At the Richmond Night market last Sunday…

News from our friend Stephanie Yuen:

A large energetic crowd showed up, most of them cheered for Bob, but… Chef Miao from Lin Chinese Cuisine won first place. Their Xiao Long Bao that won last year’s Chinese Restaurant Awards Northern Dimsum category still stands proud  and strong.
Second place is a tie: Chef Yip of Northern Delicacy and Chef Sonia Li of Point Zero, Four Fusion Restaurant.
Third place goes to Chef Jimmy Yang of Golden Fortune Restaurant.
Fourth place is Chef Peter Yang of Legendary Noodles.
And last (but not least) is the very host of Glutton for Punishment – Bob Blumer, who only had 5 days to learn the culinary art of the most difficult dumpling to make.
But the judges all agree Bob’s XLB filling tasted very good!

Judging criteria:  Quantity and Quality
Competitors have 5 minutes, starting from rolling the dough, to making as many XLB as they can.
Folded XLB are placed in the bamboo steamers and steamed by batches to make sure each lot is as fresh and steaming hot as the others.
The three judges who did the blind judging (they’re sent to the back room and had no idea whose bamboo baskets of XLB they’re tasting.  The baskets are marked by number only.) Judges inspect the XLB in the baskets, bad-shaped, flawed and broken ones are not counted. They look for fluffy, light, juicy, full-flavoured fillings, thin but consistent skins.