Never let it be said – or written – that haxtrax.com won’t give something new a go.

To me, these tapioca dumplings (Banh Bot Loc) look like steamed prawn dumplings still in their embryonic stage.

Verdict: good. Chewy but in a nice way.

They remind me of the tapioca dessert at old Mrs Coish’s Kiewa farm.

In hindsight, a generous squeeze of lemon/lime juice (like Mrs Coish did) should replace the little bag of ubiquitous “sweet chilli/ginger dipping syrup” (ed: the little red chilli rings in that syrup can be hot and dangerous – think of bright blue rings on an octopus).

NB: The “Thousand Island” dressing was on standby in case of emergency tastebud resuscitation. It wasn’t needed.