Cordless Extension Cord

Last week was China Week on several channels, especially the Travel Channel. Obviously this is due to the Olympics that begin tomorrow. They replayed Anthony Bourdain’s visit there. Ever since I saw Anthony Bourdain in Shanghai eating xiao long bao (soup dumplings) a month ago, I have been jonesing for some hardcore.




At about the 6 minute mark is when I began the craving. I began searching online for places where I can eat or buy XLB. I mentioned my sensation to the Dudes, and in my face, I had to vicariously enjoy them through Porthos.

Unfortunately, searching the Web says there aren’t too many places in the DC area. A friend told me about a place called A&J that had them, and we met for lunch. It was about a 35 mile ride out to this place, which means a round trip racks up the miles, but I’m this close to heading out to Shanghai Café in NYC’s ChinaTown where I had them twice and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am not an expert on these delicious morsels, especially since those two times I had them at Shanghai Café were the only times I’ve ever had them, but I do know that I loved what I ate.

Well Readers, I just experienced the soupless soup dumpling. An order of 4 came out, and the 3 that I had were damaged, ripped apart, Swiss-cheesed with holes. (No, it wasn't my lack of skill with chopsticks, since I looked underneath before picking up the other two.) Of course, my friend picks one up that gushed out into her plate of vinegar. Well, I gave them a second chance and ordered more. I asked the waitress to please be careful and bring them out full, not the diet/lite version. Well, she returns with some more dishes that we ordered but no XLB. We eat, but we have this in the back of our minds. Finally I flag down the waitress, and she told me she forgot to put the order in. Forget it. I’ll just continue my hunt for some XLB. What a disappointment.
As far as the other food, however, the guava-flavored bubble tea was mad-delicious. Although it wasn’t the milky drink that you normally see, it was still very, very good. The chong yiu bing (scallion pancakes) were highly recommended several times online, and they were decent, but thinner with some more crisp, would have made it better for me. Fried chicken is always good. The guo tie (pot stickers) were decent, but the filling was more central and could have filled it towards the edges some more. The spicy wontons were typical, but could have been spicier since I didn't feel any heat at all. The bean curd skin and soybean salad with mustard greens really brought me back to China. I definitely enjoyed the snap the beans gave me, but the drawback on this dish was the amount of oil used to cook them since they were wilting in it. It still tasted and felt nice. The hot sauce that's part of the condiments on the table was so good. The total bill was $29.03.

I would go again, but I would ensure the XLB were the way they are supposed to be. Normally I would have said something, but I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of my friend or the quiet (at that time, at least) restaurant. If anything, if I’m in that hood and thirsty, I would go back for that guave boba tea. In fact, I’d love to have some right now. This is really what saved my disappointment. And good company.