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Siomai vs. Kuchay Dumplings

10 December, 2007 (14:03) | restaurants | Tags: , , , , | By: Arpee

I love dumplings. I can never say no to a plump piece of kuchay dumpling. I’m not sure how the Chinese really call it, but, for conversations’ sake, let’s call one group siomai and the other we will refer to as the kuchay dumplings. Siopao or filled buns are a different variety so let’s not talk about that just yet.

Friends, there is a distinct difference between the siomai and the kuchay dumpling. Though in general, both are steamed using bamboo steamers and serve as great appetizers. In the Philippines, the siomai is the most common dimsum treat, aside from the siopao. The siomai, or shao mai as it is really called, is a small ball of meat and vegetables contained inside a wanton wrapper but is open at one end. No need for a picture here I hope. The siomai is usually served steaming hot in three or four pieces per order in most Chinese restaurants. They contain shark’s fin, ground pork, shrimp and vegetables depending on the kind of siomai you order. Though inherently Chinese, the siomai has been adapted well into the local cuisine.

The kuchay is green stem vegetable. That’s all I really know about it aside from tasting so good inside a dumpling. No, I don’t know where and how they grow it. Do not confuse this with the wanton that we see in soups. The kuchay dumpling is a cousin of the hakaw (shrimp dumpling.) While the hakaw uses a thin, translucent wheat-starch wrapper, the kuchay dumpling is wrapped in a rice-flour wrapper, giving it a chewy consistency, kinda like pot stickers. Again, similar with the hakaw and the wanton, the kuchay dumpling is totally enclosed with the excess wrapper pinched at one end to seal the flavor.

Had my car not needed repairs, I wouldn’t have braved Banawe St and looked for Tasty Dumplings. Thanks to my busted starter, I was reunited with an old favorite who’s taste I was beginning to forget.

The booboos:

  1. The staff needs more training to improve their customer service skills. I went on a lunch hour and everyone was in a frenzy to serve and be served. Perhaps it’s easier when the lunch crowd is gone.
  2. Parking is once again a problem for those who bring their cars. If you come on a lunch hour, be patient or come early.
  3. Bathroom is on the second floor and is quite a climb for geriatric customers and impossible for those on a wheel chair.
The yahoos:
  1. The portions are large enough for anyone with a mammoth appetite. They just add a dash of what looks like soy sauce to the buckwheat noodles and all is right with the world.
  2. They did get my order wrong the first time. So when Noreen complained, they acted on the complaint right away and set things right without any fuss. This is a yahoo as far as I’m concerned. Great save.
  3. The price. Only P100.00 (US$2.85) for the tossed noodles with 8 pieces kuchay dumplings. How can it get any better than that?

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Hungry? Check out the menu.

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Only P100.00 (US$2.85) a plate!

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Noreen decided to have their pork chop with rice. Again, only P100.00 (US$2.85)

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One of their bestsellers the soya milk, which is only P25.oo (US$.59), was the most delightful surprise of them all. I loved it!

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This is their tsay mah pao, their version of siopao. One five-piece order only costs P69.00 (US$1.64).

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Will I ever lose all that weight? Who knows? My gym membership expires in April 2008. Time is still on my side. In the meantime…

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If you want a bite of this, just come to Tasty Dumplings along N.S. Amoranto corner Banawe, Quezon City. Although the Binondo branch is still open to serve customers.

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Comments

Comment from Ang Kuwago
Time: December 10, 2007, 5:38 pm

Arpee ha! I just ate and you made me hungry again! Sarap naman ng big, fat noodles na kinain mo! OMG! Do the kutchay dumplings have meat in it? In any case, they do offer plain noodles for P50 (I read the menu on your pic)! On losing weight, remember I lost 60lbs at one point, and although I did gain back the 30lbs since, thats still a net loss of 30lbs. And as Rob Schneider often says…”You can do it!!!”. LOL

Comment from Toni
Time: December 10, 2007, 5:43 pm

Oh yes, Tasty! My in-laws love it here. I love their pork chop. Sarap!

Comment from arpee lazaro
Time: December 11, 2007, 3:06 am

to bubong: ah yes they have plain noodles and non-meat dumplings. mura lang di ba?

to toni: their pork chop is a runaway hit. it’s also my wife’s favorite!

Comment from jhed
Time: December 11, 2007, 4:46 am

wow! you just made a lechon out of the kuchay dumplings…my brother’s house is just 10 minutes from that chink diner and I wonder how could I have missed it! well your feature on it made me wanna drop by soon in there…oh don’t you worry now about where will I park…I might just walk you see

Comment from [Darth Amelie Poulain]
Time: December 11, 2007, 12:22 pm

Nakakagutom naman! Yum! :D

Comment from arpee lazaro
Time: December 11, 2007, 2:20 pm

to jhed: lucky you! buti ka pa lapit lang bahay mo. i have to wait for my car to conk out before i get to taste tasty dumplings.

to darth amelie: highly recommended if you’re anywhere near the area!

Comment from ajay
Time: December 12, 2007, 2:43 am

There is Tasty Dumplings in Ongpin Arpee. I don’t know which is nearer to you;)

Comment from arpee lazaro
Time: December 12, 2007, 5:24 am

to ajay: i’ve been to that branch too! i’m a big tasty dumplings fan!

Comment from docchef
Time: December 15, 2007, 12:57 pm

been eating at Tasty since when i was a kid, love the prokchop, the silver roll bread, the fired dumpling…

Comment from hundredpoundfoodie
Time: December 16, 2007, 8:09 am

hi arpee, thought these might help ;) other terms for kuchai: garlic/chinese/flowering chives, also known as oriental garlic. i looove soya milk.

Comment from arpee lazaro
Time: December 16, 2007, 2:06 pm

to doc chef:the silver roll bread i really wanted to eat, but my appetite was overwhelmed with the dumplings, hehe.

to hundredpoundfoodie: oh thank you so much for the information! google couldn’t give me that except for the picture of the kuchay with which i was still clueless. until i asked a professional chef about it. however, the info you gave me was more definitive. please DO visit my site again!

Comment from Jaywalker
Time: December 20, 2007, 9:27 pm

Good blog, I enjoyed this one and now I know where to go when I visit sometime in the future.

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