Shi Yunjia
As you know by now, I like China Town very much and, of this area, I love even more the side and side streets where you can discover spartan and no-frills trattorias where you can taste real Chinese cuisine, far from Italian or Western customers. In my continuous search I found Shi Yunjia, an anonymous tavern specializing in dumplings.
The place is poorly maintained: bare, untidy and cold - the heating was off, so I ate all cold! The dining room and the open kitchen are managed by a young couple, very kind and helpful, while two children play on a table near the customers.
The menu is essential: a few cold appetizers (including potato salad), a few first courses, various types of Chinese bread (such as stuffed with cabbage or vegetables), soups, house specialties (such as egg rolls with potatoes, sausage or sandwich filled with red beans) and many delicious dumplings, optionally grilled or steamed; you will find many combinations of flavors such as zucchini and lamb, pork and celery or beef and carrots.
The dumplings are also sold frozen, in case you want to take them and prepare them at home.
Among the specialties tried, I would like to point out the Pekingese ramen (fresh homemade thin noodles accompanied by finely chopped cucumbers and a sweet and slightly spicy meat sauce - mix everything immediately otherwise you will no longer be able to untangle the various ingredients), Tianjing crepe (delicious savory crepe filled with spicy beef flavored with lots of cumin, an explosion of flavor!), Chinese calzone with chives (inside there are pieces of scrambled eggs and glass noodles, very tasty), xiaolongbao (made with same dough as baozi, so more a steamed bun than a dumplings - hits the abundant filling of meat and whole shrimp) and the exquisite pork and cabbage dumplings, prepared with a thin and crunchy dough at the base, to be dipped in a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar and fresh chilli paste.
All the portions are decidedly abundant: the dumplings portions, for example, are eight pieces, the calzone (marked in the menu in the singular) is actually three and very large, as well as the beef crepe with six pieces.
The final bill including drinks is really nonsense, you will be positively shocked once you arrive at the cashier.
I recommend Shi Yunjia if you are in the China Town area and want to have a feast of dumplings and simple dishes without paying too much attention to the context.
📍 Via Giuseppe Giusti 14, Milan
💰 $
