basics. I decided to try them out immediately and put them into the steamer. Oh, despite the picture of all the dumplings on one plate, they weren't steamed together since they all have different cooking times. Starting with the Haw Gow (shrimp dumpling), these were a pretty decent attempt for frozen stuff. The skin was predictably thick while the filling was actually quite good. The whole shrimp had a nice snap and were quite sweet. Not bad really. The Sui Mai were okay taking into account that there was no shrimp. Hence, the success of the dumpling rested on the shoulders of the pork. It was more or less the bounce texture we normally look for, however, it was pretty one-dimensional in flavour since there was a meager amount of shiitake mushroom too.

Now the trickiest dumpling to do right, even when fresh is the Xiao Long Bao. Imagine the challenge at hand with a frozen one. So with that in mind, reasonable expectations must be employed. Otherwise, there will be a lot of bitching and whining. Well, I'm pretty sure most would have predicted that the dumpling skin was thick. Beyond that, the meat filling was actually quite good with a good hint of ginger while being non-gritty. There was also a small amount of soup which was a pleasant surprise. The nice lady threw in a bag of their freshly made Lai Mein or hand-pulled noodles into my order. I cooked these up that night and they were pretty solid. Well, I made sure I didn't overcook them. Remember, fresh noodles take significantly less cooking time. They were chewy and yes, tasted like they were freshly made. I ended up tossing it in a spicy-soy sesame oil concoction. Worked out quite well. So how does this place compare to the other recent frozen Dim Sum joints I've visited? I would say Tai Fang is pretty much on par with Best Dim Sum and Sun King. Not necessarily great, but does the job for what it is. I'm just not sure I'll be back anytime soon since it is in the circular mall from hell named Crystal.

The Good:
- Decent value
- Dim Sum holds its own for being frozen
- They got fresh noodles

The Bad:
- It's still frozen Dim Sum, not the best way to experience it
- It's in Crystal Mall

Best Dim Sum

Frozen Dim Sum. Not particularly the sexiest way of enjoying the Chinese version of tapas. Of course with most things, fresh is better. However, making fresh Dim Sum at home is not necessarily the most effective use of ones' time or effort. So we resort to frozen dumplings for our Dim Sum hit at any time during the day. We were actually not on the lookout for frozen Dim Sum really; however, it was right in our faces as we left Fortune City. The place didn't look like much and in fact, it was really run-down inside. I was truly skeptical and reluctantly picked out a few items. The one item that I am normally quite afraid of buying frozen is the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings). I really shouldn't have been afraid at all because these haw gow were pretty decent. Sure, the dumpling skin was on the thicker side; yet the shrimp filling was good. There were large chunks of crunchy shrimp that was well-seasoned and sweet.

On the flipside, the Mini-BBQ Pork Buns were lacking in filling. Yes, they were the mini version and I probably have to cut them a bit of slack since you can only fit so much in it. However, even after steaming, the bun itself was slightly dry and the lack of filling only perpetuated the problem. There was nothing wrong with the BBQ pork filling though, it was sweet and savoury with a pleasant colour. Now, how about a bun that has no filling at all? The owner-lady suggested we get a bag of their Mini-Mantou. Apparently, it is very popular with the kiddies. Well, she was right. The kiddies just couldn't get enough of them. I can see why too. They were pillowy soft after steaming while still maintaining a slight elasticity on the outside. It was slightly sweet; yet not overly so. It was an excellent blank canvas for some type of filling. In this case, it was Spam. They loved their mantou Spamwich. Of course for the more creative, a braised pork belly or roasted pork would really be a great compliment to the mantou.

Normally, much like the haw gow, frozen Xiao Long Bao are as attractive as day-old McD's french fries. So once again, I was a bit hesitant to get any. But I did and the owner-lady was adamant as to how to prepare it. She asked me like 3 times if I knew how to steam them. I assured her that I wouldn't butcher her product. After cooking them, I could see why she was so concerned. The XLBs actually had a decent amount of juice in them. That is a rare feat for any frozen XLB. Now, not all was good though. The skin was thick; yet that is totally forgivable since it was a frozen product. Second, the meat and juice were not exactly flavourful. There was some meat flavour with very little in the way of seasoning. In the end, these were still very respectable frozen XLBs. Lastly, I gave their Pork Dumplings a try as well. These were pretty average at best. The meat filling was totally bland and had a weird texture. The dumpling skin was not too thick, so that was okay. Granted, it is typical to dip these dumplings into some sort of sauce. Therefore, being bland is not necessary the end all. In general, for the items we did try, there were some surprises. Of course our expectations were tempered since it is unfair to compare with freshly made Dim Sum. With that in mind, the haw gow, xiao long bao and mantou were above average for frozen Dim Sum. I'm game for getting these again and trying some of their other stuff as well.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Above average frozen XLBs and Haw Gow
- Friendly, if not over-enthusiastic owner-lady

