Menu: Dumplings ($7), Stuffed Meat Pancake ($9), Xiao Long Bao ($7), Zha Jiang Mian ($4), Sweet & Sour Soup ($2.50), Red Bean Pancake ($9), Sweet Glutinous Rice Ball in Rose or Osmanthus syrup ($3)
The Experience: Qun Zhong Eating House is a small cash-only eatery with an eccentric culture. Here is the top 10 listing of abnomalies:
1. It is perpetually crowded. 2. It is crowded even before its open for business. 3. Parking is a nightmare. 4. You wait outside the eatery when its full and they don't even provide you chairs to sit on while waiting. You get exposed to the elements. 5. Enter the place and the smell of the eatery lingers on your clothes for the next 24 hours. I don't understand how the place is filled with office workers. 6. It is always at least 40% filled with Japanese or Koreans. 7. Don't expect to be seated unless all your guests are present; the boss will never let you in. 8. You order everything including your desserts at the onset. If you decide to do so later, you'll be faced with very grumpy responses. 9. Don't even try to change your order once you've made it. 10. Enter the washroom at your own risk.
Despite all that, there's a reason for number one - the food is tasty. In fact, I find their Xiao Long Bao much better than the rest of the competition: Crystal Jade, Ding Tai Fung (which I absolutely boycott) etc.
While the menu is pretty small and practically all the dishes are made with the same filling, the flavours are intense and the filling is always juicy. Bit into any of the steamed items and you're greeted with a burst of warm soup. Absolutely messy and delicious.
The desserts are simple too. Panfried red bean pancake that is crispy and yet, chewy. We suspect that the outer coating involves an element of glutinous rice flour. The redbean paste isn't too sweet at all. The osmanthus and rose glutinous rice balls are well done too. Chewy morsels of rice balls filled with a combination of peanut and white sesame or black sesame paste are perfectly foiled by the floral fragrance of the perfumed syrups. Not too sweet but a perfect way to end the meal.
Total bill for 5: $68
Considering that we shared a lot of stuff, the meal was still gut busting. If only they could look into improving their service experience. But oh well, as they say, quality comes at a price.
Menu: Dumplings ($7), Stuffed Meat Pancake ($9), Xiao Long Bao ($7), Zha Jiang Mian ($4), Sweet & Sour Soup ($2.50), Red Bean Pancake ($9), Sweet Glutinous Rice Ball in Rose or Osmanthus syrup ($3)
The Experience: Qun Zhong Eating House is a small cash-only eatery with an eccentric culture. Here is the top 10 listing of abnomalies:
1. It is perpetually crowded. 2. It is crowded even before its open for business. 3. Parking is a nightmare. 4. You wait outside the eatery when its full and they don't even provide you chairs to sit on while waiting. You get exposed to the elements. 5. Enter the place and the smell of the eatery lingers on your clothes for the next 24 hours. I don't understand how the place is filled with office workers. 6. It is always at least 40% filled with Japanese or Koreans. 7. Don't expect to be seated unless all your guests are present; the boss will never let you in. 8. You order everything including your desserts at the onset. If you decide to do so later, you'll be faced with very grumpy responses. 9. Don't even try to change your order once you've made it. 10. Enter the washroom at your own risk.
Despite all that, there's a reason for number one - the food is tasty. In fact, I find their Xiao Long Bao much better than the rest of the competition: Crystal Jade, Ding Tai Fung (which I absolutely boycott) etc.
While the menu is pretty small and practically all the dishes are made with the same filling, the flavours are intense and the filling is always juicy. Bit into any of the steamed items and you're greeted with a burst of warm soup. Absolutely messy and delicious.
The desserts are simple too. Panfried red bean pancake that is crispy and yet, chewy. We suspect that the outer coating involves an element of glutinous rice flour. The redbean paste isn't too sweet at all. The osmanthus and rose glutinous rice balls are well done too. Chewy morsels of rice balls filled with a combination of peanut and white sesame or black sesame paste are perfectly foiled by the floral fragrance of the perfumed syrups. Not too sweet but a perfect way to end the meal.
Total bill for 5: $68
Considering that we shared a lot of stuff, the meal was still gut busting. If only they could look into improving their service experience. But oh well, as they say, quality comes at a price.
Xiao Long Bao @ Qun Zhong
