DON'T YOU JUST LOVE self-discovery of the pleasant variety? "My meringues are the best you've ever had?" as opposed to "I didn't realise I ate with my mouth open".
My newest revelation? I love Chinese dumplings. Small, yielding parcels of yumminess, stuffed with delicious fillings, sweet or savoury. Done well, they are a sophisticated treat, miles away from the wan, blubbery creatures I've seen in pictorial men
us and eaten at bad buffets.
And what led me to this epiphany? Chop Chop on Morrison Street. One dinner here and I realise I would happily eat all my meals in dumpling form – breakfast dumpling, lunch dumpling, dinner dumpling, dessert dumpling . . .
And this, after a rather inauspicious beginning. Stooping to chain up my bike outside the restaurant, I was feeling I might have made a mistake. The yellow and red frontage and dowdy net curtains pulled into the corners of the window aren't exactly impressive. I don't mean to be shallow but, really, apart from the various awards and commendations laminated and stuck to the inside of the windows, there's not a lot on the surface to inspire confidence. But I'm hungry from cycling into the bracing wind and, as the bright red lettering on the window says: "A billion people can't be wrong."
Chop Chop's proprietor and chef, Jian Wang, set out to create an authentic Chinese dining experience in Edinburgh. I've not eaten in Shanghai or Beijing, so my judgment of this is limited, but I can say that the food, in fact the whole experience here, is better than most Chinese restaurants. It feels like the real deal. The food is clean and fresh, simple and well executed. There are familiar options on the menu – chow mein, rice dishes, crispy shredded beef – but there are no gloopy sauces or radioactive-coloured dishes.
And the food's not the only change from the ordinary set-up. The menu is made up of large and small dishes designed to be shared and delivered to your table as they're ready. There's no need to stand on ceremony, with chopsticks poised (or forks if you'd prefer); just savour every dish as it arrives.
And there's plenty to choose from. In fact, there is a whole A4 page of dumplings. On one side are the jiao zi (boiled dumplings), on the other, guo tie (fried dumplings) with fillings including pork and chives or coriander, beef and chilli and prawn or fish. There are more familiar dishes too, as well as an intriguing-sounding spicy rainbow trout. And if you're easily overwhelmed, the friendly waiting staff are happy to help.
Salivating? I was. We opted for two types of dumpling (one boiled, one fried), lamb and cumin (£9.45 for two), cold sliced beef (£4.25 for one) and noodles in peanut and mustard sauce (£6.45 for two). The waiter gave us some guidance as to quantity (he was spot on) and asked if we knew how to make a sauce for our dumplings. Being first-timers, we didn't, so he helped.
Delivering two small dishes, one of chopped garlic and one of chilli oil, he told us to add soy sauce and vinegar to taste. Licking it off our chopsticks we were ready. First up was boiled dumplings stuffed with pork and coriander (£3.95). Delicious doesn't quite cover it. Fresh, soft (and slippery), they were full of flavour: the tang of ginger, the coriander-infused minced pork, there was an explosion of liquor with the first bite that we mopped up as we ate. In the middle of cooing about these, four, bigger, fried dumplings arrived, this time filled with prawns (£4.90). I had feared these might be oily, but no, fried on one side only, their golden tops were a perfect foil to the soft, white underbelly.
At this point I think it's fair to say we thought we'd made a mistake by ordering anything else because the thought of these little beauties coming to an end wasn't worth contemplating. But then the lamb and cumin arrived and we forgot our dumpling obsession. Small pieces of tender lamb, served in a bowl with no sauce or distraction. It wasn't the prettiest dish I've seen – brown, unadorned, not even a garnish – but it tasted very fine; the cumin was aromatic but not overpowering.
Next up were the noodles, freshly made, like the dumplings, on the premises. Peanut and mustard don't sound like perfect partners but they worked. Full of flavour, not too sweet, not dry at all. And then the beef. Cold, juicy, studded with nubs of garlic and ribbons of fat that made them soft and incredibly moreish.
We didn't finish all our plates but the staff happily bagged them up for us to take home. And then it was time for pudding. Anyone for dumplings? This time they were filled with peanut butter and raisins (£3.40), sweet and satisfying. And, for variety's sake, we ordered shredded sugar pancakes too (£6.80 for two). These strips of hot, sugar-coated batter are served with a bowl of iced water to allow you to crisp up the coating before eating. A seriously sweet treat.
When it comes down to it, what you want from eating out is good food. Fine linen tablecloths and chi chi surroundings are nice, but they're not required. What is essential is top nosh; if it's not up to much, the colour scheme won't compensate. And with that, another revelation: I'm not as shallow as I sometimes think I am.
CHOP CHOP248 Morrison Street, Edinburgh (0131-221 1155)
THE BILLDinner for two, £39.20, excluding drinks
The full article contains 945 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
