Kaplan's Star Deli

From Kaplan's

I thought I would take a break from my usual Asian dining and go for something a bit different (for me, anyway). My wife suggested "deli" and I immediately thought of Kaplan's.

Kaplan's isn't exactly "chowish" in price and ambiance. It is, however, definitely a one-stop shop for all the Jewish deli meat favorites. You can even get a sort of a sampler plate called the Triplet, where you can have three meats (corned beef, pastrami, and chopped liver) on mini challah buns. The Triplet is what I decided to order. My wife had a Montreal Smoked Meat (flown in once a week) sandwich which had a generous helping of meat. The sandwiches were filling and the coleslaw was excellent.

The prices are a little high ($9-$13 range) compared to an authentic deli like Schwartz's in Montreal where they charge about $5 for the same sandwich. Still...it hit the spot.

Pics http://picasaweb.google.com/gustibus....

Xiao Long Bao

I'm not sure exactly when Xiao Long Bao became A Big Thing. I vaguely remember having it for the first time in San Francisco when my parents drove us all down for a trip to Disneyland many years ago. When I first bit into one, the juices squirted down my chin and made a mess of my T-shirt. A right of passage.



Over the years, I have seen it on menus, ordered it once in a while, but I never thought much of it. The last couple of years, I started reading food blogs and forums. I was surprised to see that these soup dumplings have taken on a mythical status. XLB became a beast worthy of a hunt. To many, it was the sine qua non of a city's Chinese cuisine. Without good XLB in your city, some say, then the Chinese food there must not be worth eating. Hyperbole, of course.

In Vancouver, the Chinese food scene has been dominated for decades by Cantonese style food. Since the relatively recent opening up of China, we have seen a great influx of Chinese immigrants from different parts of of this huge country. Some of them - mainly Northern Chinese and Shanghainese - brought their dumpling and XLB making skills to our shores.

The some of the best XLB in town are served in little holes in the wall like Wang's at the Food Court in Burnaby's Crystal Mall. The bigger dim sum places also serve it, albeit at higher prices and often, at lower than exemplary quality.

Here's a video from a recent trip to Wang's:

Wang's - Destination XLB in Burnaby

From Wang's Shangh...

I decided to visit Wang's today over lunch hour to update my XLB photos. The last time I was there was a few months ago (I posted my field trip to Crystal Mall with my two daughters here on CH). I had used the camera built-in to my Blackberry. The images were blurry and didn't do the subject matter justice.

I recently picked up a new digital camera (a Fuji Finepix FZ20)....what a huge difference in quality. Not surprising I guess. In any case, I managed to get some great photos and even some video of the XLB and XLB ladies at Wang's. I need to figure out how I am going to post the video, but for now...some photos.

Back on topic...

The XLB was excellent....perhaps equaling or topping my current favorite XLB at Lin Chinese Cuisine. The skin was very thin, the broth was flavourful and the pork ball was light. It only lost points for not having slivered ginger with their black vinegar (though it perhaps didn't really need it). It is also the most inexpensive XLB in the GVA at $3.25 per steamer of five.

I thought these new photos and Wang's by itself warranted a new topic outside of my current XLB Survey thread. They two ladies pictured are the two top XLB makers in the the GVA. The lady on the right has been making XLB for decades. Her rolling and pleating technique was amazing - completely effortless.

From downtown Vancouver, it only takes about 20-25 minutes to get to Crystal Mall on the Skytrain...well within the time constraints of a typical lunch hour. (Considering it only takes about 5 minutes to order and eat these babies).

Pics http://picasaweb.google.com/gu