Road Trip: Qing Dao Bread Food - Monterey Park (Los Angeles)

*** A short update can be found here.

Even though I've had Qing Dao Bread Food on my list for quite a while, we approached the place with some trepidation. The namesake is the Missus' hometown, so there's some apprehension, enough so, that we just kinda drove past during our trips to the area. This morning, however, was a bit different; the usual "June gloom" had been augmented with a bit of rain, and temperatures were much lower than the norm. We both thoughtthat a trip to China Islamic, for some Lamb Hot Pot would hit the spot. Unfortunately, China Islamic seemed to be a bit late in opening, and we decided to drive onward down Garvey. By the time we hit the "heart of Monterey Park", the intersection of Garfield and Garvey, we had made up our mind. Today was the day we'd check out Qing Dao Bread Food.

 

The interior of the small shop is non-descript, and wouldn't stand out amongst the other thousand or so little shops strewn across the San Gabriel Valley.

 

And as we entered, the Missus grabbed an ordering sheet, and chatted with the gentleman behind the counter. The Missus returned to our table with a smile. "Oh my, the accents are sooooo Qing Dao." The Missus has a thing about accents, we once sat in a Shenyang Restaurant, and the Missus kept giggling the entire night at the accents of the staff and clientle.

After placing our order, peeking around the posted Jiaozi and Baozi prices, we could see the woman rolling out the dough for our Jiaozi behind the Plexiglas window.

 

Taking into account the accents, the staff's features, and this, the Missus told me that this was the "real deal".

 

Growing up, this was the standard condiment for Baozi and Jiaozi in Qing Dao; garlic that had been pounded in a mortar mixed with vinegar. In fact, when She was a child, it was the Missus's job to peel the garlic. Which of course She hated! This was mighty strong stuff, that tastes great if you're garlic lover like myself......but the aftertaste will hang around for a good long time.......

The first item to arrive was the Pork and Green Bean Baozi ($1.25):

 

The Baozi arrived with a good twelve sets of "pleats". I was told that Baozi in traditionally shaped to mimic a woman's bound feet, once a symbol of beauty in China. My MIL also informed me that folks say the "more folds, the better the taste", which She said was just a myth.

 

The breaking open the Baozi, we noticed it was full of roughly cut green beans and pork. "Very country-like, just like what I grew up eating" said the Missus. Per my MIL, green beans is a common Baozi ingredient during the summer, replaced by Napa Cabbage in the winter. We found the dough to be much too crumbly, and it lacked the nice yeasty scent and flavor.

 

The  filling was excellent in flavor, especially the pork.

Next up was the Lamb Jiaozi ($6.95):

 

When these arrived (a dozen), we could tell by the sheen and the look of the wrappers that this was going to be good. The wrappers had a wonderful al dente texture, with just the perfect amount of pull. Texturewise, these were perfect for me.

 

Each dumpling contained a bit of rich "soup", and the meat, though a bit chewy had a wonderful lamb flavor.

I told the Missus that, "these were probably the best I've had". The Missus concurred and said these were the best Qing Dao Jiaozi She's had in the States. And then of course came the inevitable loaded question. "So, you think these are better than my Mom's, huh?" After hemming and hawing, and doing the "similar but different" cop-out move, I surrendered and pleaded the fifth. No way was I going to jeopardize my "Jiaozi futures".

While I was plowing through the Jiaozi, the Missus had a chat with the Owner. They are from Qing Dao, and have been in the US for nine years. The Missus even remembered his street in Qing Dao, which was in the same District as where the Missus grew up.

Last to arrive were the Pork, Leek, and Shrimp Lu Bao ($6.95):

 

And though the filling was roughly chopped, with large pieces of pork and shrimp, in the manner of the Lu Bao of the Missus's youth, the dough left a bit to be desired. The tops were gummy instead of fluffy, and the bottom was hard instead of crisp. I also thought it tasted oily. The filling had great flavor though.

