THE BEST: Chinese Dumplings

[mascarpone]

I did a dumpling tour last night with my girlfriend. We took the F to Delancy and went to Fried Dumpling on the west side of Allen just south of Delancy and ordered 10 pork/chive fried for $2. The wrapper was thin and crispy and it was well browned. The dumplings were somewhat clumped together, but came apart easily after a bit of teasing.

Next we walked two blocks to Dumpling House on Eldrige between Grand and Broome. There was a mob of people there ordering and we were edged out by several other customers and ended up having to wait for a new batch of fried Pork/chive to be made. I ordered 10 for $2. Although crispy on the underside--and despite the wrapper being quite thin, the dumpling seemed somewhat doughy and undercooked as the cooks were hastily churning out the product. The contents of each dumpling were very juicy and tasted better than those at Fried dumpling. I made the mistake of popping an entire dumpling in my mouth after it had come out of the oil fryer and got burned.

We then made our way to Excellent Dumplingjust south of Canal on the east side of Lafayette. This was a restaurant and the Pork/Chive fried dumplings there were inferior to those at the two establishments that we had previously visited. The main complaint is that they were thick and doughy and the contents were tasteless. We ended up paying close to six dollars for eight substandard dumplings.

Last but not least we went to Tasty Dumpling south of Bayard Street on Mulberry near Columbus Park. There the dumplings were comparable to Dumpling House, yet they were completely cooked and there was more variety. I ordered five Pork/Cabbage fried for a dollar as our tummys were exploding at this point. The Cabbage gave the dumpling a sweeter taste, not nearly as dramatic a taste as the chive. The wrapper was thin and was more completely cooked than at Dumpling house, however they were not nearly as busy.

Personaly, I like the chive better than the cabbage, however she prefers cabbage. The best wrapper was at Fried Dumpling and the best contents at Dumpling House. Best overall dumpling at Tasty Dumpling. The menu designs/decor at Dumpling House and Tasty Dumpling were so similar (I thought we were in a chain franchise) that I asked at Tasty Dumpling if they were at all affiliated. The woman at the counter said Dumpling house was owned by her sister. When I proceeded to ask her name to post in the review, a very large Chinese man with a menacing look came out from the kitchen and I muttered that it wasn't important and we quickly exited.

Edited March 1, 2005 by mascarpone (log)

[Pan]

What an adventure! I'll check out Tasty Dumpling but won't ask anyone's name!

Did you see any Chinese people at Excellent Dumpling? I get the feeling that that's a real non-Asians' restaurant (in terms of the clientele), and I'm not surprised you weren't pleased with the dumplings there.

Edited March 1, 2005 by Pan (log)

[Bux]

What an adventure! I'll check out Tasty Dumpling but won't ask anyone's name!

Did you see any Chinese people at Excellent Dumpling? I get the feeling that that's a real non-Asians' restaurant (in terms of the clientele), and I'm not surprised you weren't pleased with the dumplings there.

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Excellent Dumpling seemed to get a lot of business from the court houses and jail nearby. I used to like it quite a lot many years ago, but it didn't have a discriminating clientele and I felt it was going downhill. I have had the best Shanghai noodles there and they made a terrific bowl of shredded pork and preserved cabbage noodle soup. I have no idea of how well these dishes may have survived. Even in its better days, the fried dumplings had rather heavy wrappers which made them filling and a cheap meal.

[marlena spieler]

moscarpone, you're my hero!

marlena

[kurl]

Did you see any Chinese people at Excellent Dumpling? I get the feeling that that's a real non-Asians' restaurant (in terms of the clientele), and I'm not surprised you weren't pleased with the dumplings there.

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My one visit there was totally on a lark and I was a bit discouraged by the fact that the clientele was entirely non-Chinese. I found the dumplings to be fine -- though not really excellent. Weirdly, someone seemingly randomly asked me if I was from NYU, leading me to believe that it is a student hangout (?).

[mascarpone]

What an adventure! I'll check out Tasty Dumpling but won't ask anyone's name!

Did you see any Chinese people at Excellent Dumpling? I get the feeling that that's a real non-Asians' restaurant (in terms of the clientele), and I'm not surprised you weren't pleased with the dumplings there.

