iEat King Tea Shop

Juicy home-made dumplings from Yunnan province

Good fortune food

This is a Chinese Yunnan-style dumpling shop, fairly new to the neighbourhood but hugely popular with locals. Situated in the mountains just above the Myanmar border, Yunnan has always had close ethic links (and rivalries) with Myanmar. Traditionally, Chinese in Yangon had come by sea from the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, but more and more you see Yunnanese who’ve migrated down over land.


Pockets of wealth

The Yunnan dumpling (jiao zi) symbolises wealth in Chinese culture, these ‘edible ingots’ will bring good fortune. The skins are thin, the pork filling has a nice bite to it and they’re filled with flavourful juice.

To eat in style

Yunnan dumplings can be a bit tricky to eat, here are five tips on how to eat them in style: First, gently pick up the dumpling by using the sides of your chopsticks, not the points, so you don’t puncture the skin. Then, place it on a flat-bottomed Chinese soup spoon. Raise the spoon to your mouth and take a tiny bite or use your chopsticks to tear a small hole and let out some steam. After that, dip into black Chin Kiang vinegar, usually with some thin slices of ginger. Pour the juice into your spoon to drink, only then eat the dumpling.


Our pick

The speciality here is the pork bao, and chicken and bean bao are also really good. Prices of dumplings range from 350-550 kyat.

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