Archive for 'Dumplings'

Newly Open “Spring” Brings More Dumplings to Midtown

Dumplings, man. Dumplings. Jiaozi, baozi, howzi doing. I love ’em. It’s hard not to. They’re one of the wonderful bits of food engineering that predate molecular gastronomy and don’t involve uber-salting/pickling/preserving as a miracle of pre-refrigerated goodness. I could down ’em for entire meals. The major Midtown draw has been the heavily-contentious Rickshaw Dumplings truck and stand, with the occasional decent draw of xiao long bao or steamed fluffy buns at other Chinese-centric locations. You can get ’em at Tabata. Now, though, you can get your dumplings in a hip space to hang out and have some coffee with your potstickers. Spring, which opened just this past Monday, answers the unasked question of “When can I be a dumpling hipster without venturing into the Cyclopean horror city that is Williamsburg?”

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Radiance Tea House is a Serene Dumpling Lunch

Radiance Tea House

Every once and a while one of the ML flickr pool images catches my eye. Such was the case with this pic of the Shrimp and Avocado Rice Box from Lunch’r CarbZombie. While the price tage for that dish ($11.95) was just north of the ML limit, perusing their menu online I discoverd that they have a steamed dumpling box for $9.95 that was calling my name. Read more »

Cafe Charlie’s “Mandoo Bar” is Not Bad

Cafe Charlie's Mandoo Bar
Cafe Charlie's Mandoo BarAll that talk about dumplings yesterday has put me in the mood for… well… dumplings. A quick look in the comments proves that there are no truly spectacular dumplings in Midtown. No one place here stands out as the best. (For that you have to head to Chinatown or to the outer bouroughs.) But there are some decent options, like the gyoza at one of the Japanese ramen spots (like Men Kui Tei, or Sapporo), wontons in chili oil from Szechuan Gourmet or Wu Liang Ye, or the new dim sum bar at Yushi. And of course there is the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, which has its fans (to go along with some very vocal detractors.)

For Korean dumplings (or mandoo) there is the well known “Mandoo Bar” on 32nd btw. B’way+5th . But the other day I read something in the forums about a new mandoo bar in Cafe Charlie, an otherwise generic Midtown deli on 41st btw. Mad+5th. Clearly an investigation was in order.

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Rickshaw Dumpling Truck Coming to Midtown: Eater has the totally unconfirmed rumor/scoop overheard in some restaurant that the Rickshaw Dumpling Bar (with two locations in lower Manhattan) is planning on dispatching a truck to Midtown.  While I admit that RDB is no [insert favorite 5 for $1.25 Chinatown Dumpling place here], Midtown is a very dumpling starved part of town, and that truck will be welcomed with open arms.  [Eater]