They are VERY good, especially with a sauce made up of sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and szechuan sauce. Delicious.

It's been way too long since I've had any...

That's what I said!

I only have to walk for about 30 seconds and I have unlimited access to them for about 30 cents for a dozen.

This is me and dancing around going "Neener-neener-neeener!".

But yeah, making them is also quite a bit of fun.

Also Shanghainese jiaozi are dangerous; it's full of soup so when you attempt to eat them it creates a gigantic mess if you're not too careful.

The ones I make are filled with ground pork, scallions, and a few other vegetable items that escape my mind at just this moment.

Absolutely delicious.

I prefer meatbuns/baozi myself (Zhuge Liang is allegedly the one who invented them-- so they have a tie to Romance of the Three Kingdoms) , but i like Chinese dumplings too. I like them fried, but isn't that the Japanese way of doing it?

I remember when I went to Beijing on a school trip, me and a friend found that the smaller dining area in the hotel we stayed at served more traditional Chinese food.

I tell you, a jiaozi and a mantou on a bed of noodles makes for strangely good breakfast.

I'd love to eat real Chinese food in China one of these days. I'm not talking about a restaurant in a tourist spot though, but like at some street food type vendor that is "real" China. Only problem is wandering off w/o a guide or a translator would probably not be good.

(Two of my most favorite shows are Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and Bizarre Foods)

dangit, now I'm hungry.

It's not too difficult even then. You can find street vender food everywhere, even in tourist hotspots from evening time onwards when people come back from work to eat. Most of the restaraunts even do traditional Chinese food but it's just quite a bit more expensive.

Restaraunts on the outskirts of cities, in towns and villages also tend to do "traditional" food but really the food is pretty much the same but it's much cheaper and some of the smaller outlets may be lacking in high hygeine standards.

Carry a pocket book with you with some phrases and be aware of tones and you're good to go. I know quite a few people who have lived here for years and don't speak a word of Chinese nor do they live in English friendly areas such as Beijing or Shanghai and they are able to get by with ordering everyday things.

Be warned though that Chinese food can do a number on your digestive tract if you're not used to it.

While you're there, order 炒面，古老肉 (or 甜酸猪肉), 头都，土豆炸饺 with 饺子 and be prepared to eat like a king. Print this off and point at these. You can thank me later.

Edit: Also? You could try request from Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean whatever food in the West more traditional food that is off the menu and most places are quite happy to make it if you know what you are asking for.

;_;

Jealous.

There really isn't any good chinese food in Connecticut...

Holy shit! Fei is practically treating Wong like an actual person!

He's getting soft.