Restaurants

100 Favorite Dishes 2015: Xiaolongbao at Chou’s Kitchen

This year we're marking the hundred-day countdown to Best of Phoenix 2015 by sharing some of our favorite dishes at restaurants all over the Valley. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email lauren.saria@newtimes.com. 38. Xiaolongbao at Chou's Kitchen...
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This year we’re marking the hundred-day countdown to Best of Phoenix 2015 by sharing some of our favorite dishes at restaurants all over the Valley. Have a suggestion for a dish you’d like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email lauren.saria@newtimes.com.

38. Xiaolongbao at Chou’s Kitchen

There aren’t that many places in town where you can get an order of xiaolongbao, but one of the best options for getting your Chinese soup dumpling fix is Chou’s Kitchen in Chandler. This strip mall restaurant specializes in northeastern Chinese cuisine called Dongbei Cai, a culinary tradition that includes various wheat-based doughy dumplings, including these popular liquid-filled creations. 

Don’t worry, you don’t have to speak Chinese to order soup dumplings. Just look for the dish called “dumplings with pork and napa cabbage” on the restaurant’s menu. One order includes eight little dumplings — enough to be a starter for your whole table, or a light entree if you’re selfish, like me. To eat them, delicately scoop each dumpling with your spoon and then bite either the top or the side of the outer shell in order to suck out all the juices inside. (Be careful, because the soup inside can be molten-hot.) Once you’ve extracted all the soup, you can pop the whole dumpling into your mouth. 

If it sounds simple, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s not. The delicate doughy exterior has a nasty habit of ripping when you try to pick up a dumpling. The good news is that messing up just gives you a good excuse to order another batch. 

The 100 Favorite Dishes so far…

100. Waffle at Matt’s Big Breakfast 

99. Pacific White Fish Taco at La Santisima 

98. Beef Roll at Taiwan Food Express
97. Zinc Burger at Zinc Bistro
96. Goat Biryani at Khyber Halal 
95. Key Lime Doughnut at Welcome Chicken + Donuts
94. Chicharrón Prensado Quesadilla at La Merced
93. Moist Succulent Pork Chop at Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe
92. Deep Fried Squid with Salt and Pepper from Nee House Chinese Cuisine
91. Coconut Raspberry Brownie at Karl’s Quality Bakery
90. Fried Chicken at Phoenix Public Market Cafe

89. The Tyler at Cheese ‘N Stuff
88. Hurricane Popcorn at Bitter & Twisted Cocktail Parlour
87. Ceviche at El Chullo

86. Date Shake at Couscous Express
85. Red Bean and Rice Burger at Liberty Market

84. Banh Thit Nguoi at Da Vang

83. Breakfast Sandwich at Ollie Vaughn’s

82. Crispy Pig Ears at Crudo 

81. Parillada at Asadero Norte De Sonora 

80. Warm Jar of King Crab and Butter at Little Cleo’s Seafood Legend

79. Pumpkin Spice Macaron at Essence Bakery
78. Falafel Sandwich at Al Hana Restaurant

77. Sheng Jian Bao at DingHao Shanghai

76. Baked Vegetable Pesto at Oven + Vine
75. Pollo Guisado at FrinGo’s Kitchen

74. Aloo Paratha at Tahoora Grill 
73. Exotic Mushroom Pan Fry at Cowboy Ciao
72. Otro Cortado Salad at Otro Cafe
71. The Standard with Cheese at The Stand 

70. Kimchee Bokum Bap at Hodori 

69. The 301 Pizza at Forno 301
68. Green Chile Burrito at Rito’s Mexican Food 

67. Aloo Tikki Chaat at Little India
66. Oysters Rockefeller at The Salt Cellar Restaurant

65. Bún Thit Nuong at Hue Gourmet
64. Pistachio Chicken Liver Pate at The Gladly

63. Fried Green Tomato Sandwich at Welcome Diner

62. Crawfish at Angry Crab Shack
61. The Lady at Short Leash Hot Dogs
60. Torta Ahogada at Tortas Paquime

59. Baiynchaiv Crepes at Reathrey Sekong

58. The Straw at Miracle Mile Deli

57. Fresh Shattered Potato Chips at Ingo’s Tasty Food

56. Southern Fried Chicken at Bobby-Q

55. Buffala Verace at Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana 

54. Baklava at Middle Eastern Bakery and Deli

53. Tri-Tip Sandwich at Grassroots Kitchen at Tap 

52. Fig, Cheese, and Caramel Empanada at Republica Empanada

51. Cauliflower Pizza at Forge Wood-Fired Pizza

50. Bandeja Paisa at La Tiendita Cafe
49. Footlong at Ted’s Hot Dogs

48. Chettinad Dosai at Woodlands Vegetarian South Indian Kitchen

47. Sticky Buns at El Chorro 

46. Wood Grilled Artichoke at Central Bistro

45. Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings at New Hong Kong Restaurant
44. Carne Adovada Enchiladas at Los Dos Molinos

43. Mac n’ Cheese at Lux Central 

42. Carolina Dog at Joe’s Farm Grill
41. Whole Chicken at El Pollo Supremo

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