Shanghai Garden, Seattle, Washington

Posted on December 9, 2012 by rundlea

Shanghai Garden, located in Seattle’s International District (Chinatown), serves excellent steamed or fried pork dumplings. Shanghai Garden has a full menu and dumplings are only part of the offerings, other stand out dishes include; the barley green hand shaved noodles, shrimp with chili sauce and the sauteed pea vines.

The Dumplings:  The pork dumplings at Shanghai Garden are some of my favorites. They taste exactly how I remember soup dumplings tasting in Shanghai, with just the perfect amount of ginger mixed into the pork, which gives them a ginger fragrance.

Fried Pork DumplingsShanghai Garden Fried

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The Source, Washington, D.C.

Posted on December 1, 2012 by rundlea

The Source is Wolfgang Puck’s pan-Asian restaurant in the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The executive chef, Scott Drewno, has won several D.C. dining awards, so I had high-hopes for this place.  The stylish three-level restaurant seats 250 people, with a small kitchen and dining/bar area for casual dining on the ground floor, a full kitchen and formal dining room on the second floor and a private dining room for 40 guests on the lower level.  The casual dining area features small plates and is billed as having a Japanese style Izakaya menu, although it didn’t resemble the Izakaya menus I am familiar with in NYC (e.g. Yakitori Taisho or Sun-Chan), it was more like pan-Asian apps.  During happy hour they have a three dishes for 20 bucks special.

The Dumplings:  The “Izakaya menu” features Crystal Garlic Chive Dumplings with black Bean Glaze, Sichuan Chicken Dumplings with Crushed Peanut Chili “Dan Dan”, Wok Fired Shrimp Dumplings with Spicy XO Sauce, Rose Veal Dumplings with Fermented Chili Bean Sauce.  I tried the Crystal Garlic Chive Dumplings, which were sort of weak, even though it was fried the crystal dumpling wrapper had an unattractive gummy mouth feel.  The filling was unmemorable.

The Crystal Garlic Chive Dumplings

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East Dumpling House, New York City

Posted on November 25, 2012 by rundlea

East Dumpling House is actually on the West side of Manhattan and located at 106th Street is probably the northern most dumpling house in Manhattan.  The place seems to mainly cater to local Columbia students and appears to do a lot of take out business.

The Dumplings:  The dumplings taste really fresh. When you bite into the shrimp in the pork and shrimp dumplings, you get that ‘pop or snap’ sensation you get with super fresh shrimp.  The pork and chive dumpling have a great porky flavor and are very juicy.  The only drawback to the dumplings is that the wrapper is a little thick and chewy for my taste.  So over all, I rate this place as being solid.

They serve pork with chives, pork with cabbage, chicken with green pepper, chicken with corn, vegetable, shrimp and pork, and basil chicken with shitake mushroom dumplings.  They also serve dumpling soups, which have a really good broth.  East Dumpling House also does catering and sells frozen dumplings, 50 dumplings for 20 bucks.  The frozen dumpling would probably make for a good emergency or late night snack reserve to have in the freezer.

Pan-Fried Pork and Chive Dumplings

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Amherst Chinese, Amherst MA

Posted on November 19, 2012 by rundlea

Having been open for around for almost 30 years, Amherst Chinese is a local institution in Western MA.   One of the cool things about Am-Chi, as it is known locally, is that it has its own farm that provides fresh Chinese vegetables, which are also sold at the Amherst Farmer’s Market.  It is also rumored that as a teenager Uma Thurman worked there.

The Dumplings:  Am-Chi sporadically serves one of my all time favorite dumplings, the pea vine with shrimp dumpling.  Pea vines are the young stems and leaves of the snow pea plant and taste a little like spinach, which combined with the shrimp, taste fabulous.  Whether or not Am-Chi has the dumplings depends on how well the vines grow each year on the farm.  If they are available, they will be there in July and August, but some years the dumplings are not available at all.  They took them off the new menu, so you have to ask for them and hope for the best.

They also serve a really good pork and Chinese leek dumpling that is so juicy it is almost a soup dumpling. I forgot this last time I was there and managed to spray pork juice into my tea.

Pan-Fried Pork and Chinese Leek Dumpling

Also available:

Pork dumplings, spinach dumplings, shrimp dumplings, and the triple-delight dumpling which are filled with shrimp, chicken, leeks and mushrooms.

All the dumplings are served either steamed or pan-fried.

The Sauce:  In addition to serving one of my all time favorite dumplings, Am-Chi also has my all time favorite dumpling sauce.  The sauce appears to be made of soy, sesame oil, vinegar and grated ginger, it is quite vinegary with a really good ginger edge.  They also serve hot chili oil on the side.

