Din Tai Fung Dumpling House 

This place is pretty expensive and yes its always crowded with line out the door, but the food is top notch.

Here are a few items I got from there that I liked a lot.

1) noodle soup with vegetables - Classic noodle dish that is simple and tasty. Great to have when you just feel a little sick and need something clean and warm in your stomach

2) shao long bao - Famous Shanghai xiao long bao. Almost as good as the ones I’ve had in Shanghai.

3) shrimp and pork shaomai

4) chicken soup - This is no Foster Farm chicken, they use the queen of the chicken world, black hens.

• Asia

Another item I got from the Taiwanese street food. They are basically pork buns but cooked in a Tandoor oven. The filling is ground pork, veggies and chives. My friend and I waited about 30 mins in line for them and it only cost less than a dollar each.

I felt bad for the cook though because I saw him being burned by the oven a couple of times. =(

• Asia

Taiwanese street food is amazing! I would say it tops the street food I’ve seen in Shanghai. This is a picture of one stand. They were selling kabobs of all sorts of critters. But the best part is, it is so cheap!

• Asia

My favorite fruit in the world, Passion fruit! It’s got a hard red shell but the inside is filled with sour goodness. It’s so sad that you cannot get it here in America. Now to think of it, You cannot get a lot of stuff in America..oh how I wish for another vacation.

• Asia

Burma Superstar!

I am sure everyone knows this place. If you don’t, you are missing out. My favorite dish there is the Catfish Chowder. It’s got rice noodles, ground catfish, onions, cilantro, and lemons. They give you the lemons on the side, so make sure you squeeze some lemon juice in there. The lemons gives it that extra hmph that leaves your mouth drooling for more.

• North Bay

Stuffed snails. These snails are enormous! To give you some perspective, they are about the size of a walnut.

If you’ve never eaten snails, use a toothpick and stab the flesh of the snail from its opening. You then pull and its whole body should come out. However, make sure you only eat the head because the rest of its body is just basically its stomach. You can tell the head from its stomach by the texture. The head is a little tougher and the rest of the body is nice and soft.

A lot of people eat the whole thing, but sometimes I find myself eating baby snails if I just pop the whole thing in my mouth.

• Asia

If you know me, you know that I do not eat lamb. But I have to admit, I do eat lamb kabobs. I used to get lamb kabobs back in Shanghai. I loved them! I would shower my kabobs with pepper and flamin red hot chili powder. At Chinjin Easter House, I found lamb kabobs. They were tender and flavorful. As I devoured them, it took me back to the streets of Shanghai.

• South Bay

I am still shocked that I just now discovered these oversized potstickers. These are the master of the potstickers, at the top of the food food-chain. They will dominate all other varieties of potstickers. They are called Chinese Hamburgers. The outside is fried and the inside is filled with shredded pork and vegetables.

Not trying these in your life time could be your biggest regret. I got these two at Chinjin Easter House on De Anza Blvd in Cupertino. Yelp it if you need to find it.

• South Bay

Fresh cucumber marinated in soy sauce and fresh garlic. This dish is great on a hot summer day.

• North Bay

These are the hand made dumplings. For those that don’t know, these dumplings are special because the wrapper is hand made. Usually hand made dumplings taste much better because the wrapper is softer and more fluffy when you bite into it.

If you want hand made dumplings, either come to my house or go to Kingdom of Dumpling =).

• North Bay