I love the set up of this restaurant . Clean lines , with guzheng and erhu music lilting softly in the background .Slightly spiffy but not too stiffling , the staff approach is one that maintains a distance , is professionally non judgemental , yet remains attentive and quick to attend to every one of our needs and wants .
Makes you feel as if you fit right in , with thoughtful , polite diners that take care not to raise their voice to too many decibels .....my kinda place alright .
When I finally finish ticking the boxes and hand over the chit to the waitress , she rattles it off in Mandarin , just to reconfirm our order . At this point I can tell you that anything that comes out from the kitchen , shall need a tiny prayer since none of us can speak a word of it . So nod and keep your fingers crossed and hope everything turns out fine .
We start of with our all time favourite . The spicy shrimp and pork wanton . There's a minute hint of pepper flower colluding with the chillies to add a wee bit excitement . Skirting around the perimeters , is an oily spicy paste that is not too overpowering to steal the thunder from the treasure encased inside the parcel with maxi flowing skin .
Not long after , the first of the bamboo steamers arrive .
Steamed Vegetable and Pork Bun .
Filled with ( startlingly still green ! ) finely minced vegetables weaved together with fine pork paste .
So peasant like in feel , yet so thoroughly does it satisfy my Chinese soul , it makes me feel like hopping on the next plane to mainland China ( the motherland of steamed buns ) so I can discover more , more and more just like these which some places there must surely hold .
We conclude the meal with the famous Xiao Long Pao.
Roughly transalted as Little Dragon Puffs .
A feat on its own . Inside each dumpling no larger than a porcelain soup spoon , is a morsel of meat surrounded by a puddle of soup .
The membrane of which is not at all thin yet breaks quite easily , one has to handle this with utmost grace and care .
Still , the well has spilled out but the liquid is so naturally sweet , stock like rich and creamy , I have fallen head over heels in love with this little baby dumpling .
This is my new comfort food . Yeah that littlest one above . No matter what the price , this is what enjoying life is all about and it begins with a mouthful of ultra savoury dumplings to bring out that dragon spirit in you .
Location : Gurney Plaza , Penang
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