February Weekend Rundown (2016)

Porthos · February 22, 2016, 5:19pm

Congrats @OCSteve! Sturgeon tacos at the wedding reception?

I’ve been trying to go back myself but for one reason or another have had to change plans last minute.

mcmichael · February 22, 2016, 5:25pm

Quite true.

Ns1 · February 22, 2016, 5:50pm

That looks like a $50 lunch. LOL

OCSteve · February 22, 2016, 5:55pm

I wish! Reception fare will be much more humble.

President_Mochi · February 22, 2016, 8:48pm

I was in Kansas City for the last half-week through Sunday, which I chronicled for anyone who has nothing better or more engaging to read through: Kansas City, MO - #4 by President_Mochi

Returned to LA Sunday, and had to run an errand near Sawtelle, so stopped into ROC Kitchen for dinner. First time there, but I will be going back.

Pork Dumplings - Almost ashamed to admit it, but I haven’t yet made the voyage out to SGV, so I’m still green on the dumpling scene. I thought these were tasty, though. Had a sweetness that I didn’t expect and liked. Probably from the vinegar, I s’pose.
Pan-fried Veggie Dumplings - Solid.
Scallion Pancakes - Maybe shouldn’t have gotten these AND the pan-fried dumplings, but I still really liked 'em.
String Beans - Enjoyed these a lot. Good crunch and nice flavor. Appreciated that they weren’t drowning in dressing.
Three Cup Chicken - Really good flavor. Saved some for leftovers, which I’m looking forward to.

Overall, from the sounds of it, I’m sure there are better version of this genre of food in SVG and elsewhere, but I thought everything at ROC tasted like a good version of the blah chinese that I grew up with and didn’t really care for, so I’m looking forward to continuing my xiao long bao-ducation.

wienermobile · February 22, 2016, 10:13pm

In 'N Out 3x3 Animal Style extra pickles extra toast

paranoidgarliclover · February 22, 2016, 10:42pm

This is actually perhaps the best description I have ever seen for ROC.

Question: do you use the phrase “pork dumplings” and xiao long bao (XLB) interchangeably? I really didn’t like the XLB at ROC at all (only went once, shortly after it opened), but I’ve never had pork dumplings (jao zi) there.

paranoidgarliclover · February 22, 2016, 10:45pm

So here’s my pic from Beni-Tora:

I made a whole new post b/c I wanted to also add my dessert from Sunday lunch (below). I noticed a few kids running around the local Souplantation w/ these mini ice-cream cones + soft serve, and I couldn’t help but get one myself. It’s everything I love about soft serve + cone in a totally guilt-free size (about the length of my thumb).

President_Mochi · February 23, 2016, 1:17am

Oops. Yeah, as I wrote it, I meant “pork dumplings” = XLB.

To be honest, I don’t have much point of reference for where ROC’s would sit on the XLB scale of goodness as my XLB knowledge is limited. I can imagine that the may pale in comparison to other places’ offerings, but for what it’s worth, I liked 'em, and they got me excited to try more.

paranoidgarliclover · February 23, 2016, 4:51am

As luck would have it, secretasianman recently did a round up of XLB in the SGV:

I do personally refer to XLB and jao zi as “dumplings,” although, to avoid confusion, perhaps better to use the two different terms here?

TonyC · February 23, 2016, 5:40am

bao is a bao, dumpling is a dumpling. don’t be white, or alt lopez.

there is a key difference that whites, except PIGMON, don’t understand.

secretasianman · February 23, 2016, 8:03am

but even in shanghai, they translate xlb into english as soup ‘dumpling’. semantically, they’re more dumpling than bun to me. if i were a judge on jeopardy, i would accept either answer.

SJB’s are buns to me because the dough is more bread like.

TonyC · February 23, 2016, 4:07pm

Re-read what you just wrote right now. Who’s reading English in Shanghai? Who’s eating at XLB shacks with English translations?

secretasianman · February 23, 2016, 4:51pm

i stand by my point. the issue is semantic vs literal translation. displace your hatred elsewhere.

WesSabi · February 23, 2016, 5:19pm

I agree. Places like Mama Lu’s, Dean Sin World, or even DTF translate XLBs as pork dumplings.

secretasianman · February 23, 2016, 5:57pm

we call jiaozi (饺子) dumplings and nobody argues with that.

try describing zongzi (粽子) literally as a dumpling and people will not recognize them when placed in front of them. but describe them as chinese tamales and people get it.

TonyC · February 23, 2016, 6:56pm

it’s not hatred; (all) the translations are wrong, no matter how many people may have used it. there is clear distinction between cooking process (and ingredients) for dumpling vs bun/bao which renders the 2 items different products and not substitutable.

No one in China calls xiao long bao a xiao long jiao. That’s the point.
Spread proper knowledge like the Japanese do of their food.

I consider this matter closed.

Ns1 · February 23, 2016, 7:05pm

so who wants to explain to us dumbasses what’s the technical difference between a bao and a dumpling? Cuz an XLB most certainly looks more dumpling than bao, and yes I recognize that the B in XLB = bao.

Novelli · February 23, 2016, 7:15pm

Man, am I glad most Asian menus have pictures to point to

Porthos · February 23, 2016, 7:20pm

Not really. Plenty of steamed dumplings out there (see dim sum dumplings and DTF steamed shrimp and pork dumplings).

The exterior for XLB is more akin to dumplings than the thicker more bread-like bao.

The filling in XLB is finer and more similar to dumplings than any bao (no char siu or vermicelli going into XLB).

Basically it comes down to nomenclature and the shape more than anything else about ingredient and cooking process. Especially if you consider shenjian bao are panfried and not steamed.