World to Table

Shanghainese soup dumplings are a culinary phenomenon: a bite of pork and a spoonful of soup all within a neatly pleated wheat wrapper. You’re probably curious: how does the soup get in there? Over the years, I’ve come up with a fair share of outlandish theories – at one point I was convinced the dumplings were injected with a soup-filled syringe. But all my conspiracy theories were finally laid to rest two weeks ago when the high priestess of Nan Xiang Dumpling House, Chef Huang Jian Ping (黃建萍), came over to make soup dumplings from scratch. In anticipation for Asian Feastival, an epic culinary event in Queens on September 6th (check out asianfeastival.com for the complete rundown), we decided to test her off-site dumpling-making capabilities and invited some friends over to witness her pork and dough sorcery.

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Back from London and tired from bland British food, Hope had only one request when I asked her where she wanted to go out for lunch. “I need some SPICE!”, she pleaded. Somehow I managed to convince Hope and Davis to wake up early on a cold winter day and venture away from the comforts of Manhattan out into the inner depths of Queens for a taste of Sichuan cuisine.

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I’m usually not big on sweets, but I can never turn down pastries and cakes from Cannelle Patisserie. Here’s a little something I wrote for LIC Bites, a food column in a newsletter for my fellow condo residents in Long Island City, Queens:

If you don’t have time for a summer getaway, or you’ve just got a craving for something sweet, take a trip to Queens, where you will find that the pastries of Paris await you. Cannelle Patisserie is a French bakery hidden deep within an unassuming mini-mall in Jackson Heights. The inviting aromas of coffee, buttery puffed pastry and French baguettes will reel you in upon entering. Inside you will find artfully decorated cakes behind the refrigerated display, shimmering tarts and quiches, and freshly baked pastries piled in woven baskets.

Jean-Claude Perennou, Pastry Chef and Proud Owner of Cannelle Patisserie

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