With Three You Get Soup Dumplings

A few years ago, a friend and I happened to be cold and hungry and in New York's Chinatown neighborhood when we stumbled upon a restauarant that looked pretty much like all the others on Mott Street. With one exception, that is. This place had a tutorial on the place mat on how to eat xiao long bao (soup dumplings, to you and I). Intrigued, we ordered a batch. Heaven - short and sweet - is how I would describe the experience. A tightly wrapped dumpling filled with pork  (made to order in the open kitchen)and a gelatinous gel, that when steamed is turned to soup, and when eaten just right, gives one the sensation of hot soup and an entree all in one. Experts suggest finding the thin side of the dumpling and biting a small hole to release the liquid onto the oblong spoon, slurping the soup and then popping the dumpling into your mouth. Anyway, fast forward a few years, and the Julia child becomes introduced to xiao long bao while reading a book about a girl who travels to Taiwan to visit her Grandmother. She of course sets herself on a quest to eat soup dumplings and the impetus for a trip to New York City is born. The rest, as they say, is history....

With Six You Get Eggroll, the 1968 Doris Day/Brian Keith classic that I saw as a child at the drive-in ( I believe the now defunct Oak Drive-in) and remembered fondly. Sadly, like everything else from my childhood, it turns out to be completely inappropriate to show my child. Sexual innuendo and the battle of the sexes peak as a widow with three sons reunites with an "old friend" widower with a teenage daughter. When they decide to marry, sparks fly, but between the kids, not the adults. The highlight seems to be the debut of George Carlin in his first acting role. Tensions rise and fall, but all is well once they realize that now when this melded family orders Chinese food, there are enough of them to get free egg rolls. Apparently, one day this lady met a fellow and they knew they were much more than a hunch....


The Recipe:

Plane ticket
Cab fare
Metro card
NYC Street map app to 100 Mott Street

Special Equipment: Cash (they don't take checks or cards)

Fly to New York. Take a cab into Manhattan (preferably Grand Central Station). You can take the bus, but if there are more than two persons in your party, you may as well cab it. Purchase a MetroCard and board the number 6 train Downtown. Exit at the Spring Street Station. Head eats on Spring Street 2 blocks until you reach Mott Street. Turn left. Your destination, Shanghai Cafe, will be about a half a block on the right. Try not to buy too many knock off Louis Vitton bags or Rolex watches on your way. Order #1 for shrimp, # 2 for pork dumplings.