Food::Late Saturday Lunch @ Hoicin

        The last time we ate at Hoicin, I noticed something familiar on their menu that I've always wanted to try for a long time now.  I read other foodies' blogs from Manila and whenever the food topic was about dimsum, "Xiao Long Bao" was always on top of their list.  So when I asked the waitress at Hoicin during our last visit if the "Shanghainese Pork Dumpling" on their menu was Xiao Long Bao, her answer got me really excited.
        So what is Xiao Long Bao?  Let me refer to it as XLB for short.  XLBs are pork dumplings that have broth trapped inside them.  They are sometimes referred to as "soupy dumplings" so one needs to be very careful when eating them since the hot broth trapped inside could easily scald ones tongue or lips.  They say the trick to eating XLB is to place it on a soup spoon and first take a bite on the wrapper to release the broth.  They are served with a vinegar dipping sauce with thin strips of ginger.  Most foodies say that the best XLBs are to be found from the originator/inventor which is Din Tai Fung.  Originally, I thought one needs to travel overseas first in order to try Din Tai Fung's branches all over Asia (too bad they don't have one in the Philippines).  You won't believe my excitement when I found out that they have 2 branches in the US and both of them are just few hours away, in Los Angeles.  But before I try the ultimate XLB known on this planet, I wanted to try Hoicin's just to get an idea what the fuss is all about these "soupy dumplings" that orginated from Shanghai China.

Shanghainese Pork Dumpling (8pcs) - $6.99

          I wasn't the only one excited to try XLB.  It turned out Dylan and Dinah were excited as well.  Danii, as always didn't really care :).  XLB looked like pot stickers except that they were round and have the twirl that we see on our "siopao".  Long story short, I only got to try one piece since Dylan really loved them and was savoring piece after piece while Dinah and I were busy taking pics of the other items we ordered.  Danii liked it as well but she was no match for Dylan's ferocity in annihilating those dumplings and so ended up just having 2 pieces.  The single piece that I was able to try made it clear to me why people are crazy over them.  They were like self-contained wonton soup in a bite size package, genius!  The vinegar with ginger dipping sauce also went well with the XLB.  Dylan was still asking for another serving but I told him we'll come back next time for more.

        Another item on their menu that I vowed to try on our next visit was their "Scallion Chicken".  This was their steamed chicken (with bones) marinated in ginger and scallions and served topped with more ginger and scallion strips and basted with broth and soy sauce.  I was originally interested in their "Empress Chicken" since I've always wanted to try "Hainanese Chicken".  From the way the waitress described their Empress Chicken, it seemed to match the description of Hainanese Chicken but since it will be served cold (being a cold dish) we opted to try the Scallion Chicken instead.  Maybe next time then.

Scallion Chicken (half) - $8.75

        We also got Dinah's favorite fried rice, "Salted Fish Chicken Fried Rice".  It has been a long time since Dinah and I first started having this back home at "North Park" in Makati.  Now whenever a chinese restaurant carries it on their menu, that will be the default fried rice selection.  I guess when it comes to fried rice, I can say that Dinah calls the shots :).

Salted Fish Chicken Fried Rice - $8.99

        Since it was their weekend promo period, we also ordered our dimsum favorites from their weekend promo menu.  We got Deep Fried Squid, Shrimp Har Gow and Pork Shu Mei.  As expected, Dylan was the happiest :)

Deep Fried Squid - $3.00

Shrimp Har Gow - $2.00

Pork Shu Mei - $2.00