Dumplings have joined the club

Dumpling versions have also been reinvented. Besides the traditional ones like Hokkien, Cantonese and Nyonya, four dessert dumplings, courtesy of Crystal Jade, have entered the market. Chocolate with Coco Nugget, Black Pearl(Black Glutinous Rice, Mango with Nata De Coco and Lychee are the new versions. The last two sound appealing to me. The Mango version reminds me of the Thai dessert Sticky Rice with Mango which I love, and Lychee is surely an original, providing an unusual taste.

Crystal Jade has also come up with a version containing spicy chicken and the Deluxe version with Conpoy. The former sounds yummy, with the addition of bean curd, peanut and beans. The latter is definitely a luxurious item catered to the tastes of the rich.

Some other new versions are Black Garlic with Smoked Bacon from Szechuan Court and Chempedak from Peach Blossoms. The former sounds really unique but I bet the bacon will go perfectly with the glutinous rice. As for the latter, it is really jackfruit if I am not mistaken. It is a dessert dumpling and so I bet it will taste sweet :) Peach Blossoms has also come up with a wild fungus version. This is definitely one that whets up my appetite :)

Ooo, the list goes on. Cherry Garden has its waxed meat claypot rice-inspired dumpling with Chinese sausage, waxed meat and liver sausage. Pine Court marinates its pork filling with Japanese teriyaki sauce while Pearl River Palace has its Kaya dumpling as well as Herbal Chicken dumpling. Xin Cuisine increases the luxury factor with its Soft Shell Turtle and Fish Maw dumpling, which has Chinese herbs with the turtle meat. Shin Yeh has a Taiwanese-style dumpling of preserved turnip, minced pork, dried mushroom and dried shrimp, reminiscent of the Savoury Glutinous Rice pancake from Crystal Jade bakery. Last on this list is Peony Jade's Treasure of the Sea dumpling with shark's fin, abalone, golden conpoy and salted egg yolk. This is probably the most luxurious version of all that I have mentioned here.

In terms of size, Szechuan Court has revealed the 1kg dumpling. Besides its Black Garlic with Smoked Bacon and Organic Red Brown Rice Vegetarian Dumpling, Gong Bao Chicken Dumpling with Peanuts and Szechuan Spicy Peppercorns is one other giant dumpling. The third one sounds the most enticing though.