JiaoZi (Chinese Dumplings)

Crescent-shaped JiaoZi symbolize wealthy and

 prosperity because of their resemblance to ancient

Chinese money (silver ingots).

One silly thing I used to do is to integrate ShuiJiao (Boiled Chinese Dumplings) as part of my diet plan when I put on weight. Being the least fattening JiaoZi variety, I substituted dinner by having 10 pieces of ShuiJiao for consecutive 14 days and targeted to lose 5 pounds. Well, this diet plan failed and left me only a single word - frustration! My weight remained unchanged and I have been so sick of eating ShuiJiao since then (those who had experienced diet failure and zero no result after 2 weeks of discipline, for sure you understood my feeling ).

Let’s me explain why I failed.


The only scientific proven way of losing weight is your daily calories intake is less than the calories required by your body. To shed 1kg of fat from your body, you need to burn an equivalent of 7700kcal from your body with a combination of balanced diet plan and exercise. For instance, a lady who weight 55kgs can only consume equal or not more than 1650kcal everyday in order to maintain her weight. When she reduces her daily calories intake by 450kcal from food plus burn 120kcal from 30 minutes brisk walking, she will cut down a total of 570kcal everyday. In 2 weeks, she will be able to lose up to 1kg.

A snapshot of the alley which is few streets

away near the hotel I stayed.

After my diet failed, I did a lot of research into ShuiJiao and the outcome revealed that 1 piece of ShuiJiao contains 62kcal, which is then translated into 620kcal for a usual order consisting of 10 pieces. See, that’s the main culprit with hidden calories come from carbohydrates and fats. So, ladies and gentlemen, whoever want to keep extra pounds off, my advice is never consider to substitute main meal by ShuiJiao, unless you can control o eat moderately and mindfully with not more 5 pieces per meal. Likewise, for those who are so much fancy into ShuiJiao as after meal treats, soon, you will see your waistline grows sideway unknowingly.

Locals' breakfast time along the street.

When I was in Shanghai, I was so unwilling to eat ShuiJiao due to my sickeningness even though it is authentic Shanghainese dumplings. But the place I stayed has all kinds of street food vendors and the most common dish is JiaoZi, which is REAL cheap and popular in Shanghai. Due to convenience and to save pocket money, I had JiaoZi almost everyday as breakfast but it is still my sickening food after all.

Since I have taken a number of JiaoZi photos, I thought I would just do a brief introduction and hope this info is helpful enough for friends who have plan in mind to visit Shanghai or simply a sharing with JiaoZi freaks. And 3 types of JiaoZi are introduced here from theirs shapes, tastes and textures.

a) ShuiJiao

These water boiled dumplings are served in soup unlike those we eat in Malaysia. I would say they are so far the best ShuiJiao I had as the the "crunchiness" of the garlic chives was greatly retained after boiling. The wrappers were very thin and delicate and the clear soup served was tasty too. It's worth the price I paid RMB 4 for 10 pieces.

Oriental garlic chives filled ShuiJiao served with clear soup.

b) Served Cold ShuiJiao

These soupless ShuiJiao were served cold with soy-sesame paste. I'd never tried such ShuiJiao before and the texture was unacceptable for me due to its thick and chewy skin. But the meat and vegetable stuffings were tasty. It sold RMB 4 for 10 pieces.

Soupless and served cold ShuiJiao with soy-sesame sauce.

c) GuoTie

These ‘pan-fried dumplings served are commonly seen in Shanghai. Evenly heated brown skin were crispy and thin and the hint of wonderful "wok burnt smell" left an aftertaste in my mouth. It went well without dipping any sauce. As for price, it is slightly expensive which is RMB 6 for 10 pieces.

Wok-Burnt GuoTie, a very common street food in Shanghai.

Chou Dou Fu (Smelly Preserved Beancurd)

Continue my blogging about street food I sampled in China. Today topic is Smelly Preserved Beancurd, or in mandarin we name it Chou Dou Fu. This smelly thingy is infamous by its specific garbage-manure like odour which no one can deny it can spread at least a distance of 10 miles.

A Malaysia born kampung girl like me never tried Chou Dou Fu for the past 29 years in my life, although I had been knowing it since the first day I watched Hong Kong drama series.  Last year I was in Hong Kong with high hopes to sample Chou Dou Fu which I had been dreaming for. Sad to say, I did not manage to find any stalls selling Chou Dou Fu as my closed girl friend who has been working in Hong Kong for 3 years told me me that it is no longer commonly seen in Hong Kong Island but in other rural areas. Ended up, I flew back to Malaysia with a broken heart :(

This time in Shanghai and Wenzhou, I tried 2 different types of Chou Dou Fu and I named them square cube and diagonal cube respectively (if someone knows how to differentiate varieties of Chou Dou Fu according to China's provinces, I want to learn from you).  

I tried the square cube Chou Dou Fu from one of the food stalls right opposite Oriental Pearl Tower, the signature landmark of Shanghai. They were evenly cut into small square cubes and deep fried until golden brown on the surface. So, how does it taste to me? Only one word to express myself - YUMMY! The outside was real crispy but the inside was soft and tender, and I couldn't stop myself eating one after another one.  The sweet dipping sauce added a hint of flavour to cover its pungent smell for those who can't bear it.

Then how about the one I tried in Wenzhou? It's bigger in size and cut into diagonal cube. But the texture is less crispier and watery inside. Basically, I was like having a plain deep fried beancurd with some kind of chili sauce.

In term of smell, both have different level of stink depends on their "secret recipes". My conclusion was, Chou Dou Fu is definitely an acquired taste like some can't live without durian while others hate it the most. Anyway, I will sure fulfil my "eating desire" next time I visit China.

XiaoLungBao (Soup Dumplings), Shanghai, China

XiaoLungBao, literally known as Soup Dumplings are small steamed buns originated from Eastern China. Its name is commonly believed to be derived from the way it cooks in a small steaming bamboo-made basket (AKA "XiaoLung" in Asian community).

I tried this local delicacy in one of the most famous places in Shanghai known as ChengQuangMiao (城隍庙) , a traditional district with many shops and stores selling authentic Chinese street food, sourvenirs, traditional handcrafted and many more...

What lured me to satisfy my 2 hours of lining up with extremely tired legs (I held my pee too!) was the loaded information from well-known traveler magazines, advertisement, TV shows (to name just a few of sources), all give good ranking that this XiaoLungBao is one of the Top 10 local snacks you must try if you are to mention you'd visited Shanghai. So, I determined to try it before I left Shanghai!

Finally, 2 hours had gone! I managed to witness the skillful XiaoLungBao Shi Fu and Shi Niang how they made such saliva drooling food - invisible fast folding fingers filled up small bun with chopped meat demonstrated by the Shi Niang, whereas the Shi Fu was "non-stop" pressing small pieces dough with his lower palm into thin slices.

Food time! I was so dissapointed when I first bite the skin of XiaoLungBao and hoping the melted soup burned my tongue but all this never happened. It was not tasty at all simply because its thick flour-made skin and dried meat filling making it loses the supposed-to-have original texture - a mouthful of soup melted from the essence of meat when you "enjoy" it.... Can someone recommend me where to sample a really thumbs up XiaoLungBao in Shanghai?