this is a large part of why i don’t respond with a lot of enthusiasm when some popular place announces new locations; unless you have a true chef (chief) running things (which you seldom do at most restaurants, much less chinese restaurants in the SGV) you invariably get some sort of fall-off in quality control, unless the recipes involved really don’t require that much precision to duplicate over and over - in which case, how great are these dishes?
let’s not use any of those (first 2) words when speaking of 101 Express. i’d rather talk shit about/mock/spit at 101 than DTF any day.
the vast majority of places in the SGV have been mom-pop establishments. but that’s started to change. you mentioned the branching of szechuan impresssion. so you expect the quality of dishes to be the same at the new place? are the levels of quality constant at the branches of chengdu taste?
No one I don’t think, and certainly not this dufus, is shaming DTF, or trying to pimp mom-and-pop joints for the sake of simply pimping a hole-in-the-wall joint over a corporate competitor.
I go to DTF somewhat regurlarly and am a big fan of their chicken soup and fried rice. But I rarely if ever go there for the XLB, or the dumplings (they’re not the same thing by the way, @lectroid).
To say the XLB at DTF is amazing or the “standard bearer” is a bit like saying the burgers at In N Out are the ones to which all other burgers should be judged by. No dice.
The XLB at DTF are a good baseline for a n00b who has little to no previous exposure to them things. Sort of like how one could use the double-double at In N Out as sort of a gateway burger for the uninitiated.
But to laud the XLB at DTF or the burgers at In N Out as the standard bearer to which all others should be judged or aspire to be reveals more about the person pontificating such a thing than it does about the XLB, or the burgers.
And @TonyC, dontcha know? Black is the new blonde.
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Oh, I know the diff between XLB and ‘dumplings’ specifically, but XLB are more generally a type of dumpling, where ‘dumpling’ is ‘pouch of dough w/ stuff in it’.
But you’re correct, asking for ‘pork soup dumplings’ and ‘pork dumplings’ will get you very different items.
I still think DTF is too pricey for its quality, but hey, they have a multimillion dollar international chain. They must know what they’re doing.
Yes, but to say that only Asians and his BFF would say In N Out is great burgers is a bit racist, inaccurate, and inappropriate.
Which is what you’re doing with the laowai comment.
No. Don’t be like Kenji Alt on this subject. B = bao != dumpling. D’frent dough
The term “laowai” is no longer considered derogatory. At least amongst the GenZ ABC-ers.
[quote=“ipsedixit, post:28, topic:1691”]
The term “laowai” is no longer considered derogatory. [/quote]
I’ve heard the same argument about the term “oriental”.
I know certain posters have objected to the term in the past. As mod you should probably err on the sensitive side.
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I was unaware this was a point of food nerd controversy. Neato! That’s my new fact for the day!
Oriental? Always keepin’ the yellow man down…
source and context have more impact on the overall level of pejorative than any official sort of definition of the phrase. not that one would talk to the police, but if you asked a ethnic chinese at a crime scene for a description of the suspect, use of the term laowai would translate to me as some white guy, more or less indistinguishable from any other white guy, since all they saw was the gun he was carrying, etc. probably most similar to the use of the term haole in hawaii.
if i’ve told you once, i’ve told you a million times, tony: get off my lawn! (shakes fist)
Went to ROC On 3rd tonight. The first time was during DOTM Dumplings. That time dumplings were perfect. Tonight they were busy and the wrappings were undercooked. They said business was really picking up. I’m glad, but hope they keep it consistent.
That’s funny… And you’re right, not sharing would be monotonous.
Good timing. Today I noticed that an ROC is going into Playa Vista (right by the Whole Foods, etc.).
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Is this place still around? Seems like no. Where else has good soup dumplings?
I still like Din Tai Fung.
On my road trip list of xio spots to try- Seven Grams (Tustin) and Paradise Dynasty (Newport Beach)- both hype their thin dumpling skins so hoping for a bang bang soon to find out!
Is this at century city mall? I guess I could google…
yes top floor of century city mall