Haioreum Korean Pancake with Barley

So, these Cakes are again pretty much the same as the Green Tea and Corn versions. Chewy, slightly dense donut-y cake with a thin sweet and mild filling. I only detected the barley flavor because of the power of suggestion, but it's still good!

Score: 4/5 - I can barely tell this flavor from the other equally enjoyable Haioreum pancakes, but yeah, it's good.

NanXiang Vegetable Mushroom Bun

These NanXiang Vegetable Mushroom Buns are from Kam Man. I bought these because I don't think I had seen the brand before. Kam Man's frozen goods selection kinda works that way, you find something you like and then it goes away and there's new stuff in it's place, and maybe eventually the old stuff comes back. You can never be sure in the frozen aisle. (The rest of the store is a little like that, but it's the most noticable in the freezer case!) These buns are a medium size, with a good filling to dough ratio. The filling has greens and actually noticeable pieces of mushroom, the flavor is good but plain. I had trouble keeping everything inside the bun, as these are larger chopped pieces without binder. I thought these were just OK, but Ross thought they were pretty good. I would consider buying them again, to fill that greens-tasting bun slot.

Score: 3.5/5 - Good but not amazing. Nice to have something that says "mushroom" on the package and has noticeable mushroom bites.

Haioreum Korean Cake with Green Tea

So, these Cakes with Green Tea are very much like the Corn version. A variation on the theme, as it were. The texture was identical, the same dense donut disk with a medium thickness filling with soft lumps. The filling was identical filling, sweet with a hint of cinnamon, with the bits adding a little flavor but not much. After reading the package, the filling seems to have some amount of nuts in it. The cake part was very lightly flavored with green tea, but definitely had that green tea shade. Ross and I both liked these as much as the corn version. Rydia, who was trying this form for the first time, gave it good reviews.

Score: 4/5 - Very similar to the earlier Cake with Corn, equally enjoyable.

Samlip Vegetable Dumpling

These Samlip Vegetable Dumplings are in the same "line" as the Leek Dumplings from H Mart that I graded a 4.5. These dumplings feature the usual cast of characters in the vegetable clip art on the front, but rather than a lot of vegetable, these dumplings have a lot of soy protein in tiny chunks, with some noodle and veggie bits mixed in. The skin and ratio of filling to dumpling are otherwise the same, which is to say, good! I prefer the flavor of the leek dumplings over these, but I would certainly consider buying these again! I did buy the kimchee flavor of these dumplings, and have yet to try them, but I am looking forward to them, since these other two have been great so far.

On the topic of dumplings, I think I have figured out my favorite way to cook them. Or at least the best way to cook this brand, and I think it would work to cook other similar dumplings with a medium-thin-gauge skin. I have started cooking them in a frying pan with a decent amount of oil, but on a lower heat setting. The skins get crispy, they bubble a bit, but they don't get burnt. You have time to turn them over and cook multiple sides and it's fast enough (10 minutes or so) but not hectically fast. I do like them in the steamer as well, but this low heat frying is the best way in my opinion. (This might also work well with the larger dumplings, like these Haioreum Dumplings, since the lower heat might give them a chance to cook all the way through before they burn. Usually I have to add a little water to the pan after the frying to finish cooking them, and that takes away some of the crispness from frying...)

Score: 4/5 - Very good dumplings!

Red Diamond Redux

You know, after having the Red Diamond Hong Kong Style Dim Sum Preserved Vegetable & Bamboo Shoot Bun a couple of times, I think I have to downgrade them to closer to a 3 or a 3.5 maybe. I still like them, but you can't peel off the paper on the bottom without just ripping the bottom out of the bun. And the flavor is good, but not as good as my original assessment. I still like them and probably would get them again.