Goubuli Buns 狗不理大酒楼 Go Believe
Hedong District, 11 Longitude Street (@ 8 Latitude St)
河东区十一经路与八纬路交口东北角(十一经路店)
Goubuli means dog ignores, is a popular steamed meat buns from Tianjin. According to the legend, the founder was nicknamed doggie and he’s too busy making the buns to respond to his friends. They soon shorten the saying that Doggie didn’t have time for us to Dog ignores; or Go Believe.
I haven’t had this kind of buns for a long time. While living in Tianjin briefly when I was little, I didn’t get to eat it because most people were dirt poor under the reign of Chairman Mao who died in 1976. I’m pretty surprised to see the tall facade for an one dimensional fare. The hallway by the entrance is lined with boxes, and the staff is in white uniform, looking rather sharp.
In 1992 they opened an outpost in Flushing, New York but didn’t last long. Perhaps without nostalgic, they couldn’t compete on service and varieties. Glad to see them moving forward this time, cashing on the name. They even implement some crowd pleasing bells and whistles, such as coming to your suite, and letting the diner to make the buns. I joked that we would get 20% off for DIY …
The bottom two were made by me and the top one was by the chef in white toque. … Ok, no 20% off but an extra % added because I didn’t make them right -:).
