Midtown Lunch

What do you think about when you hear “Fish and dumplings”? For an Asian guy, my mind automatically veers toward dumplings like jiaozi or mandoo or gyoza. But having lived in the South for a little bit, I know that the dumplings you find in a “Chicken and dumplings” dish is not quite the same… Googling tells me that dumplings are simple boiled dough of some sorts, and some variations of dumplings have fillings. Basically all the awesome versions have fillings… As for eating fish from a street cart?  I generally view it as a test of character. Sure, you can eat all the street meat you want, but at this point, it’s not even that crazy to be a street meat lover. You only show your true colors when you’re willing to fish from a cart. So, when the Trini Paki Cart mentioned their new Friday special of fish and dumplings last week, I knew that it was time to test my worth as a street meat eater.

This is a new dish for the Trini Paki Cart, and if the special catches on they plan on having it every single Friday.  Unlike the street meat, which is usually assembled by the son, this dish is put together by the mom (the one who usually takes the money.) The dish starts with some flat dumplings (without filling) that looked to be steamed or boiled, which get topped with three pieces of fish and some sauce from the stew dish. It was looking good until I made the mistake of saying ‘Yes’ when she asked if I wanted salad. Forgo salad for this dish because the white sauce and the water from the salad would get in the way. You can get your fiber elsewhere, keep this dish strictly about fish and dumplings.

For $7 dollars, the dish is decently sized. It’s not a gut bomb that some may wish for in a $7 lunch, but getting fish for lunch is not easy to come by in Midtown. It was on the bone, had a nice firm flesh, and a slightly fishy smell… so if you’re one of those people who thinks that fishy fish is gross, you’ll probably want to pass on this one.  For folks experienced with eating fish on the bone, this won’t faze you. For others, it just means you have to slow down and really enjoy your fish instead of gobbling it down. So that’s something to consider if you need a fast lunch. But seeing as how it’s Friday, you might want to linger during your lunch break anyway.

One thing to remember about the dumplings that come with this dish… since they’re just dough, you really want to get the flavor from the sauce that comes with the fish. This is why it’s so important to skip the salad. And say yes to hot sauce if you can stand the heat. If you mix the sauce from the fish along with their hot sauce you get this complex and flavorful mixture of spices that makes the dumplings better than plain dough ought to be. The dumplings themselves have a nice texture, with a slightly chewy center… but without the sauce, you’re just eating dough.

I think the Trini Paki Boys might be onto something with this fish and dumplings special. No longer do I believe that the only good dumpling is one with a filling. But one thing does remain the same about dumplings… that if you have a good dipping sauce, the dumpling can go to a whole new level. And of course, to test out your true street meat cred, you gotta try fish from a cart. So what are you waiting for?

Trini Paki Boys Cart, NE Corner of 43rd and 6th