Thursday, August 07, 2014

Tian Jin Fong Kee (天津冯记), People's Park Complex Food Centre

Tian Jin Fong Kee, guo tie

This stall (#01-1148, People's Park Complex Food Centre, 32 New Market Road) which has been around since before I was born serves a bunch of stuff like dumplings, Chinese rice cakes, spicy & sour soup and zha jiang mian amongst a few other things. What they are really known for are their guo tie (pot stickers). Notably their pan fried ones. Which I've been eating since I was a kid. For years, it was an bi-monthly affair until a certainly point, we stopped patronizing for some reasons. I don't remember why. In the past 8 years or so, I recall only having had them once.

Well, that deserved a mention doesn't it? This stall pretty much formed the impression of what I thought a typical guo tie should look or even taste like. I had grown up thinking that this was local food rather than one of Chinese origins. They were also the benchmark guo tie that was etched in my memory with their crisp browned skin that wasn't overly thick with juicy fillings of minced pork and chives. This visit, I noticed the change. Well....the dumplings were probably a little bit bigger in the past (I cannot verify for memory can be fickle), but that wasn't what jarred that memory. The marinate used in the minced pork fillings have changed. Those minced meat are now brown instead of a lighter shade of fully cooked pork. I'm certain it wasn't how it had been in the past.

Not that it tasted bad but it's just not as good as what I had remembered. Good thing I've an alternative these days.

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