Whenever Mothers Day comes, this picture of an adorable mother and baby koala bear always comes to my mind. This picture was taken by Hubby on our way to the Cape Otways lighthouse while we were traveling the Great Ocean Road in 2007.

With that said, I want to greet all the mothers out there a very "Happy Mothers Day!"

On April 15, my first Sunday back in China, our friend Mr. Mui took Hubby and me to yum cha at the Century Hotel located in the far corner of Daliang. It was our first time there but we have passed by the place plenty of times in the past and each time we did I was always left wondering what that huge castle-like building was for. Mr. Mui told us that it used to be the only 5-star hotel in Shunde. Some people still check in there but now it is mostly visited by the locals for their yum cha.

They still offer the usual yum cha fares but what we really like in this restaurant is their "xiao long bao". This dumpling is also called "Shanghai pao" although it didn't necessarily originate from Shanghai. Another name for this dumpling which I discovered in Hong Kong is "Steamed pork dumpling with superior soup". It is made of the usual ground pork with veggies and spices wrapped in a silky skin made of flour. But what will surprise you once you bite on it is the sudden outburst of "soup" inside your mouth (which most of the time is quite steaming hot). It is because when they make the dumpling they also put aspic inside it which melts when the dumpling is steamed.

We have tried many xiao long baos in many restaurants but most of them are very dry. There is no element of surprise when you bite into it and this "superior soup" inside the xiao long bao is what makes it very special indeed.