I asked Johor Yummy members what to eat at the old Taman Sri Tebrau Hawker Centre and the guo tie 锅贴 (or pan fried dumpling) stall came up a few times. So, I made my way to stall #26 at the dingy old food centre, my interest piqued because this is the only guo tie stall that I have heard of so far in Johor Bahru.
The boss and auntie workers were friendly, though unaccustomed to awkward attention from a stranger togging a clunky DSLR camera :P
This was my order of a small plate of guo tie. Notice that one side of the guo tie dumplings is golden brown while the other is not browned. This is actually one of the characteristics of guo tie, one side is fried and the other is "steamed".
Outside, the fried golden brown skin was stiff but not hard and it was not oily. The "steamed" side was tender but not soft. It was a nice contrast of textures.
Inside, the minced meat and gu chai were moist, naturally sweet and savoury. The skin was slightly crisp, gummy and chewy to the bite. The skin was quite thin, yet strong enough to keep the hot oil from entering the dumpling.
This was the boiled version - puffy because of the hot air and minced meat juices trapped inside the dumpling. Break the seal and the hot savoury broth-like juices oozes out and runs down the corner of your mouth, if you are not careful :P
The moist minced pork and gu chai vegetable inside.
For many people, guo tie must be eaten with pickled ginger and vinegar dipping sauce, although I am quite happy just to savour the minced pork's natural flavours.
Everything here is handmade fresh at the stall. The boss and the aunties were actually rather too modest about their work, dismissing it as "nothing much... 没有什么". Let's see :)
The boss kneading the dough from scratch i.e. flour.
Making the shells one by one.
Each dumpling is stuffed with pork or prawn mince and hand folded one at a time.
Putting the freshly made dumplings into the shallow pan of hot oil.
Guo tie sizzling in the pan of oil.
Let the dumplings cook inside the pan of hot oil and water for a while.
Draining away the excess oil and water. Notice the fried and steamed sides.
The plate of freshly fried golden brown guo tie ready and on it's way to the customer.
The condiment tray - there were chili sauce, vinegar, light soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Prices are prominently displayed. Besides pork fillings, there is also the prawn version. Stall #26 also sells frozen versions for takeaway. For people whose comfort food is guo tie but have difficulty getting good quality frozen dumplings, this stall is a life saver.
Restaurant name: Makanan Guo Tie Shanghai
Address: Stall 26, Taman Sri Tebrau Hawker Centre, Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau, Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/E0X3Q
GPS: 1.487056,103.768063
Hours: 5:30pm to 10:00pm
Non Halal
Date visited: 7 Aug 2013
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