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Good point. I would say the clientele was 80% caucasian.

[mascarpone]

moscarpone, you're my hero!

marlena

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I'm flattered, but why?

[jogoode]

Did you see any Chinese people at Excellent Dumpling? I get the feeling that that's a real non-Asians' restaurant (in terms of the clientele), and I'm not surprised you weren't pleased with the dumplings there.

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Come on, guys. I don't think non-Asian customers portends bad dumplings, just as throngs of Japanese at a sushi bar tells you nothing about its sushi. One indication that customers' ethnicity doesn't matter is that many of the enthusiastic posters on this thread are caucasian. kurl's experience is more significant: the real indicator of a bad restaurant is tons of college kids .

[Pan]

Come on, guys. I don't think non-Asian customers portends bad dumplings[...]

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Think location. This is a restaurant on the periphery of Chinatown. There are loads of Chinese people all around there. What does it mean in that context if the clientele of a place is mostly non-Chinese?

I also disagree with your premise, and we've discussed this before in another thread. While there is no one-to-one relationship between the absence of Asians and a poor-quality meal in an Asian restaurant, I can tell you up front that in my experience, there is just about a 100% correlation between a mainly non-Asian clientele and mediocre-to-poor Malaysian food in this city. That doesn't mean if the majority of the clientele are Asians, the food will be good; that's another story.

[jogoode]

Come on, guys. I don't think non-Asian customers portends bad dumplings[...]

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I also disagree with your premise, and we've discussed this before in another thread. While there is no one-to-one relationship between the absence of Asians and a poor-quality meal in an Asian restaurant, I can tell you up front that in my experience, there is just about a 100% correlation between a mainly non-Asian clientele and mediocre-to-poor Malaysian food in this city.

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The same could be said about Thai. But then take Sripraphai. Perhaps when it first opened, its customers were mostly Thai. Then press hit and its customer demographic changed considerably. Now you see three Manhattanite groups for every Thai family, except at lunch. People of all sorts know about Dumpling House now and seek it out; looking at the ethnicity of its customers is no longer relevant. Sorry for the tangent. (Do you remember where the thread about this subject was, Pan? I'd love to read it.)

[Pan]

JJ, I'd argue that Sripraphai is an exception, and that usually, when the clientele becomes mainly non-Asian, the food gets watered down and adulterated in various ways.

I forget the title of the thread I'm remembering...

[slkinsey]

I forget the title of the thread I'm remembering...

Let's continue any such discussion on that thread.

[kurl]

kurl's experience is more significant: the real indicator of a bad restaurant is tons of college kids .

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Haha. The place wasn't that discouraging -- I mean, I just wandered in and decided to stay and order dumplings (whereas there are far more places -- in chinatown and elsewhere -- where I take a look and don't give a thought to actually ordering).

If anyone's up for a diet-busting dumpling tasting next week (i.e. the only week I'll be in NY 'til may), let me know.

[marlena spieler]

because you went out there and ate all those dumplings, all on OUR behalf! and now we know just which dumpling house to go for.......

wish my husband had the appetite (and desire) to do such a thing! (can i submit him for apprenticeship with you?).

x marlena

moscarpone, you're my hero!

marlena

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I'm flattered, but why?

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[Josh]

My first eGullet post, and having spent many an afternoon/evening bouncing back and forth between the different dumpling joints, I can't think of a better topic to start with...

My vote for your best bet in FRIED DUMPLINGS is Tasty Dumpling on Mulberry Street, between Mosco and Bayard Streets. The quality is high, consistent across visits, there's a tremendous variety compared to some of the other places, and there's actually a few tables if you're so inclined to sit. I've found the quality here to be quite similar to its sister Dumpling House location on Eldridge between Broome and Grand, only with a more varied menu -- an especially good feature if you're with less obsessive newbies.

Having said that, I often find myself in Fried Dumpling around the corner on Mosco Street. I agree with previous posters that the quality is often inconsistent. STILL, there's something about the hole-in-the-wall aesthetic with the Al Yageneh-esque woman yelping "Dumpling? One dollaaah!"at you that I find inexplicably alluring. Truthfully, I've had more good experiences there than bad. Definitely to hit it when the dumplings are just pulled from the fry/steamer...

