WONTON, WANTAN, WUNTUN: HON'S WUN TUN HOUSE AND SCRAWNY MAK

Really, it doesn’t matter what you call those things. As long as you're saying 雲吞, which is the Cantonese way of writing and pronouncing the word.
Northerners say 餛飩 and mean something that really isn't the same.

To Northerners, 'hwuntwun' (餛飩) are always a poorer cousin of 'shwei-jiao' (水餃), without the warm familial connotations or cold-weather comfort. For many Cantonese, soei-gaau (水餃) are simply a larger and coarser version of wantan (雲吞) with a distinct pong to the stuffing.
Northern dumpling filling always includes chopped cabbage, garlic, and other stuff that to the southern mind has absolutely no business being there.

Wonton (wantan) are quintessentially Cantonese - refined yet brash, small but feisty.
All good stuff.

[Besides the fact that the dough skins and construction of the dumplings are different, that the sizes are dissimilar , and the fillings vary enormously, it's also a question of attitude: Wonton are to the Cantonese what shwei-jiao (水餃 'soei-gau') are to the Northerners - something that appeals on a deeper level, and darnitall why can't that other bunch ('northerners', usually meaning most other Chinese) just learn to do it right?
Shwei-jiao properly are large dumplings with a filling of minced meat and chives or cabbage poached in boiling water for about twenty minutes - which is far too long by the standards of the impatient Cantonese, who don't know really what those things are and consequently often use the term to refer to a big ugly type of wonton. Ordering wonton outside of the Cantonese world leads to disappointment, in the same way that expecting real shwei-jiao in a Cantonese restaurant will get you what precisely you did NOT want. ]

By northern standards the Cantonese commit several horrid crimes with wonton.
Cantonese serve them with noodles ("nope, that just ain't right!").
In a stock flavoured with a smelly dried fish ("everybody KNOWS it should be superior broth!").
Frequently with some small cabbage (小白菜 'siu pak tsoi') added ("the nerve, the effrontery!").
And maybe even slices of red roast pork (叉燒 'charsiu') on top for extra fun ("scream, wail, faint!!!").

[Superior broth (高湯 'ko tong') is made from chicken and pork bones simmered on low heat for a couple of hours, skimmed and strained. The result is a clear intense flavour with a touch of sweetness. The soup used for wonton is anything but "superior", being more of a clean briny bouillon than anything else. If you went into a wonton restaurant looking for something similar to Vietnamese pho, you will be quite as horrified as the average Northerner (北方人 'pakfong yan') often is upon discovering charred fish and shrimp roe.]

Which makes it all the more remarkable that I had really excellent wonton the other day at a place where most of the staff spoke Mandarin among themselves, and didn't even look Cantonese!


HON'S WUN-TUN HOUSE (CA.) LTD.
洪記麵家 ("Hung Gei Mien Ga")
648 Kearny Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
415-433-3966

Hon's is located just north of Commercial Street (襟美慎街 'kam-mei-san kai' - "la calle de los commerciantes") on the east side of Kearny (乾尼街 'kin-nei kai') , before Clay (企李街 'kei-lei kai').

Darn good wonton. Seriously. Yes, the place looks like a hole-in-the-wall, and the tourists will probably be scared to go in, and despite the restaurant name being a major clue won't know what to order if they do. Plus it has that slightly grungy look that many places in Chinatown have - people work here, business is transacted, you got what you wanted, so don't bellyache about the décor.
Décor costs extra.

However.....

Sweet fresh shrimp filling, nine lovely cloud dumplings in a bouillon flavoured with I think the merest touch of dried flounder (左口魚 'jorhauyu', "leftside mouth fish").
It was so satisfying I just had to have another portion.

Hon's Wun-Tun House has been around a heck of a long time, they know what they're doing.
Next time I'll order the wantan tong mien (雲吞湯麵) - wonton and soup noodles.


Of course, for 'real Hong Kong wonton', you probably have to go to Hong Kong. Even though Hon's are the best thing around, some people will always insist that there's a difference.



HONG KONG WONTON: SCRAWNY MAK

Fragrant Harbour's most well-known wonton were from a food stand in Central named 麥奀記 ('mak ngan gei'), started back in the sixties by 麥鏡鴻 (Mak King-hong), whose nickname was 'Scrawny Mak' (麥奀 Mak Ngan).
Presently the family business is called 麥奀雲吞麵世家 ('mak ngan wantan mien sai ga'), and located indoors since the founder gave up his food stall license upon retiring in 1983.

[麥奀雲吞麵世家: 77 Wellington Street - Ground Floor, Central District, HK. (中環, 威靈頓街, 77號, 地下) as well as 麥文記麵家 (Mak Man Kee Noodle): 51 Parkes Street - Ground Floor, Jordan (in the Yau Tsim Mong District 油尖旺區), Kowloon. (九龍, 佐敦, 白加士街, 51號, 地下).]

Mr. Mak's oldest son runs a restaurant named Chung Kee Noodle (忠記麵家 'chung gei mien ga'), and there's even an outpost of the family enterprise in Macau (or so I have heard).

[忠記麵家 (Chung Kee Noodle): 37 Wing Kut Street, Sheung Wan, HK (香港島, 上環, 永吉街, 37號).]

Mak's uses shrimp as filling, served in a broth made of grilled or toasted dried flounder (左口魚 'jorhauyu', "leftside mouth fish"), shrimp roe (蝦子 'haa ji'), and pork stock. If you order the wantan tong mien (雲吞湯麵) the noodles are added last, so that they don't get overcooked and soggy.
Mak's uses only fresh thin noodles, which should be eaten al dente.
Minced garlic chives are used to garnish.

[The character translated as 'scrawny' (奀 'ngan') also means stingy, by the way. Not germane in this context.]


POSTSCRIPTUM

In the United States and Canada dried noodles are often encountered, which have a recognizable smell that is inappropriate in wonton soup. But dried noodles can take a bit more culinary abuse than the fresh product, and are more widely available outside of San Francisco C'town.
Sometimes wheat noodles show up, which is an improvement in taste (over the dried egg noodles), but NOT in texture.
Wheat noodles are just wrong.
Instead of garlic chives, most often you will find scallion used instead.


You should expect to see a recipe for wonton on this blog sometime in the near-future.
Savage Kitten used to make the wonton in our household, now it's my turn.
Because we are no longer a couple and so do not eat together very often - though we still live together as roommates and friends - our eating patterns have changed enormously, and I have re-explored many of the foods that deeply resonate for me.

Also, since the Yat Pan Heung (一品香) on the corner of Jackson and Kearny closed several years ago, there has not been a place with decent shwei-jiao in the old neighborhood. So there will probably be a recipe for boiled dumplings here at some point too.
Northerners may find it heretical.



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