Updated, September 2022
Prices updated
I had been meaning to check ShengYuan Loofah steamed soup dumplings out for a while now. Originally a started as a breakfast store, born out of that is this soup dumpling restaurant specialising in steamed loofah and pork soup dumplings.
Pick whatever you want out of the fridge and they will add it on to your total at the end of the meal.
I picked up a plate of stewed bitter gourd (bottom right of the shot) which had some chilli in there with some of the mini fish (see below), and also a plate of the pickled bamboo (middle of the shot) at ShengYuan Loofah steamed soup dumplings.
I probably wouldn’t jump to order this again, but it was a rather cool evening so a bit of soup did go down a treat. The flavours weren’t very inspiring though…
Often a fan of the above – thinly sliced beef with cucumber and scallions wrapped in a scallion pancake – this was somewhat disappointing, also. I thought the pancake was a bit oily and wasn’t as flaky as I expected at ShengYuan Loofah steamed soup dumplings. The beef was also not particularly generously portioned…
If you are favouring health, then don’t get these pot stickers at ShengYuan Loofah steamed soup dumplings. I made the unfortunate mistake of moving the plate a couple of times to position it for a pic, and each time I did so I had to dry my hands of grease. You can see the grease on the pot stickers, and I am afraid that they taste as greasy as they look, too. The skin is also a little too thick in places on these, but the filling is quite tasty, nonetheless…
These were mega, there’s no doubt about it. The bar is set really damn high for steamed soup dumplings in Taipei, with DinTaiFeng leading the way head and shoulders above the rest. The skin on these was slightly thicker than DinTaiFeng, but what makes these really special is the unique filling inside – Loofah 絲瓜. Now, this vegetable is a weird one, I’ll be honest. It is part of the cucumber family, and I often dislike the gloopy soups I usually see made from loofah.
All that aside, though, the loofah really works inside here with the pork filling at ShengYuan Loofah steamed soup dumplings. It remains crunchy, fresh, and full of flavour. There’s not a huge amount of soup on the inside of the dumpling, but that doesn’t really detract from the flavour, for me.
I haven’t eaten this in so long, that I needed to order it. In actual fact, this is probably the only other thing on the menu that I would order again (as well as the soup dumplings) at ShengYuan Loofah steamed soup dumplings. A thin pancake is sandwiched with sweetened red bean paste and crusted with sesame seeds, then baked – win.
When done right, this sesame paste/pudding is really something to behold. If done right, it is silky smooth, slightly thick in consistency, and packing an incredible sesame aroma. This didn’t step up to the plate, here, and I won’t be ordering it again. If you want a good sesame paste/pudding, go to Kai Kai dessert.