PEEK AT A-POU! (A-Pou’s Taste)

Two of my weakest subjects in school were history and geography. While I think both are fascinating (I love old movies and I love to study maps), I have a bit of ADD and I tend to lose interest very quickly. So I was baffled when I recently learned that Taiwan is a part of China. Could that be right? I always thought Taiwan was its own country.

Then (thanks to the easy studying guide of the internet), it turns out that no, Taiwan is actually part of the Republic of China, although was once governed by the People’s Republic of China. It tends to get a bit complicated after that and since I explained my difficulty with history, geography, and politics (I didn’t mention that one), let’s suffice it to say that Taiwan is no longer technically part of China.

But that didn’t stop me from venturing to the Financial District (feels like China to most NYers) to track down the Vendy Award nominated cart A-Pou’s Taste. The Vendy Awards are given out each year to street vendors with the best food and this year I got to go since I give Food Cart Tours in Midtown with Urban Oyster. I tasted A-Pou’s potstickers there (where they were nominated for Rookie of the Year), but there was a lot of eating and I wasn’t able to get a complete sense of the food. Although I also remember he had really good corn chowder.

So I found A-Pou’s again on Liberty Street amongst many other halal and falafel carts. The line wasn’t too bad when I got there so I approached and ordered their lunch special of 5 potsticker and a side of Chinese spaghetti for $6. Not a bad deal. And I was excited since this enabled me to sample all four of their dumpling options – Taiwanese Special (pork), Hong Kongese Experience (chicken), Korean Kimchi (beef), and Japanese Natural (veggie). I think the names were supposed to be cute little puns, but they sort of confused me. Why did it allude to other Asian countries? Maybe if I understood more history and geography, I would have gotten it. So I stopped thinking about it and concentrated on the food.

They asked me if I wanted soy sauce and hot sauce and instead of giving me a side packet, they drizzled it on for me. I guess in many ways, it makes my life easier since I don’t have to dip, I just have to eat.

These potstickers have a longer shape than typical jiaozi and a much thinner wrapper. The dough was crispy and tasty, but the fillings were up and down. I really liked the pork filling – it had lots of crisp textures inside and both a sweet and spicy flavor. The beef, however, didn’t work for me. It had a mealy mouthfeel and reminded me a bit of dog food. And I could barely detect the kimchee. The veggie version was very good with lots of crunchy cabbage and sprouts. You win some, you lose some.

The side of what they call Chinese spaghetti is essentially what I call lo mein. It had an oily, sweet flavor that was reminiscent of many Chinese takeouts. And the sort of fattening, greasy food that gives food carts a bad name.

A-Pou’s is a good option for mobile dumplings. There are few dumpling carts out there and these are different enough from the shops in Chinatown to warrant a visit to the Financial District (they also have a cart in the East Village). And since I rarely go down to this part of Manhattan, I did learn some geography – with the help of my trusty Iphone.

Does A-Pou’s Taste have the best dumplings in NY? A 6 out of 10 because the Taiwanese versions are different from the Chinese, but they have some pleasing flavors and textures – just be careful of what you order.