Xu Family Steamed Dumplings

許記蒸餃

No. 306, Linsen Rd, Sanmin Dist
高雄市三民區林森一路306號
(07)235-3624

Monday-Saturday 
11:00am-10:00pm

English friendly: no
vegetarian friendly: doable
average cost: 50-100NTD

If you're like me, or like me before I came to this restaurant, you may have never heard of 麵糰 before. That 糰 there is the same 糰 from 飯糰, those little triangles of rice wrapped in seaweed that frequently feature in Japanese anime and Taiwanese 7-11s, and my dictionary tells me it means "dumpling." Whatever you say, dictionary.

This place, which has been open for more than 20 years, is famous for its actual dumplings as well as its 麵糰, which are definitely not dumplings. 麵糰 are also known as 麵疙瘩, or "noodlestuff goosebumps", but I suppose that doesn't get us a whole lot closer to knowing what they are now does it.

Also, curiously, this place is famous for its "imperial milk tea", over there on the left, available to try for the low low price of 25NTD. You don't often see milk tea sold at restaurants like these, so that's pretty special. I did try it, though I don't have a picture, and I thought it was Perfectly Okay. Definitely not too sweet or thick like some milk teas, and with a subtle sense of depth. Subtle, but good.

Ah-ha! Here we are. One bowl of pork chop 麵糰, at your service. As you can see, this dish is magical noodlestuff in a new form: thick, flat, and petal-shaped, similar to 年糕 but with an organic handmade touch. I really liked them. Very thick and very chewy, in the most satisfying way.

I have finally learned to avoid 濃湯 when I don't feel like a thick, blandish, sweet-and-sour-soupish soup, so I enjoyed the soup this time too. Well, mostly I'm just glad it was a liquid... The flavor was still pretty bland. The pork chops were generous, and I'm sure pork chop fans will be satisfied.

Here we have a small serving of 麵糰 in 濃湯, which I think would be vegetarian friendly. At the very least it would be vegetarian in the Chinese sense, defined as "but but there's only a little meat in it?"

And here, their famous dumplings! These dumplings do look pretty good, and are probably distinguishable from those of other places on sight: the skin is extra thick, and has an interesting pockmarked texture to it. But apart from their slightly chewier exteriors, they're pretty much your standard steamed pork dumplings. 

If you haven't tried noodlestuff goosebumps before, I can guarantee you an interesting lunch experience here; I'm just not entirely sure you'll want to come back a second time. Man was not meant to survive on chewiness alone. This restaurant has been afflicted with Taiwanese creeping blandness disease, and the addictive texture of the 麵糰 is not enough to save it in my eyes.

Still, what do I know. Try it out for yourself, and tell me what you think.

OVERALL RATING: 3/5