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I had heard a lot about the Suan La (sweet and sour) soup here, as well as the various dumplings both fried and steamed. I carried anticipation in my heart as I approached the stall and ordered the three famous must-tries. The dumplings are $4 for 8, be it steamed or fried. The soup is $3 and comes in a substantial size enough for 3 small bowls.The steamed dumplings are....very very mediocre. I don't understand the hype over it at all. The skin felt noticeably thicker at some parts, and while the filling wasn't overcooked and was generally succulent, it was just not enough to keep me interested. Dipped in vinegar, it made the dumplings taste so much more palatable with a refreshing tang. Overall so-so ...I wouldn't specially buy it again, but it's all right.The fried dumplings were disappointing -they looked like the frozen kinds one would find in bags sold in supermarkets, and it looked as though someone had just heated it up for us. To cut a long story short, it looked like it wasn't professionally done -more of home-cooked fare. Not that home-cooked fare is a bad thing but when you're dealing with 'traditional shanghainese dumplings' it wouldn't exactly be what customers are looking for. The dumplings weren't exactly crisp, but still moist on the inside, and generally tasty, so that's something to be happy about I guuess The sour and spicy soup was by far the most awful soup I've ever drunk in my entire life. it was WAY TOO starchy, it was as starchy as a poorly done tau suan. There were bits of meat, cabbage and prawns inside, but the combination gave the soup a really disgusting smell... I didn't even finish my small bowl. The meat didn't smell fresh and it gave the soup an undesirable meaty smell that ruined everything. The taste was below average as well, the sourness and spiciness did not fuse in harmony but instead, the taste came in isolated pockets. The initial taste is a slight sourness, which reminded me more of something gone bad rather than a refreshing zest, the spiciness was a little weird given the consistency of the soup. Really, really bad.If not for the soup, I would have given this stall a 3/5 for the dumplings which were honestly not a total fail, they just did not meet up to my expectations. I did not like what I had tried and while this is subjective, I'd say that the dumplings DEFINITELY don't taste authentic.
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This is another stall relocated from the already demolished Margaret Drive Food Centre. They first moved to the Mei Ling Food Centre then to the current location. This stall is famous for serving Shanghainese style dumplings, noodles and soup.My usual favourite has always been the fried dumplings. It came in 8 pieces for $4 serving with vinegar dipping sauce with shredded ginger in it. Their special chilli can be requested as they do not usually serve it by default. The dumplings were fried well to give its surface a slight crispiness and not too oily. And, these dumplings were made using fresh tasting ingredients. I was there after lunch so no queue then and it was served almost immediately. These fried dumplings are a good choice for side dish or just snack.
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