Location:  On Main Street in Amherst MA, near the University of Massachusetts.

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Yang’s Fried Dumpling, Shanghai, Pan Fried

Posted on November 10, 2012 by rundlea

After my Chinese colleagues told me that Nan Xiang Xiaolong Mantou was for tourists I asked them where they went for dumplings and they took me to Xiao Yang’s (Yang’s Fried Dumplings).  I’ve been to three of the locations, which were all small, mainly to-go joints with a few counter seats, that lacked the ambiance of Nan Xiang, but the dumplings were fabulous.  Yang’s serves sheng jian which, similar to soup dumplings, have a hot broth inside the dumpling wrapper.  They also serve a soup, with or without dumplings, but I didn’t get around to trying the soup.

The 54-60 Wujiang Road Location

The Dumplings: Sheng jian are spherical dumplings that are cooked on large round, covered pans and are fried and crispy on the bottom and steamed on top. The outside of the dumplings are sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onion, inside there is a seasoned ball of pork and a rich broth.  If you get them to-go, squirt some dipping sauce into the to-go container and inevitably some of the dumpling broth will pool into the container as well, by the time you are finished eating the dumplings there will be a tasty soup in the container.

The Dipping Sauce.  I have read that traditionally sheng jian are eaten with a vinegar dipping sauce, but Yang’s provides squeeze bottles of a soy-vinegar mixture.

Location:  There are reportedly about 12 locations in Shanghai, three of them are along Nanjing road, which if you are visiting Shanghai, you are bound to end up walking along.  One location is in the back of the Shanghai #1 Food Market (720 Nanjing Road), which is a really interesting food market.  The Food Market is just east of People’s Square.  The other two spots are west of People’s Square on Wujiang Road, which runs parallel to Nanjing Road, just south of Nanjing Road (54-60 Wujiang Road and 269 Wujiang Road).

Other reported locations
97 Huanghe Lu (Huangpu)
521 Henan Zhong Lu (Huangpu)
678 Shaanxi Bei Lu (Jing’an)
810 Quyang Lu (Hongkou)
812 Kangding Lu nr.Jiaozhou Lu (Jing’an)
600 Wanghangdu Lu nr. Wuding Xi Lu (Jing’an)
1685 Jinshajiang Lu, 3rd Floor, nr. Zhenbei Lu (Putuo)
600 Handan Lu, Wanda Square, Wujiaochang (Yangpu)

Posted in Pan Fried, Shanghai, Soup Dumpling | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Mandoo Bar, New York City, Mandoo

Posted on November 4, 2012 by rundlea

Mandoo Bar is in New York City’s Manhattan Korea Town and serves Korean style dumplings and a quite a few other Korean dishes – the selection of non-dumpling offerings seems to be growing.  The dumpling making station is in the front of the restaurant and from the street you can look through the front window and watch the dumplings being made fresh, by hand.  There is also an open kitchen area that you can see as you enter the restaurant where the dumplings are steamed or pan fried.  The place is usually pretty packed, especially around lunch and dinner time.  You used to be able to get bags of 50 frozen dumplings to go, but they seem to have stopped selling these.

The Dumplings:  Mandoo Bar makes a wide variety of dumplings, pretty much all of which I like a lot.  As a vegan, my wife is a little less excited about this spot,  – not the best vegetable dumplings in New York City.  The dumpling wrapper dough is also a little sweet.

They serve:

  • Mool Mandoo: pork and vegetables, boiled.
  • Vegetable Mool Mandoo:  mixed vegetables, boiled.
  • Baby Mandoo: bite size pork and veg, boiled.
  • Kimchee Mandoo:  kimchee, tofu, pork and other vegetables, steamed.
  • Goon Mandoo: pork and vegetables, lightly pan-fried.
  • Vegetable Goon Mandoo: mixed vegetables, lightly pan-fried.
  • Seafood Mandoo: shrimps, crabsticks and vegetables, boiled.

The open kitchen at Mandoo Bar

The Dipping Sauce:  Bottles of soy sauce, vinegar and spicy sauce on the table.  Mix to taste.

Location:  Mandoo Bar is on 32nd street, between Broadway and 5th avenue, closer to 5th, on the south side of the street.  Look for the ladies making dumplings in the front window.  There is also an outpost in Palisades Park, NJ (476 Bergen Blvd, Palisades Park NJ).

Posted in Korea, Mandoo, New York City, Vegetarian | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Myeongdong Gyoza, Seoul, Steamed.

