DISH OF THE WEEK: Mornay’s Truffled Egg Dumplings at HYBIRD

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

Fried chicken drumsticks. Dumplings. Cupcakes. Slushies. What a strange collection of dishes on one menu. A perfect name for this fast food joint nestled inside Chelsea Market would be “Hybrid”. And that’s what I had been calling Questlove’s ode to things he loves to eat.

But then somebody pointed out to me that it was actually called Hybird – a reference no doubt to The Roots drummer’s famous fried chicken. The joke was so subtle and sophisticated that I totally missed it. Either that, or my dyslexia is acting up again.

I stopped by to whatever this place is called for a quick bite before an event. But the eclectic menu made it really difficult to order just one thing. I was most eager for the fried chicken, but also had to taste one of the dumpling offerings. I resisted the cucpakes and slushies. The high price point ($4 for one chicken leg!) helped me stop ordering.

While the monstrous chicken leg was decent (although absurdly overpriced), I was much more excited by Mornay’s Truffled Egg Dumplings. I assume the name of these fried wontons refer to the classic creamy French sauce with cheese and not the almost-forgotten actress Rebecca de Mornay.

I haven’t had this style of Chinese-American dumplings (think crab rangoon) in a long while, but they were undeniably delicious. The mostly greaseless exterior was sweet, salty, and full of crunch. Inside, the scrambled egg mixture had a surprising abundance of truffle aroma with a rich cheesy body.

At $7 for 4 dumplings, this is also a bit steep. But they’re located in the middle of uber-trendy Chelsea Market – what do you really expect? At least, this is one of the hybrids at Hybird that I actually get.