Ri Feng Garden – Dalian, China

Back to Dalian, back to the big city. As usual, my dad’s friends are far too generous. They gift us a private driver, and man, she knows her stuff.

She is a composed lady who knows Dalian in and out. She drives bravely through the crazy crowds, and she makes the highways, where lane markers are merely a suggestion, seem like less of a life-threatening mess. Think the 405 is bad? Try anywhere in China at rush hour.

The only Dalian I know is the Dalian my father shows me. Everything I see is through his eyes, but there is a lot he doesn’t know. Our driver knows all that. She takes us to the bigger attractions, but she’s also well-versed in hidden gems.

We skip the fancy places because I’ve seen them all. Instead, we go to a small shop with a line out the door, famous for its Sea Worm (or Sea Urechis) Dumplings. Sea worms. They’re as phallic-looking as they sound, and they are possibly the most difficult food to prepare. The guts can be pulled out, but there is a mucous layer of slime, like the kind that clings to snails, that you feel like you’ll never scrape off. Undercook and you have a chewy, cartilaginous mess. Overcook and you have a rock. Cook them just right like these people can and you have tender, savory little strips of flesh. They have a texture much like small intestine, and they pack an unexpected amount of flavor from an unlikely place.

We also get some Conch Dumplings just in case the sea worms are too much to stomach. Both are good, and the textures are quite similar, but the conch tastes more ocean-y, and the worms more like a pork that occasionally swims. Both get a flavor-boost from the garlicky chives.

What makes this restaurant special is their skill but also their freshness. Their seafood is caught in their own small fishing boats, and what they have available every day varies, depending on the haul. Today, they caught Abalone, and fortunately, so did we. Theirs are smaller, but a lot more tender than their larger, more expensive counterparts. Meaty, like a chicken of the sea, abalone has none of the expected brine and these are succulently smothered in a viscous brown sauce. But the giant Shrimp are still my fave. Covered in a salt n’ pepper crust, the shrimp are well worth the work of peeling.

Conch sautéed with potato and celery. I prefer it simple with just a bit of green onion, but it’s still one of Dalian’s best. Conch goes tender instead of crunchy when it’s sliced paper-thin, and each bite tastes like a sandy beach without the sand.

Decadence descends in a small ramekin-cup. The Uni Egg Custard is silky and sweet with firm, grainy uni. The sea-sweet permeates an airy egg, and the satiny finish gives me goosebumps.

Ri Feng Garden has not gone unnoticed. Even Michelin has an article describing the sea worm dumplings, and they earned a CCTV feature just last year. That said, they’re still a well-kept secret that will likely stay quite hidden from anyone who is not a well-versed local. You have to read and speak fluent Chinese to navigate the streets of Dalian, but it’s worth learning both to find food like this.