The Bad:
- If it matters to you, the place looks like hell
- Parking issues that plague most Asian malls are present here

Sun King Dim Sum

For a heavily Asian-influenced city, it's surprising to see that Dim Sum in Vancouver is only served for brunch/lunch. Sure, there have been some places that have attempted Dim Sum all the time; but it just hasn't seem to work (although Kam Wai serves it until 6:00pm). I know some people will point out that we have Shanghainese Dim Sum available for lunch and dinner. However, what I am focusing on is Cantonese Dim Sum. Therefore, there are only two options if you want Dim Sum anytime. You either make your own (or someone makes it for you) or buy frozen. Now that I've used the "f" word, it may bring up thoughts of the stuff you would find at T&T. Although some of the products are decent, most of the Dim Sum is mediocre at best.

Of course there are a few independent purveyors of frozen Dim Sum and honestly, I haven't found one that will ever rival a good restaurant (nor should it). Kam Wai Dim Sum (which now has a full-service restaurant on Pender) in Chinatown is alright if you're in the area; but usually I'm not. There was Top Quality on Hastings at Willingdon (that has since shut down) that I used to frequent. However, on my way home one day on Parker Street, I noticed that the corner market at Gilmore had become Sun King Dim Sum. Interesting. Honestly, this is a very odd location for a frozen Dim Sum store. It's in the middle of a residential area with no other businesses around it. I kept passing this place until one day I noticed it had opened for business. Naturally, I stopped and went in to check it out.

Something was familiar with this place... From the display down to the packaging, it looked a lot like the now defunct Top Quality. Much like Top Quality, Sun King is definitely a family-run operation. How do I know? Unless we are regressing and adopting labour laws from China and India, the front counter staff were a bit young. Anyways, in separate meals, we were able to sample some of items we had purchased. There are no specific instructions as to how long and in what manner someone is supposed to cook each product. That's an epic fail in my books since not everyone would necessary know. For the Sui Mai and Haw Gow, it is probably best to steam them for no more than 10 minutes. To prevent the dumplings from sticking, it's best to use a bamboo steamer. However, if you do use a plate, make sure you either grease it or use something like lettuce, Napa cabbage or carrot slices as bases for the dumplings.

Alright, enough of the cooking lesson. As for the Sui Mai, I would say it is pretty good. The pork is tender while still exhibiting a nice chewiness. I felt that there was a right amount of seasoning with a good balance of salty and sweet. The Haw Gow didn't fare as well. It's pretty much expected from frozen Dim Sum. The dumpling skin was far too thick and gummy. Although the filling was decent with fully deveined shrimp and bamboo shoots, there wasn't enough to counteract the thick skin. I thought that the BBQ Pork Bun was not bad. It could've been a bit fluffier; but the filling was quite plentiful and tasty (a bit on the sweet side). The same couldn't be said about the Chicken & Shrimp Bun. In theory, the filling sounded quite good; however, the shrimp is quite dry. Combine that with a dry bun, the whole thing kinda got stuck in my mouth while I was attempting to chew.

Another item we tried was the Loh Mei Gai (sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves). The rice itself was moist with plenty of ground pork filling. Not heavily seasoned, this was a winner. The last item were the Pork Wontons. I'm not a big fan of pork-only wontons. For me personally, I love the all-shrimp versions. However, I really didn't mind these ones. The pork was juicy and well-seasoned. The meat was not gritty and had a good "bounce" to it. There are many more different varieties of Dim Sum available that we have yet to try. For the items we did sample, they were pretty decent. Of course we can never expect restaurant quality Dim Sum from frozen products (assuming the restaurant we are referring to is good). However, Sun King fills the void when we want Dim Sum at home any time of the day.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Wide range of products
- Some decent items

The Bad:
- Will never be confused with good Dim Sum
- Strange location (works for some people)
- No instructions on the package
- Cash only