Jiaozi's new chic

Tianjin Baijiaoyuan's jiaozi with pure vegetarian stuffing, and braised little yellow croaker.

Service is quite proper, too. A meal with all that variety of jiaozi and cold dishes cost less than 40 yuan per head.

One place that started the jiaozi restaurant trend is Tianjin Baijiaoyuan, Tianjin's "garden of a hundred jiaozi".

The introduction on its menu says the restaurant achieved a Guinness record for making 229 kinds of jiaozi. Celebrities captured in photos while dining here include former US secretary of state Colin Powell and former first lady Laura Bush.

Although some frequent visitors say the restaurant's jiaozi isn't as good as before, it's still packed with customers at lunch. "Three delicacies with pork" and pure vegetarian stuffing taste rather good, while shrimp roe with bean curd, and zucchini with mutton do not taste as good as Dongfang Jiaoziwang's.

I was surprised to find a big plate of braised yellow croaker, a weekend special, cost only 28 yuan. There were more than 10 fish - quite delectable. The house-brewed Gleckes German-style beer, with a black and a golden version, tastes fine, and a big jar costs just 20 yuan.

Apart from jiaozi with a lot of different stuffing, Tianjin Baijiaoyuan offers a complete selection of popular Cantonese dishes and seafood. Its jiaozi is not inexpensive. A meal complete with dishes, beer and jiaozi can cost up to 100 yuan per head.

I've never met a foreign expat who doesn't find jiaozi tasty, and Chinese have loved it for at least two millennia.

Many people still favor classic fillings, new combinations such as mackerel with pork, cucumber with shrimp, mantis shrimp and bean curd have plenty of fans, too.

As the Chinese government curbs waste in spending public funds, reasonably priced jiaozi restaurants offer good value. After all, here the bill is mostly controllable, while the quality of food is always reliable.