What’s black and white and devoured all over?
Yummy stuffed Chinese buns pair well with a screening of popular Kung Fu Panda 3
When is a Chinese dumpling not a dumpling? When it is a movie star. Stuffed Chinese snacks play a strong supporting role in the animated PG film Kung Fu Panda 3, bound to do brisk business this March Break with the under-12 crowd. The movie, released Jan. 29 and still playing in GTA theatres, has already grossed more than $300 million worldwide.
For Po, the movie’s panda hero, dumplings go beyond mere food. In the trilogy, they have been tools for kung fu training, bragging rights and the means of reuniting with his longlost father. In the latest instalment, Po uses them as weapons when fired out of overstuffed mouths like machine-gun bullets.
After 95 minutes of screen dumplings, you will likely crave them. The lamb twirls at Mother’s Dumplings on Danforth Ave. might do the trick. And while the soup-filled xiao long bao at Ding Tai Fung in Markham are yummy, they are too hot for young children to safely eat.
Go instead to Mean Bao in Leslieville for family-friendly satisfaction and brisk takeout.
In the movie, what are called dumplings better resemble bao, or steamed buns. Unlike the usual enclosed bun stuffed with barbecued pork, Mean Bao makes Taiwanese-style buns that open like tacos. The yeast-raised ovals resemble a puffy crumpet crossed with steamed sponge cake.
The bland wrappers make a good foil for fillings like braised beef ($3.95) with cooked bok choy and pickled cabbage.
Pork belly with cucumber and hoisin ($3.95) is a greatest hits of Chi- nese flavours, the meat hefty enough to split the bun along the bottom fold. Each bao is dusted in crunchy roasted peanuts and chopped cilantro, leading to new tastes as you near the bottom.
One bao is a snack. Two is a meal. Three is an indulgence of panda-size proportions.
They’re best eaten by hand, just like when Po ditches his chopsticks to consume maximum dumplings: “I knew I wasn’t eating up to my potential!” Mean Bao, 181A Carlaw Ave. (and two other locations), 647-351-5535, meanbaotoronto.com. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.