The Boiled Dumplings (水餃) at Wei’s Noodle House in Ottawa were probably the worst I have ever had and deserved only a 1 out of 5 Rating.
I have to note, up front, that Wei’s Noodle House in Ottawa is not a Dim Sum restaurant, rather it is an Asian fusion establishment, predominantly featuring Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai dishes. Unfortunately, as with many restaurants which feature dishes from different cuisines, the failure to specialize often means that none of the ethnic dishes on offer end up being done all that well. The ‘Boiled Pork Dumplings’ I was served at Mei’s, which are a standard in most Dim Sum establishments, were really poorly executed.
Well, first of all, Boiled Dumplings, or 水餃, should be made with a Cold-Water style Basic Dumpling Wrapper Dough. Wei’s, quite obviously made the tragic mistake of using a commercially prepared wheat flour dumpling wrapper usually used by home-cooks and not restaurants. The result was thick and unpleasantly chewy in the middle while dried and friable at the edges.
The wrapper really is the primary standard by which a 水餃 is normally judged, and, while the filling can make up for some of the deficiencies, this was not the case here. The Pork was relatively well minced and stirred to produce a decent texture, but the seasoning were largely unidentifiable, if any were included beyond a little scallion, and the result was so bland as to be almost tasteless.
I actually enjoyed some decent dishes at this establishment, but, even a generous amount of hot sauce added to the Soy Sauce included for dipping on the side, failed to make the Boiled Dumplings at Wei’s be anything but a spectacular fail.