Yuen Kee Dumpling — chives + pork dumplings noodle soup ($6.80)!

Dinner at Yuen Kee Dumpling (袁記) Fortune Centre — went for the chives + pork dumplings noodle soup at $6.80. The clear-broth version of the chain’s dumplings. 😋

What was in the bowl ($6.80):

• A round white bowl branded YUEN KEE / 袁記 in green border:
• Clear pork-superior broth (slightly amber, hint of milky from boiled bones).
• 6-7 chives + pork dumplings (韭菜猪肉饺) — translucent skin showing the green chives + pink pork filling through the wrapper.
• Thin egg noodles (silver-strand thin) coiled on the left side.
• Lettuce / leafy greens tucked at the top + bottom.
• Chopped scallions + a few chive shoots floating.

This is the clear-soup counterpart to the chain’s chilli oil dumplings (which I had earlier this year). Same dumplings, opposite preparation:

• Chilli oil version = spicy Sichuan-style, dressed dumplings on rice or beansprouts, no broth
• Clear soup version = Northern-Chinese / Cantonese-style, dumplings in light broth with noodles + greens

The chives + pork dumpling (韭菜猪肉) is the traditional Northern-Chinese filling — minced pork mixed with finely chopped Chinese chives (韭菜 jiucai) + ginger + soya + sesame oil. The chives add the distinctive garlic-onion-grassy aroma that’s the hallmark of this filling. Visible through the translucent wrapper as the green specks.

Translucent dumpling wrapper = made from wheat flour + boiling water (hot-water dough), rolled paper-thin. Different from the white opaque wrappers of jiao zi or won ton (which use cold-water dough). The boiling-water technique makes the wrapper translucent + chewier.

Clear superior broth = boiled pork bones + chicken bones + maybe ginger/scallion, no soya/dark seasoning. Lets the dumpling filling + chive aroma speak. The slight amber-milky tint suggests proper bone-broth depth (vs plain water + bouillon cube).

Thin silver-strand egg noodles = ultra-thin Cantonese-HK style noodles. Cook fast + slurp easy + don’t compete with the dumpling filling.

Lettuce / leafy greens = the standard Chinese soup bowl green — adds bright crunch + bitterness against the soft dumplings.

At $6.80 = slightly cheaper than the chilli oil version (which was $9.80 single bowl earlier). Clear soup version doesn’t need the premium chilli oil base = lower price.

Total: $6.80.

Overall: 4.2 / 5. Chives-pork filling was the proper Northern flavour, wrapper was the right translucent chew, broth had real bone depth, noodles + greens balanced the bowl. Lighter alternative to the chilli oil version. 😋👍🏼

Original IG post