Qingdao is full of inexpensive eateries. Michael and I discovered this one from our visit to the city hospital. It is just steps away from the back entrance of the hospital: a dumpling place which has most the kitchen on the sidewalk. One side on the right near the door, it has a deep fryer frying up fresh Youtiao, (a deep fried long dough stick often called the Chinese Donuts usually eat with the rice soup for breakfast) On the left it has hot streamers with streaming hot Jiaozi (stream buns)
This place doesn’t have a name and with a sign simply called dumpling but it attached to an interesting western style pub next door.
Dumpling is run by a group of older women and most looked are about retirement age. One needs to pay for the dumplings from the woman behind the streamer before enter the place. She would place the dumplings on a bamboo platter which lined with a plastic bag (no cleaning needed). Inside it has about six booths but with almost no decorations, on the wall there are few strings of garlic and with hand written menu on the white wall.
The menu consist of two type of dumpling (Jiaozi), one with meat and other is vegetarian which make with chopped vegetable with scrambled egg .they are 12 yuan for one order of four. It also offers two soup, rice soup (congee) or soy milk both serve hot.
One day, I noticed some white ceramic cups with John Lennon’s self portrait on the counter. At first I thought it must had came from the pub next door but later I look up and discovered there was a large mural above the sign of the same image. Since then, I called it John Lennon dumplings.
After our third visit, we must consider the regulars; one of the ladies even came to our booth and asked if we satisfy with our meal. She was all smiles after we told her it was very good. She returned minute later, without say a word and placed two clove of raw garlic in front of our rice soup.
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