A hasty dinner on a rainy day.
I ordered some 小籠包 and 菜肉蒸餃. It was a decent wait and I noticed around a dozen or so customers during my 15 minute wait. The folks in the store (all three of them) were friendly with first-timers, and even more friendlier with the locals whom they like to share a joke with. The dumplings and buns were freshly steamed, unlike the skewers that they have available (although I must say, just because the skewers ready-made, it doesn't mean they taste bad; in fact, quite the opposite, especially when dipped in the spicy sauce they have).
I guess the fact that they were takeaways partially spoilt the experience. The 小籠包 (steamed Shanghai buns) were quite nice, I could tell they had soup in them (once upon a time), but they had been kept in a styrofoam container, which meant little ventilation for the buns and they looked quite deflated and soggy upon opening them. There is a reason why steamed buns are housed in a bamboo steam container - but obviously they can't let us take the bamboo containers home.
The 菜肉蒸餃 (steamed pork and meat dumplings) looked a little bit better, but the skin was a little bit too thick for my liking. I'm quite fussy when it comes to these dumplings as I expect them to be quite fat in shape, along with very thin skin. I thought there would be more vegetables in the filling but it was more meant and a miniscule amount of unidentified greens to speak of.
Both the 小籠包 and 菜肉蒸餃 came with the vegetables that were used to keep the food from sticking on its steaming container - a very nice move which is both environmentally and nutritionally friendly.
This is probably the first time I've had takeaway 小籠包 and 菜肉蒸餃 and I guess there is a reason why - these foods are meant to be enjoyed fresh out of the steamer, which means it should be enjoyed at a dine-in restaurant. Nevertheless, this little joint makes some decent food and even though I was slightly disappointed in its quality, I do take its takeaway component into consideration and wouldn't mind coming back for seconds or thirds.