 

Of course, finding that I had found Jiaozi that rivaled my MIL's, the Missus immediately called Her Mom! Oh-uh....... The Missus wasn't able to talk to Her Mom until later that evening, but the desire to needle her still hadn't subsided. Upon finding that I enjoyed my Jiaozi, my MIL declared that She was, "very jealous" and asked for the name and phone number of this restaurant. When asked why should should want that information, she told us jokingly, "I'm going call and find out the secret of their Jiaozi." The Missus of course asked why would they share their recipe with you? To which my MIL replied, "we are from the same district, we are neighbors, what is the harm?"

She was joking....I think....I hope.

Qing Dao Bread Food
301 North Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 312-6978

Check out PepsiMonster's post on QDBC here. 

Check out the Gastronomer's post of QDBC here. 

Postscript: While writing this the Missus called Her Mother....and guess what, Her Mother actually called QDBC! Among the things my MIL did find out was that the Owners are from the same neighborhood as the Missus's family. What She didn't find out was the recipe to their Jiaozi dough! Even using small talk and the "La Guan Xi" (doing the buddy-buddy thing) method didn't work. The response to the recipe request? "You come here eat, and we'll tell you the recipe!" he-he-he-he.........

Comments

[Carol]

lol! Great MIL story! I hope she does get the recipe. Too bad it wasn't closer or else I'd stop by for some dumplings, too.

[Dennis]

I wouldn't have thought I'd miss Monterey Park living there for a few years. I definitely took the food for granted, and that was the small few handful of places that I actually visited.. Anyway thanks for the good laugh as well!

[Jaden]

Lamb dumplings! OOOOOHHH must try. I'm in L.A. visitng parents at moment, but no time to go to Monterey Park this trip...next time!

[kat]

wow! your MIL is so funny. I guess you need to take her the next time she visits?!

[liver]

Love the "B" grade. We had some mantou from here fresh from the steamer. Each was the size of my head!!! Yummmm....

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - You know, if you plan right, you can make at least 3-4 stops on a road trip to make it worthwhile. ;o)

Hi Dennis - We kinda took the SGV for granted when we lived there too.

Hi Jaden - I hope you're having a great time. I really like the flavor of the lamb.

Hi Kat - I think I'll have to!

Hi Liver - The size of your head!!! Did you finish it off?

[nhbilly]

That was funny. Boy am I not surprise. Don't dis the MIL our you STARVE ;-)My MIL bribes me with food scandalous!!!

[ed (from Yuma)]

A funny and yummy post.

[sawyer]

haha great story....that "soup" in the dumpling looks delicious, as does the green beans baozi...will have to check this place out. when i saw bread food, i thought this was going to be about a bakery

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - Right you are.........

Hi Ed - I'm glad you enjoyed the post!

Hi Sawyer - Yes, the translation of the Chinese name just isn't right.....

[Rosa]

One day I'll cave and make the drive over to that area and eat me some dumplings galore.

Now if only I could get the husband to like dumplings...

[RONW]

in-laws are probably related in some way or form to the QDBC people.

[foodhoe]

what is the lacy stuff on the dumpling pinwheel? I've seen that on dumplings before, is it just fluff that leaks from the filling? everything looks delicious

[Eat. Travel. Eat!]

This looks really good and very interesting! Great story BTW. It is such a coincidence that the restaurant's owner used to live in the same neighborhood as your mother-in-law!

So much juice in the dumplings! I've never encountered that much juice before. I need to visit this place!

[Kirk]

Hi Rosa - Maybe you'll be able to convert him with these???

Hi RONW - Or at least they know the same people.

Hi FH - During the cooking process a "slurry" is added to create that.

Hi Cliff - Some of that is the black vinegar I had in the spoon. Still, it had a good amount of soup.

[Gastronomer]

So glad to hear that this joint is the real deal! It's a small world ;-)

[Kirk]

Hi G - It'll be interesting to hear what my MIL has to say......

[Andy (美國土子)]

Kirk, I'm happy to hear that the missus says it's the real deal. I'm anxiously awaiting to see how you and the missus think of the other items.

I really like the Zhajiang mian nad seaweed, but I'm curious if this style is qing dao style.

[Kirk]

Hi Andy - I'll make sure to post the next time we visit.

[Pepsi Monster]

Hey Kirk,

You're up here again. Gotta hit me up next time. It seemed like we are missing each other. LOL