I reviewed La Salle Dumpling Room a few months ago and raved about their pork and kimchee soup dumplings.  I have seen some negative blog posts and Yelp! reviews for this spot, but since I quite enjoyed my last visit to the Dumpling Room I decided to return and try some of their other varieties of dumplings.  Maybe my happy posts about this place will counteract some of the hater’s reviews out there.

Pan Fried Pork Dumplings

Steamed White Fish Dumplings

The Dumplings:  For a place that calls itself a Dumpling Room they have a relatively modest selection of dumplings.  This time around I tried the fried pork dumplings and the steamed white fish dumplings.  The wrapper of the fired pork dumplings was folded over the meat and not pinched closed along the entire seam but rather the wrapper was just pressed together in the middle and the ends of the dumpling were left open.  The dumplings were panned fried to a crispy golden brown.  I liked these dumplings a lot and with their open ends they were reminiscent of cannoli stuffed with tasty savory pork.

The steamed white fish dumplings are filled with, of course, white fish and scallion, ginger and celery.  These were basically a solidly executed mild-tasting seafood dumpling.  I was expecting the celery would give the filling some crunch, but the celery was chopped very finely and didn’t contribute much texture.  These dumplings do serve as an excellent conveyance for the chef’s amazing dipping sauce.

The Dipping Sauce:  the wait staff are still refusing to give up the secret of the chef’s excellent dipping sauce.  The sauce is certainly soy based and probably flavored with vinegar and oil, but there is some secret ingredient or proportion of ingredients in there that takes it to the next level.

The Location: La Salle Dumpling Room is on the border between the Morningside Heights and Manhattanville neighborhoods, on Broadway a block and a half south of 125th street, on the corner of La Salle Street.  This area is fast becoming a destination for Asian food, with La Salle Dumpling Room, Jin Ramen (DH Review here) , Kissaten Jin and Chapati House all within a block of each other.