The dumpling files, volume 1

What: Mei Sum's Sui Lung Pao Main ingredients: Pork and cabbage in wheat flour wrappers Flavour and texture: Very smooth and gently flavourful filling, with a soft, tender wrapper. Reminds me of a chicken bun, despite the main ingredient being pork. A bit juicy.

Best served with: Either a mild dipping sauce (soy and vinegar, perhaps), or something with just a little kick (sweet chilli sauce?) Marks out of 10: 8. A good, steamed dumpling. Also available in packs of assorted dim sum, like this one: Also included in the pack: Beef siu mai Pork siu mai Prawn har gow Main ingredients: Prawns, fish, waterchestnut, bamboo, in a semi-translucent rice flour wrapper. Flavour and texture: Very soft filling, gentle taste, not a lot of flavour. The wrapper is soft and slightly chewy. Best served with: Definitely something with kick, like sweet chilli sauce or a vinegar dipping sauce with chili Marks out of 10: 7. Texture's lovely, but I personally prefer bolder flavours.

The sauce files, episode 4: Pork bulgogi marinade

What: Chung Jung One's pork bulgogi marinade Main ingredients: Korean hot pepper paste, sugar, pureed apple, pear, kiwi and pineapple, soy sauce Appearance: Doesn't look like much - it's runny and reddish brown Flavour: Packs a punch - the first taste is salt, fruitiness and hint of ground rice, then the chillies punch you in the face about 1/2 a second after it hits your taste buds. Finally, the sweetness starts to build. A little goes a long way Would go well with: Designed as a marinade, rather than a dipping sauce, this dark horse is a great addition to perk up a dull soup or noodle dish. It also, and keep this between us, tastes absolutely fantastic on cheesy natchos Marks out of 10: 8.5

The sauce files, episode 3: Sweet chilli sauce

What: Thai Taste's Sweet Chilli Sauce Cost: Inexpensive and readily available from any major grocery store Main ingredients: Sugar, chilli, vinegar, garlic Appearance: Shiny, translucent orange sauce with a corn-starched thickness. Flavour: This is a decent example of a standard sauce. It's very sweet, has a little touch of chilli kick, with a nice preliminary taste of vinegar and a hint of garlic in the finish. It's pretty nice. Would go well with: Spring rolls, prawn wontons Marks out of 10: 7.5

The sauce files, episode 2: Peking Duck Sauce

What: Lee Kum Kee's Peking Duck Sauce Cost: £2.55 for 383g Main ingredients: Sugar, fermented soybean paste, tomato paste, salted plum, sesame Appearance: Very thick and glossy. Warm, chestnut brown colour. Flavour: Never before has such an unprepossessing list of ingredients come together into such a heavenly choir of flavour. It's sweet, it's salty, it's weirdly meaty... it's delicious, and my go-to sauce for dim sum as well as jazzing up leftovers. Would go well with: Pork or vegetable dumplings, roast chicken or duck, or pretty much anything else you'd care to dip. Marks out of 10: 9.5

The sauce files, episode 1: Singapore Chilli Sauce

What: Yeo's Singapore Chilli Sauce Cost: £2.25 for 300 ml Main ingredients: Garlic, chilli, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil Appearance: Very thick and bright, orangish red, reminiscent of tomato paste. Flavour: Weirdly raw tasting, with a predominant flavour of garlic and chilli. Lacking subtlety, but does pack a fair amount of heat. Would go well with: Greasy chicken and rice, or disappointing fish. Marks out of 10: 5

Pineapple bun

What: Chinese pineapple bun Source: Wonderful Patisserie 45 Gerard Street, London W1 (Chinatown) Appearance: Massive. The surface of the bun is covered in some kind of slightly crunchy-but-not-very-as-it-comes-wrapped-in-plastic sugar mixture. Inside the crumb is light and loose. Flavour: The first taste is firmly in sugar overload territory. It's sweet. It's very sweet. The inside tastes fairly briochey. Contains no pineapple whatsover (presumably someone thought the sugar-cracklelature on top looked kinda like a pineapple). Would go down well with a cup of thick coffee. Price: £0.80 Overall: 6/10 fills a hole, but nothing more.