Monday, November 8, 2010

#34 Xiao Ting Box (371 Victoria St)

Attendees: Beata, Annabel, Steph, Rob

When I tell Annabel where we are going, she says "is it immature of me that I find that funny?" I don't get it. "Xiao-ting box...shouting box," explains Annabel. Ah, I see. Sort of.

I've been here before. In fact, a bit over a year ago this is where Steph and I made the decision to do the Chopstick Chowdown Challenge. And it has taken 33 restaurants to get back here. I remember us marvelling about the delicious dumplings and how they were almost as good as Camy Shanghai ("dodgy dumplings"). It is nowhere near as good as I remember.

We practically have to yell to get the attention of one of the three staff just standing around at the back so we can place our order. We are excited. A vertiable feast of dumplings coming up!

Number 27 comes out first. It is chicken with wafer thin discs of garlic on a sizzling plate. The sauce is very tasty. Unfortunately we have no rice to soak up the sauce with. When we finally get it, we have no spoon to get the sauce onto our rice. Fail.

The highlight of the night is the szechaun crab. A whole mud crab, roughly hacked up into a few pieces, still in its shell which has taken on a red tinge from the mound of chillies on top. As do our hands, which are the only devices we have to crack open the shell and get to the meat. It is grand fun. The flavour is terrific and even if you don't get much meat it is satisfying enough to lick the chilli flavours off the shell. Yum and fun!

First up from the dumplings are the vegetable dumplings. They are stuffed with an indiscernable mush that has a nuclear green tinge to it. There is tang to them that no one can put their finger on and Annabel categorically says she doesn't like them. The fried pork dumpling are a bit of mess and one looks half eaten before we have even touched them. The xiao long bao, which are supposed to be full of aromatic juices, lack flavour.

Ah well, the dumplings may not have lived up to expectations but wow that crab was good. And at $16 - a bargain!


Ratings

Sizzling chicken with garlic 7.5/10
Special (szechaun-style crab) 7.9/10
Fried pork dumplings 6.1/10
Vegetable dumplings 4.8/10
Xiao long bao 6/10