at Select
Reinventing the perogy in Edmonton requires a deft touch, but the mixing of Asian and eastern European flavours in Select’s chicken masala perogies is done in the most delicate of fashions. The doughy pillows are covered in sauteed onions and bacon – traditionalists can rejoice. Instead of sour cream, though, the perogies are cradled on a tamarind yogurt. It’s actually more sour than sour cream, but when mixed with the sweet onions and salty bacon, it works.
The masala spice is subtle. It adds fragrance and a little bit of a floral note to the palate. As fusion dishes go, this one won’t offend baba, but it’s just adventurous enough to feel like it’s not the same old, same old. –Steven Sandor
10018 106 St., 780-428-1629, selectrestaurant.ca
Xiao Long Bao
at Shanghai 456
It’s not often that you encounter the elusive “perfect bite,” but the Xiao Long Bao (or soup dumpling) at Shanghai 456 is most assuredly one.
Part flavour bomb and part experience, the dish – humbly described on the menu as a “steamed mini pork bun in basket” – is a collection of six golf ball-sized dumplings stuffed with seasoned ground pork and a hot, silky, meat-stock broth.
As each of them is only one accidental puncture away from losing the piping hot soup, use your chopsticks with care. Lift the teardrop-shaped dumpling from its bamboo steaming basket, and coat it in the accompanying black rice vinegar and ginger dip. The sweetness of the vinegar and heat of the ginger bring a surprising acidic balance to an otherwise hearty bite, so be sure to
dip liberally.
Next, place the dumpling onto your spoon, nibble the tiniest hole in the soft doughy skin, and – as with any soup – slurp. Once the salty broth has touched every crevasse of your palette, feed on the soup-infused ground pork and dough for that delectably savoury, perfect bite. –Cory Haller
14456 118 Ave., 780-451-8333, website n/a
Jalapeno Cheddar Perogies