Dumpling Diaries by Camellia
Having spent most of my time as a student in
My favourite go-to locations were always around Gouger and
Grote streets. The bustle and feel of a middle to upper class dining community
peppered with some oh so sweetly cheap and generous Chinatown
delights.
Dumplings of course, a staple. I even managed to find a sit
down (table service) spot with dishes under $10 (Bing's,
get onto it).
I figured New York
would be pretty much the same deal with people constantly yapping about how
expensive this place is. I assumed the food prices would match up at a fairly
consistent rate. How wrong I was.
Here I discovered wonders beyond comprehension, first, a
meal for under $10 was commonplace, then with further exploration a new world
of food for $5 and under begun to blow my mind.
![]() |
Spicy Wontons from Vanessa's Dumplings |
15 pan fried pork dumplings for THREE DOLLARS. No catches, no gimmicks. And because of the cultural differences you don’t even reeeeeeally need to tip in
A fun spot for something a bit spicy is Vanessa's Dumplings on Eldridge Street in the Lower East Side (where it meets Chinatown). The spicy wonton's are the must-eat here but if you're savvy you can just ask them to add the spicy sauce to any order of dumplings you get - I highly recommend it. Also, they do a mean duck stuffed shallot pancake.
If you’ve visited or lived in the New York city, you might have heard
about a little place called Prosperity Dumpling (sadly now in remission). It’s a great spot and a really
fun experience, but if you want to avoid the lines and save an extra dollar (a
larger margin at such a low price point), then head over to C & L dumplings
on Chrystie Street, it’s never got a line, fast/cheap service, seats and tables
available and they make the most insanely delicious peanut butter noodles ($2).
It’s like the Bing’s of Dumpling King! Go look that up.
![]() |
Lunch Haul from Prosperity Dumpling |
The common texture of the dumplings here often involves a thicker wrapper and a nice fat helping of filling. It’s less common to find the thin-skinned variety, I assume because of regional differences in the bulk of the
The thinner skin variety are sometimes found, but far less
often and are usually just made using store bought wonton wrappers, which is a
disappointment.
If you feel like dumplings now, please go indulge in some
Dumpling King with the spacious and tidy view of Chinatown Mall in sight.
Appreciate that the smell of rotting food isn’t wafting past you in 32 degree
100% humidity weather, don’t worry about the extra $6, and this time, be happy
that you’re not in New York.
0 comments:
Post a Comment