Whether you choose Tasty Dumpling or Fried Dumpling, the added advantage of that location is that it's adjacent to Columbus Park, a neat outdoors place to plop yourself down and feast while you watch the neighborhood at play. Some excellent 5th generation chinese beef jerky from Jung's Dried Beef a few doors up from Tasty's on Mulberry, not to mention the previously-mentioned Hong Kong Egg Cake Lady's stand on Mosco at Mott, doesn't hurt the feast either!

When it comes to SOUP DUMPLINGS, my heart is still with Joe's Shanghai. Yeah, the place can be somewhat of a disaster with the waits and all, but what can I say -- me likes! Yeah Shanghai, New Green Bo, Sweet-n-Tart, and a whole host of other places also have good offerings. Only warning is that there's no veggie option on the soup dumplings at Joe's -- only pork or seafood.

For DUMPLINGS IN SOUP, my current favorite is Great NY Noodletown on the corner of Bowery and Bayard Streets. Chaos reigns here and that's part of the fun. For a quick tasty meal for a pittance, it's hard to beat. It's also open really late (possibly 24hrs?), lest you find yourself needing some sustenance after a late night on the town.

Stumbled across Rosecrans Baldwin's well written account in 'The Morning News' blogazine of dumpling shop hopping with self-proclaimed chinatown afficianado Harley Spiller. It's two years old, but as relevant as ever.

Cheers,

Josh

[Pan]

Glad to have your take on Chinese dumplings, Josh. Have you ever tried any in Flushing or Brooklyn?

I haven't seen the Hong Kong Egg Cake Lady's booth open for years. When have you seen her?

Also, I don't believe Great NY Noodletown (their current name) is open 24 hours. I thought they were open until 3 A.M., but some sources are saying 9 A.M.-4 A.M., and that might be accurate. If anyone really wants to know for sure, here's their phone number:

212-349-0923

[weinoo]

I just walked by Mosco the other day after a great meal at NY Noodletown and the egg-cake lady is definitely not there - gotta be at least 2 years now. There is an egg-cake man on the SE corner of Grand and Canal, and another on west side of Canal almost down by Divsion.

Are wontons considered dumplings? Certainly, the shrimp and pork wontons at NY Noodletown would have to rank right up near the top.

There is also a dumpling place (I believe called Northern Dumplings) on lower Essex St. (around #11) that can be as tasty as Fried Dumpling's offereings are if the timing is right.

Can't wait to try Tasty's!

[Josh]

I just walked by Mosco the other day after a great meal at NY Noodletown and the egg-cake lady is definitely not there - gotta be at least 2 years now.  There is an egg-cake man on the SE corner of Grand and Canal, and another on west side of Canal almost down by Divsion.

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I stand corrected. The original egg cake lady is indeed gone, but there's a woman with a cart who often sets up at Mosco/Mott or a block or two west on Canal. While it's possible that she's just a pretender to the throne, I've been told that she has taken up the same recipe and methods and can be distinguished from the "egg cake man" whose cakes are smaller. Got all that?

Okay, I'm done splitting hairs now. Pretender or not, her concoctions are darn tasty, and so are the maybe-not-AS-great-but-still-pretty-darn-great man's cakes, so enjoy!

Edited March 27, 2005 by Josh (log)

[Felonius]

On this quiet and gray Easter morning, I awoke to thoughts of families happily brunching, lovers curled up in bed together, children gleefully hunting candy eggs - and found myself feeling a bit depressed as a bachelor in NYC. What was I to do? Ah, how about a solo dumpling quest in Chinatown!

While I've eaten many a dumpling in my day, I am no afficionado. So I turned to suggestions on this thread. I figured I'd take Fat Guy's advice and start at his personal dumpling mecca, New Green Bo. Well, I must say I agree their fried pork dumplings are a thing of beauty. Flavorful, not too heavy, with a perfectly browned and slightly crispy skin on the bottom. It was all I could do to restrain myself from eating the entire order of eight by myself (I reluctantly stepped away from the dumplings after number 5, to save room for other contenders).

