A visit to Mother's Dumplings

Drew hasn't visited with his friend Nancy since his birthday (where she cooked a feast of lobster ravioli!) and they are way overdue for catching up. Dim sum is their brunch of choice and Nancy has the perfect location: Mother's Dumplings.

Everything is made fresh and it is fascinating to watch as the cooks, theatrically on display behind glass, roll the ingredients into little balls and tuck them into wrappers to be sent to be boiled, baked, steamed or fried. The menu is made up of recipes that the chef Zhen learned from her mother. It is pricier than Nancy and Drew's usual dim sum haunts but the dumplings are startlingly fresh tasting and there is not the usual grease. Best of all: a peek into the kitchen reveals a sparkling clean interior instead of the horrors of a favourite dim sum palace that will remain unnamed.

Raul has to work but Nancy's other half, Bruce, joins in and the conversation almost upstages the food. The boiled shrimp, pork, egg and chive dumplings are a vivid green and burst with flavour but the steamed Lamb Shui Mai packs the most punch and the little puckered bundles are fought over. Nancy raves about the broth for the beef and noodle soup with bak choi - it is rich with beefy goodness but mild and subtle - Drew is less enamoured with subtle and adds hot sauce to kick it up. The bbq-ed pork bun is the most standard dim sum option but also the most delicious. Drew is particularly partial to a side dish of spicy peanuts that mix well with everything.

Bruce is excited about a chocolate-banana smoothie for dessert but Nancy and Drew debate the options endlessly. Nancy is leaning towards rice pudding but Drew is curious about the assorted sweet buns. "It's a risk but it'll either be something extraordinary or something we'll tell a story about," he speculates. The sweet buns are extraordinary. Two varieties are gelatinous but brimming with fruity sweetness. There is a tiny lemon almost cupcake that is very tasty but the best is a stunning jewel of a treat shaped like a brightly coloured fruit - "It looks like a little bum mooning us," notes Drew referencing one of Nancy's more notorious escapades - that is a cake stuffed with a fruit paste: a work of art that tastes as good as it looks.

Dim sum may be composed of tiny delicacies but the trio eat enough to be a full meal. Mother's Dumplings is a great place to visit and dine slowly with style.

Mother's Dumplings is at 421 Spadina Ave. mothersdumplings.com

Rice Noodles with Shrimp, Daikon Salad, Vegetables and Cashews

Raul's browsing at the Gerrard and Broadview markets pays off with a hefty huge (and surprisingly inexpensive) Daikon radish. Radish not only provides lots of healthy benefits but is a tasty vegetable. Raul plans to make a form of kimchi but decides to settles for a simple salad.

He grates the Daikon using a mandolin and grates a bunch of carrots while he is at it. He covers the gratings with vinegar, water, salt, and chili pepper flakes and lets it sit.

He boils broad rice noodles while he stirfries some chopped vegetables. He adds the noodles and a Pad Thai sauce and, at the last minute, a handful of shrimp. As soon as the shrimp change colour he transfers it to bowls, layers on the Daikon salad, chopped green onions and a heaping of cashews.

Every bite is a slightly different flavour and there is a huge textural contrast between the chewy noodles and crunchy salad. Drew rises to get some pepper but stops dead in his tracks when a bit of radish explodes in his mouth. "Wow," he exclaims, "that is a tasty heat that lingers! And healthy. Bravissimo!"

Fried Rice with Breaded Shrimp

While at the Broadview and Gerrard markets, Raul picks up a package of what he thinks is frozen coconut shrimp. On the first cold blustery day of the season he decides to create a comfort food classic. He stir fries some red pepper, green pepper, onion and carrot slices before adding rice left over from a previous dinner. He sprinkles it with soya sauce and leaves to heat while the shrimp are quick-fried in an iron skillet. To his dismay they burn slightly towards the end and while it doesn't affect the taste, he is appalled at the visual. He layers the shrimp on a mound of the rice and sprinkles with chopped green onions.

"They aren't coconut shrimp," blusters Raul. "I think they're just coated in bread crumbs. You may need a dipping sauce."

Drew takes a bite and, while bland, the shrimps are still crunchy and flavourful. "I think I'm good." The rice is reminiscent of childhood dinners in small town "Chinese" restaurants or diners and is irresistible. "Maybe a bit of that red sweet and sour sauce - remember sticky chicken balls? - would work," laughs Drew before correcting himself. "Your sweet and sour sauce would be a perfect enhancement. But I can't wait even the few minutes it would take for you to whip it up." And the shrimp are devoured along with the rice.

"Just how hard is it to make coconut shrimp from scratch?" hints Drew.

Teriyaki Shrimp on Garlic Rice with Vegetables and Mango Salad

While out and about their individual days R&D acquire more kitchen accessories. Raul scours a thrift store to find a $1 Parmesan cheese grater and small mason jars, 49 cents each, ideal for filling with spices (an entire cupboard is filled with spices and condiments in varying packaging and with even more erratic forms of identification). Drew finds an authentic Japanese knife sharpening stone (made in China) to hone the edges of their hodge-podge selection of cutting and chopping implements. The night before R&D had been reminiscing about the not-so-distant time when the older man towing a knife sharpener had worked the streets by ringing a bell. Rather than replacing the knives R&D own, a motley but high quality collection, they can now, well now Raul can, turn their blades into razor sharp slicing tools. "It really makes a difference," enthuses Raul after a YouTube tutorial on the proper technique of utilizing the stone. "And it's actually safer if the knife is sharp and cuts instantly into the object instead of slipping and severing a finger."

Drew is busy googling street knife sharpeners, wondering where he has gone and what he used to charge, "Is the $11 for the stone actually a bargain?"

Once the knives are ninja-worthy, Raul begins to repackage the spices and reorganize the cupboard. "What is this?" he asks holding up a metal container. "It's called 'The Ultimate Garlic Seasoning for Rice & Pasta' from a company called The Garlic Box."

"That was a Christmas gift from my niece and nephew," says Drew. "They know I love garlic. It's spices that mix with rice or make a rub."

"We'll have to try it," says Raul. "What should we have with it?"

"It's summery today. Something light. Shrimp? Tandoori shrimp?"

"Tamarind shrimp sounds too sweet."

"Tandoori," says Drew while googling. "Here, tandoori shrimp with mango salad, there's about 30 variations but there's a jar of tandoori sauce in the fridge somewhere."

"I just reorganized the spice cupboard," notes Raul. "We'll have shrimp but the spicing will be from scratch."

Raul marinates the shrimp in a mixture of soya sauce, Hoisin sauce and a touch of green Thai curry. The rice goes in the rice cooker with two teaspoons of The Ultimate Garlic Seasoning. He slices a mango, the newly sharpened knife vivisects the pulpy fruit with ease, and sprinkles it with diced red peppers, diced green onion and coriander from the balcony garden. The vegetables are of the frozen variety but the steaming is done with TLC. Once everything else is prepared the shrimp are dropped in a pre-heated cast iron skillet for a minute each side.

"Delicious!" enthuses Drew.

"What I love about it is all the different flavours mixing flawlessly," says Raul. "And now that the spices are organized and accessible we can experiment. I don't know why we don't have tarragon though. Maybe tomorrow while I'm out and about I'll pick some up"

"Or we can grow some on the balcony," muses Drew.

"There is no more room on the balcony," asserts Raul. "One more pot, one more gnome, and it will explode."

"The gnomes protect the plants from the squirrels!"

"That should be Mickey's job," reminds Raul. "You wouldn't want me to not be able to get to the barbecue . . ."

"We'll get a little jar of tarragon," acquiesces Drew. "There's room in the cupboard now."