Restaurant Review -- Wenzhou "big dumplings" (Taipei)

The English word “dumpling” is used to cover a wide range of local foodstuffs, from sticky rice zongzi (粽子) and rice-flour tangyuan (湯圓), to a variety of ravioli-like stuffed pastry jiaozi (餃子) guotie (鍋貼; “pot-stickers”) and hundun (餛飩鍋; “wonton”). 

Perhaps because of Taiwan’s historic ties to Zhejiang Province (浙江; Chiang Kai-shek and many of his coterie came from there), that “Wenzhou big wonton” (温州大餛飩) are exceedingly popular here, with, in Taipei alone, dozens of small mom-and-pop stores selling them . To date, NOMM has only found one that sells a vegetarian version.

Located amongst half-a-dozen wonton-specialist restaurants on Taoyuan Street (桃源街), “Champion Veg-&-Meat Wonton” (冠軍菜肉餛飩; no English sign) at number 9 is unique in offering mushroom-flavoured vegetarian wonton (香菇素食餛飩; NT$80). 

 

As the owner warns, however, unless taken home for cooking (NT$100 for 10), these will only be “pot-side vegetarian” as they are cooked in the same water as meat dumplings. 

 

 to be completed