Dollars to doughnuts

Your mid-week dose of Southern food news

There were certain things that Xi Liang Ma liked about living in Manhattan’s Chinatown. For instance, the Nanjing native could speak Mandarin to the clerks at the neighborhood post office.

But as a restaurateur, Xi didn’t care for the competition he faced in New York City. He wanted to find a place where it was hard to find dishes prepared in line with eastern China’s prevailing standards.

He settled on South Carolina.

“When they came to Myrtle Beach, there was nobody here who spoke to Mandarin,” says Tobie White, manager of Xi’s new Kings Highway restaurant and a member of the non-Mandarin speaking set. “So, it has been a fun and challenging experience for me, for sure.”

Staff meal at Dumplings & Seafood/ Provided

According to White, the menu at Dumplings & Seafood is “specifically based on what a Chinese family would make for dinner, or even a special dinner.” Among the entrees are stewed hairtail, a sweet, stretched-out cuttlefish, boneless fish fillets with wood ear mushrooms, and spicy fried squid.

White is allergic to seafood, so she hasn’t tried any of those dishes. But she’s fond of a candied sweet potato, as well as the dumplings that Xi considers his specialty.