The menu at “Shandong Dumpling House” is dazzling. “Dry-fried Chicken” is first marinated in a house sauce, deep-fried dry, then tossed with chilies, garlic, sugar and scallions for a sweet-and-sour kick. “Cold Abalone Mushroom Salad” shreds king-oyster mushrooms, blanches them, and adds a light dressing—crisp, cool and sweet. “Lemongrass Pork-Chop Salad” bathes the chops in lemongrass, soy and salt, fries them, then gives them a dip in Japanese vinaigrette—fresh and grease-free. “Typhoon-Shelter Grass Prawns” fries soybeans and garlic to a crunch, then folds in deep-fried grass prawns; the nutty beans and sweet prawns keep chopsticks reaching back for more.
Dumplings and the sauerkraut-and-pork hotpot are the house treasures. Four kinds of dumplings—vegetable steamed, green-bean, shrimp and fresh-fish—are all hand-made by the owner: thin skins, generous fillings, juices that burst. The sauerkraut-and-pork hotpot is so famous that regulars swear it rivals the celebrated versions at Taipei’s “Taipower” and “Changbai.”