Posted on October 28, 2012 by rundlea

Myeongdong Gyoza, also beloved for its Kalguksu (hand cut noodles), is a famous dumpling restaurant in the Myeongdong neighborhood of Seoul.  There are two locations on the same street, within about 100 yards of each other.  Both spots are really popular and at lunch and dinner there is always a line down the block, but service is blindingly fast so the line moves quickly.

At the location I go to, there is a woman at the door wearing a headset directing traffic to the first or second floor and at the top of the stairs to the second floor, there is another headset clad woman directing traffic to the tables.  Since there are only four things on the menu, the waitresses take your order immediately and your order is back within about three minutes. They don’t cook your dumplings to order, they just produce dumplings pretty much continuously, and you are given the next serving of dumplings out of the steamer.

The Dumplings:  Excellent steamed pork and leak filling wrapped like soup dumplings.  There are ten to an order, served in a plastic steamer basket.

The Dipping Sauce:  Each table comes with bottles of soy sauce and vinegar and, the best part, a tub filled with a mash of garlic, scallions and sesame oil; you mix the soy sauce, vinegar and mash to taste.

Locations: Myeongdong is a hip shopping district in central Seoul focused on fashion and youth culture.  There are a lot of restaurants to eat at in the neighborhood, some bars and coffee shops and at night there is good street food to be had. Myeongdong is right next to Namdaemun Market which is the oldest and largest market in Seoul.  There is also a Myeongdong Gyoza outpost in L.A. that serves the same four dishes.

Myeongdong at night

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New York Times Dumpling Article

Posted on October 24, 2012 by rundlea

Wednesday’s Dining and Wine section of the New York Times had an article on dumpling spots in New York City.  The article mainly feature places selling nouveau, new twists or deconstructed dumplings.  Some of the spots sound great, will be trying them.

New York Times article photo

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Fried Dumplings, New York City. Pan Fried.

Posted on October 21, 2012 by rundlea

In an alley at the edge of Chinatown in New York City, this spot simply called Fried Dumplings is the best deal for tasty dumplings in the city. There is almost always a line down the block at lunch time and as you wait on line you will hear the repeated yell of “One Dolla, Two Dolla? You stay, you go?”.  When you reach the counter you are expected to immediately answer “One dollar” for five dumplings or “Two dollars” for 10 dumplings, and to assess the available space at the 6-8 person counter and decide if you plan to eat in, or out in nearby Columbus Park.  “Stay” gets you a paper plate, “Go” gets you a styrofoam container.  Fried Dumplings is usually staffed by three people, one doing the yelling and taking the cash, the second tending to a giant, flat grill frying the dumplings, and the third feverishly making dumplings.

The Dumplings.  Pan fried and crispy on the bottom, with a super tasty pork and leek filling, slightly thicker wrapper.  My one critique is that the dumplings are sometimes stuck together and the wrappers can tear as you pull them apart.

The Dipping Source.  The counter has old Huy Fong brand (rooster brand) Sriracha bottles filled with a soy and vinegar mix, with just the perfect amount of sour vinegar flavor.  There are pots of hot chili paste on the counter to mix with the sauce.

Location.  Fried Dumplings is on Mosco Street between Mott and Mulberry Street, right by Columbus Park.  It is right near the Court Houses, perfect for jury duty.

Fried Dumplings. 106 Mosco Street.

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Zen, Northampton MA, & Zen, Shanghai, Gyoza.

Posted on October 14, 2012 by rundlea

Zen is a pan-Asian restaurant in Northampton, MA and serves, at best, mediocre food.  The gyoza there appear to be frozen and then microwaved. I have eaten dumplings there twice and on both occasions some of the gyoza were still chilled on the inside.  The strange thing is, I have been to a restaurant in Shanghai called Zen, that had a very similar logo and signage and similarly mediocre food.

Zen Shanghai is part of the Zen International Group that has restaurants in several international cities. It doesn’t appear that Zen Northampton, is part of the chain, they just seem to have borrowed the logo. Zen Shanghai is in the Xintiandi neighborhood, which is a car free shopping, eating and entertainment district.  Xintiandi is sort of a theme park entertainment area, that is composed of reconstituted traditional Shanghai style houses called Shikumen.  The Shikumen architectural style blended Western and Chinese influences and was typified by rows of homes along narrow alleys, each with a small front yard enclosed with tall walls.  Zen Shanghai focuses more on decor than food and, similar to Zen Northampton, serves weak dumplings.

The Dumplings: Gyoza style, that appear to be frozen and then microwaved.

The Dipping Sauce: It doesn’t matter.

Location:  Zen Northampton, Main Street, Northampton MA.

Zen Shanghai, Xintiandi, off Xingye Lu road.  Xintiandi is near the #1 metro line stop at South Huangpi Road.

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