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Dumpling House

Published

Gastronomer

on June 4, 2007

in Chinese, New York City and Restaurant Review

. 6 Comments

May 27 and 28, 2007
Cuisine: Chinese

118 Eldridge St, New York 10002
Btwn Grand & Broome St

Phone: 212-625-8008
Website: none

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Chives and Pork Boiled Dumpling (10/$2.00)

Chives and Pork Fried Dumplings (5/$1.00)

Sesame Pancake with Beef ($1.50)

Sesame Pancake with Tuna Fish ($1.50)

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Gastronomer: This past Memorial Day weekend, The Astronomer and I headed to New York City for a 36 hour food tour. The only items on our agenda were breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which kept us busy and well-fueled. Prior to embarking upon the city, I meticulously researched and composed an ambitious list of eateries I wanted to try or revisit:

Babycakes NYC: 248 Broome St New York, NY 10002 (212) 677-5047
Billy’s Bakery: 184 9th Ave New York, NY 10011 (212) 647-9956
Bouchon Bakery: 10 Columbus Cir. New York, NY 10019 (212) 823-9366
Doughnut Plant: 379 Grand St New York, NY 10002 (212) 505-3700
Dumpling House: 118 Eldridge St New York, NY 10002 (212) 625-8008
Magnolia Bakery: 401 Bleecker St New York, NY 10014 (212) 462-2572
Momofuku Ssam Bar: 207 2nd New York, NY 10003 (212) 254-3500
Momofuku: 163 1st Ave # 2 New York, NY 10003 (212) 475-7899
N.Y. Dosas: W. 4th St. at Sullivan St New York, NY 10014 (917) 710-2092
Peter Luger Steak House: 178 Broadway Brooklyn, NY 11211 (718) 387-7400
Shake Shack: 11 Madison Ave New York, NY 10010 (212) 889-6600

Due to a combination of time and stomach constraints, we didn’t make it to all the places listed above. But seven unique delights in 36 hours isn’t too shabby! Our first and last meal was at Dumpling House located in my brother’s ‘hood—the Lower East Side.

Astronomer: Dumpling House was an amazing find—delicious northern Chinese cuisine at truly incredible prices. With my friend Miho in tow, the total dinner bill for three came out to a mere $8 for twenty pork and chive dumplings, two large stuffed sesame pancakes, and a bottle of water. Placing our order in the chaos of the crowded, tiny restaurant was not easy, but we eventually managed to communicate with the staff and received our food.

Gastronomer: While the wait at Dumpling House can be long due to its immense popularity and limited staff, the open kitchen provides great entertainment. There are a handful of stools located in the back of the restaurant for in-house diners, but the restaurant’s cramped space isn’t the most inviting. We took our dumplings and sesame pancakes to Roosevelt Park two blocks away to enjoy.

Astronomer: Both varieties of dumpling were flavorful and juicy; so juicy in fact that we were forced to eat standing up to save our clothes. I preferred the boiled dumplings, while the Gastronomer liked the pan-fried ones. We all agreed that both types were irresistible.

Gastronomer: The fried dumplings had the most wonderful texture that was both soft and chewy, especially along the crisped edges. The boiled dumplings’ exterior was delicate and subtle. The pork and chive interiors were seasoned fantastically; definitely no soy sauce required.

The sesame pancakes were an interesting creation—giant spheres of dough are deep fried and cut into triangular wedges. The wedges can either be eaten plain or sliced down the middle and stuffed with tuna, beef, or vegetables. Each sandwich is garnished with pickled carrots and cilantro, which reminded The Astronomer and I of bánh mì. The tuna filling was spicy, while the beef was smoky in flavor. I highly recommend the tuna sesame pancake.

Astronomer: We liked everything so much that we gave Dumpling House the honor of being the only place that we visited twice on our tour, returning the next evening after our plans to eat at N.Y. Dosas fell through.

Kanoyama

Published

Gastronomer

on November 26, 2006

in Japanese, New York City and Restaurant Review

. 0 Comments

Photos by Forced Perfect & time for cheese!

November 24, 2006
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi

175 2nd Ave, New York 10003
At 11th St

Phone: 212-777-5266
Website: http://www.kanoyama.com/

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Appetizer: Sea Urchin in a half shell ($22)

Spider Roll - Soft Shell crab, cucumber, tabiko, lettuce, avocado w/mayo ($11)

Spicy Tuna Roll ($7)

Sushi for 2 - 16 pieces Sushi, 3 Rolls, served with Miso soup or salad ($42)

Dessert: Green Tea Mochi, Red Bean ice cream, Ginger ice cream

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To recover from our Thanksgiving feast, my family dined at Kanoyama. Sushi’s mildness and freshness was perfect for resetting worn out palettes.

We arrived at 7:15 PM and the (small) restaurant was filled to the brim so we opted to sit at the sushi bar. The sushi chefs provided fine entertainment while we waited for our dinner.

We started off with the sea urchin appetizer, which was unadorned and served in a shell of sorts. Sea urchin is my brother’s latest obsession and has replaced foie gras as his favorite culinary delight. Since I have never had sea urchin before, he described it to me as slightly sweet and delicious. I would have to disagree. Sea urchin has the texture of brains and the taste of old sea water. Ick! I ate the seaweed garnish and let brother and mother finish off the dish.

For our main course, mother and brother shared the sushi for two, which came with 16 pieces of sushi, 3 rolls (Tuna, Yellowtail, Salmon), and soup or salad. Both mother and brother chose the Miso soup. Brother polished his off, but mom only had half. I guess it was good, but wasn’t spectacular. I helped my mom and brother with their sushi for two. I thought the standout pieces were the toro and the eel. Mmm. The eel especially melted in my mouth.

I ordered the spider roll and spicy tuna roll and shared them with mother and brother. Brother thought the spicy tuna was great because it wasn’t intensely mayo-ie. I agreed. I also thought the ratio of rice to fish was perfect. The spider roll was great as well; although I wished there was more soft shell crab and less rice.

We finished off our meal with some ice cream and mochi. I didn’t have any of the mochi because both mother and brother described green tea as “bitter.” No thanks. I really loved the ginger ice cream, but for some reason it was peach in color. Very strange. I am not a big fan of artificial coloring. The ginger flavor was strong, but not spicy and had many pieces of crystallized ginger. I only had a couple bites of the red bean ice cream. I felt that it was too sweet and lacked red bean flavor.

Beard Papa’s

Published

Gastronomer

on October 2, 2006

in Bakery, Dessert, New York City and Restaurant Review

. 0 Comments

Photo by Roboppy

Beard Papa’s was introduced to me by my Hawaiian friend Liana. The restaurant is a Japanese import that has been in Hawaii for a while and is being franchised across the land. I can’t wait for it to expand to San Diego and Philadelphia. Until then, I will have to keep frequenting the NYC location.

I have been to Beard Papa’s a couple of times and always order the same thing, the eclair cream puff ($1.85). It’s divine and cheap. The chocolate is layered on super-thick and the custard inside is creamy and full of vanilla flavor. The puff is a bit chewy (in a good way), so spurting cream sometimes happens. Just ask the sidewalk outside the store.

The Astronomer ordered the Cheesecake Stick. He said, “it’s mild.” I had one bite and considered not swallowing. A mild cheesecake is a boring cheesecake. The recipe needs more CHEESE! But hey, it cost a buck.

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740 Broadway, New York 10003
Phone: 212-353-8888
Website: http://www.muginohousa.com/