![]() The broth is often over-seasoned, and so heavy with cornstarch as to stand up like gelatin on a spoon. The hot and sour soup at Gourmet Dumpling House is what the hot and sour soup at so many dingy late-night Chinese-American holes-in-the-wall aspire to and ultimately fail at being. And, of course, you can’t leave without trying their signature xiao long bao. Also popular are the braised eggplant and pork entree and scallion pancakes. Nearly every table – Chinese, non-Chinese or mix – has on it a large bowl of Szechuan sliced fish soup with an ominously red chili oil (not to mention whole chilis) floating on the surface. The menu at bustling, pint-sized GDH combines a handful of deep-fried, wok-tossed, saucy and sweet things more fitted to the Western palate with an extensive list of straight-off-the-boat dishes representative of China’s multiple cooking styles. So when my parents suggested dinner at Boston’s beloved Gourmet Dumpling House in Chinatown I leapt at the opportunity to satisfy my craving. What arrived to my door were leathery spare ribs, frozen shrimp in a puffy, corn dog jacket of “fried,” and cold, stiff, oily noodles that just made my condition worse. I was yearning for the American-Chinese (or, I guess, Spanish-American-Chinese) top hits: General Tso’s, crab rangoons, chop suey in white and red takeout boxes, thrown into a paper bag with chopsticks, a plastic fork and a fortune cookie. I wasn’t looking for the fabulous dim sum I had in Hong Kong or the spicy hot pot I struggled with in Shanghai. ![]() Having given up on finding authentic Chinese, I actually attempted once around 2 years ago to order the typical selection of hangover-helper American-Chinese favorites from a Chinese spot in Eixample. On that lazy evening I wasn’t in it for the real deal. They all seem to offer only butchered versions of American-Chinese classics (already adapted/bastardized versions of real Chinese dishes) that wouldn’t appeal to me even after a three-day whiskey binge. Perhaps it does exist in Barcelona and I’m just not looking in the right places, but the delivery menu of restaurants like Jardin de Chen (“Pollo Hong Kong,” “Ensalada China,” “Ternera con Tomate”) scare me off. I haven’t had good Chinese food since moving from the U.S.
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