Next stop was Tasty Dumpling. These dumplings were smaller and slightly less browned, but with excellent flavor. At $1.00 for five dumplings, this place surpasses even Gray's Papaya "recession special" hotdog combo as best food bargain in Manhattan.

Next I went around the corner to Fried Dumpling on Mosco. This place had a bit more "atmosphere" as the lady made dumplings by hand right in front of me, yelling out orders in Chinese to the fry cooks behind. I didn't enjoy these dumplings as much as the others, however. They were less browned and stuck together, with a more rubbery/doughy texture to the skins. They also had less flavor than the dumplings at New Green Bo and Tasty Dumpling. Still, at $1.00 for five, it's hard to complain.

While I had high hopes of sampling five or six of the places mentioned in this thread, I didn't pace myself properly. Scarfing down fifteen dumplings in less than an hour, I had to throw in the towel after Fried Dumpling.

My ranking so far:

1. New Green Bo (66 Bayard St.)

2. Tasty Dumpling (Mulberry St.)

3. Fried Dumpling (Mosco St.)

It's also worth noting that I probably sampled all three at an ideal time of day. Each place cooked my dumplings to order, as it was a relatively slow Sunday afternoon.

Many thanks to all the E-Gullet dumpling pioneers who paved the way for a very enjoyable Sunday expedition to Chinatown.

Edited March 27, 2005 by Felonius (log)

[slkinsey]

In a visit to New Green Bo a few days ago, Fat Guy turned me on to another dumpling there I had never tried before. I'm usually not one for boiled dumplings, but NGB's boiled pork and leek dumplings are outstanding. They have now firmly entered the standard list for the obscene amount of food Fat Guy and I order when we're there. This makes me think of trying their boiled seafood dumplings as well. NGB even makes an acceptably tasty version of steamed vegetable dumplings.

Gotta love the service, though. Nice and surly, just the way I like it.

[Felonius]

In a visit to New Green Bo a few days ago, Fat Guy turned me on to another dumpling there I had never tried before.  I'm usually not one for boiled dumplings, but NGB's boiled pork and leek dumplings are outstanding.  They have now firmly entered the standard list for the obscene amount of food Fat Guy and I order when we're there.  This makes me think of trying their boiled seafood dumplings as well.  NGB even makes an acceptably tasty version of steamed vegetable dumplings.

Gotta love the service, though.  Nice and surly, just the way I like it.

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Sam, sorry for going off topic here but...

Other than dumplings, what other items would you recommend I order on my second visit to New Green Bo?

Also, neophyte to NGB that I am, what do I have to say to get the particular soup dumplings Fat Guy is raving about? I didn't see anything on the menu listed as such. If I'm not mistaken, I've this type of dumping at Joe's Shanghai before.

Edited March 28, 2005 by Felonius (log)

[slkinsey]

The soup dumplings at NGB are called "Steamed Crab Meat & Pork Tiny Buns" and "Steamed Tiny Buns with Pork." For more NGB recommendations and discussion, see here.

[SethG]

I mean no disrespect to Fried Dumpling (and its ilk). It is a place I often stop into if my lunch has left me feeling like I still need a little something. Likewise, I have no quarrel with New Green Bo (I eat there for lunch with an almost metronome-like consistency). But am I alone in finding depressing the extent to which these few, hardly adventurous restaurants have dominated this thread?

I agree with the high marks NGB's soup, fried pork and other dumplings have received.

But there's a lot more to dumpling life than New Green Bo's limited options. (Incidentally, I find the Bo's steamed vegetable dumplings to be bland). I've mentioned above one restaurant in Brooklyn that recently knocked my socks off with a wide variety of creative, tasty, and beautiful-to-behold seafood dumplings. I expected to hear more about other restaurants that offer similar experiences.

Are we so lacking in such places? Or are most of us only interested in how many pork dumplings we can get for a dollar?

Edited March 29, 2005 by SethG (log)

[Jason Perlow]

What can I say. Get thee to New Jersey.

[Felonius]

What can I say. Get thee to New Jersey.

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What can I say? For those of us without automobiles in Manhattan, "Get thee to a nunnery" is perhaps a more likely proposition.

Edited March 30, 2005 by Felonius (log)