Taiwanese pastries and the wonders of the mung bean cake
The other day I heard about this new book out that's supposed to help you order the special stuff when you go to an Asian restaurant. The 'special' stuff is generally the menu that's written without any English on it. I'm not sure if this kind of stuff goes on in Chinatown here in Manhattan, but I know this is the case at many Chinese restaurants in suburbia. If you're Asian, you know exactly the reasoning behind such a move. There are times when you eat something Asian-y and it's not that weird or crazy but you say to yourself, "White people won't eat this shit." If you're non-Asian and that offended you, oh wellz. If you're Asian, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For example, I think tripe is delicious, but I even know Chinese people who don't like tripe. And if you don't like tripe, wait til you try fallopian tubes! (Not kidding on that, although that was a long time ago and I only tried it once). Other things like mung bean is very popular in Taiwan but doesn't really get much play around here. Today I'll show you a couple of desserts that I think most people would try and love and it's no where near as crazy as fallopian tubes.
These things you see above are called wife cakes. In Mandarin it sounds something close to 'lao po bing' (but if your pingying is better and can give me a better one, I'll change it). I don't eat these much anymore because bakeries in NY don't know how to make them taste good. They're popular in Taiwan and used to be one of my favorite desserts. My aunt brought these over from Chicago during Thanksgiving break. She knows some lady that will make these in her home and sell them custom ordered.
The outside is flaky while the inside is this gooey sweet stuff. Some web search on recipes revealed that the filling in the middle is partially made from winter melon. It's supposed to be sweet and not overly intense in the winter melon taste. These ones from Chicago weren't that sweet so they could have been better. Here in the bakeries in Chinatown, these things are known as winter melon cakes and the winter melon taste is usually way too strong and you get sick of it after two bites. If I ever find a good one in NY, I will definitely let everyone know.
While you can find wife cakes fairly easily, finding mung bean cakes is pretty much impossible. These things also have a flaky outside, but it's not flaky as you pie lovers understand. It's not buttery and flaky, it's just flaky. The outside is also white and kinda light.
Inside is filled with this mung bean paste. I hesitate to call it a paste because that doesn't accurately describe the texture. Like the wife cake, the innards are supposed to be subtle in flavor and not too over-powering. I actually never remember seeing these things back in Taiwan so the likelihood of finding these in NY is probably very small. Maybe there's a bakery in Flushing that will have this but I really doubt it.
There are a lot of good eats out there that I think could do well in an American market. Sure, getting everyone to love tripe would be difficult, but pastries? It's just a shame that in the midst of hiding certain foods, others also fall by the wayside. I know Chinese dessert is not the strong point in Chinese cuisine, but there are a lot of hidden gems that most people have not seen or eaten.
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does anyone know the correct info or address for a chinese bakery on junction blvd number 57-1
that makes custom cakes or if anyone knows of a good custom cake chinese bakery in chinatown that is good
would be great to know
thanks
Caroline
caroline
April 12, 2010 2:20 pm
I agree. The wife cakes in chinatown aren't very good, at least not to my Taiwanese tastebuds ;-p It really is a shame!
Ang
December 4, 2008 1:11 pm
I know those buns! I'm not a huge fan of the "low paw bang" (cantonese). The mung bean baos are harder to find but you'll have better luck at dim sum restaurants. Ask that cart lady that only has baos. My parents get them once in a while in a flushing dim sum place.
Heidi
December 4, 2008 1:20 pm
oh taiwan pastries and eats
Miss Tiffie
December 4, 2008 2:19 pm
Of course Chinese restaurants in Manhattan do that - hiding dishes. It took me a long time to realize (I'm oblivious, really) that stuff I consider normal to eat is off the beaten path, so to speak. My (non-Asian) boyfriend doesn't eat lots of normal stuff (fish, in almost any form), so it's hard to gauge by asking him, too.
I see wife cakes sometimes called melon cakes, and at one bakery, they are next to the melon cakes, kid you not. Looks the same but there's two trays and one is labeled wife cakes and one melon cakes. I bought a melon cake from another bakery once because it looked like wife cake, bc I liked them as a kid, and ate it, it tasted funny, and I went home to my mom and asked her about it and she said wife cake and melon cake are not the same thing. She's a little daffy tho. Hehe.
PS was the book "Asian Food Rules"? Because it doesn't help me get anything off menu at Chinese restaurants. Those signs are still in Chinese. Sad face.
Yvo
December 4, 2008 4:40 pm
For good wife cakes, you'll have to come to Queens. Get them at:
Fully Bakery Corporation
8224 45th Ave
Elmhurst, NY 11373
(718) 446-9058
It's a good Taiwanese bakery that's staffed by nice Cantonese ladies. Odd, but it works. My father thinks they have the best wife cakes, better than that famous one on Mott St.
Gastro888
December 4, 2008 6:27 pm
@Ang,
I wonder if there are some less popular bakeries that do it right. Too lazy to eat them all though, since it might be disappointing!
@Heidi,
Hmm... that's a good suggestion about dim sum places! They do often have desserts that aren't in bakeries...
@Miss Tiffle,
Yes, I wish they were easier to find here in NY!
@Yvo,
Hmm... so what do chinese restaurants in Manhattan have to hide? Besides hiding it in Chinese characters of course... I gots to learn how to read! And yes the book was Asian Food Rules. But I wasn't going to link something that I absolutely don't believe in so... haha
@Gasto888,
Cool, thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to remember it next time in Elmhurst.
Danny
December 5, 2008 9:50 am
I see both of those in Chinese bakeries in L.A. all the time. My mom loves mung bean cakes. I think I can eat about half of one before it's flaky pastry overload for me, though.
And I know exactly what you're talking about with the "white people would never eat this" business. My brother and I have lengthy and hilarious conversations about this.
Steph
December 7, 2008 7:06 am
I'm of the Caucasian persuasion, but I spent a big part of my childhood in Hawaii, so I grew up loving all kinds of Asian food. Believe it or not, I now live in the South, and there are several Asian markets here that carry mung bean cakes, moon cakes, etc. A friend just sent me a link to a place in Texas where you can mail-order them: http://mungbeancakes.com. I haven't tried them yet. My favorite Chinese bakery was just outside of New Orleans, but they didn't do mail-order, and I don't know if they survived Katrina.
Sue
February 3, 2009 3:01 pm
Wow, that's pretty cool Sue. I never would have guessed that the Asian markets in the South would carry mung bean cakes. I've seen moon cakes down there before though!
Danny
February 4, 2009 1:46 am
Aweful late to the party...just found this blog. On mung bean cakes...you CAN get them...in flushing. I know exactly the kind you are talking about (the ones in taiwan even have a tiny bit of meat in them, right?). This place makes them fresh....funny thing is i can only remember the chinese name...its called "yimei fang" bakery. Its on Roosevelt. just go there and ask for "Li Dou pong". This is the only place I know of to get the traditional old school ones (not like the new ones that come ina box and are overly round and overly filled with mung bean "paste"). They are heavenly and totally worth the trip. As a child i remember this same bakery used to have a location in chinatown near east broadway somewhere.
Derwin
July 16, 2009 8:22 pm