THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT (North Dumpling)

You’d think I was savvy enough to purposefully start my dumpling search knowing full well it would coincide with the Chinese New Year. But you’d be overestimating me. Let’s chalk it up to dumb luck. Or maybe I just have a subconscious knack for these things.

As any self-respecting dumpling blogger would do, I decided to spend part of the Chinese New Year’s Day (the holiday actually lasts for two weeks) in Chinatown eating the traditional New Year’s cuisine: dumplings. So amidst the disconcerting noises of kids throwing firecrackers around (not as dangerous as it sounds) and mini costumed parades, I made my way to one of the few dumpling houses I had yet to try in Chinatown.

North Dumpling House (which is truly on the northern border of Chinatown) has pretty much the same format as all the other dumpling houses in this area. It’s a tiny cramped storefront with generic signs and dumplings for just a dollar. However, this is one of the few spots that still offers their dumplings at the original deal. When these establishments started sprouting up around Chinatown a few years back. the deal was 5 dumplings for $1. It’s now rare to find that. They’ll either cost you 5 for $1.25 or 4 for $1. But at North Dumpling, they’re still five for a dollar. That’s less than a quarter a dumpling!!

I was amazed when I entered the shop at 3:00 (a pretty unusual lunch hour, but perfect for a mid-afternoon snack) and was faced with crowds and a line to order. I assumed it must be because of the Chinese New Year, but I noticed very few customers were actually Chinese. Maybe they were self-respecting dumpling bloggers like myself.

A seat at the counter opened so I settled there with my five fried dumplings and eight steamed dumplings (for $2). Somehow I got my steamed dumplings right away, which is unusual. It normally takes about 10 minutes for the steamed varieties, but mine came out super fast and they were piping with heat from all sides. I have a feeling they messed up somebody else’s order and I happened to have ordered the right thing at the right time.

These dumplings were smaller and flatter than most. And as I tore into them, I discovered why. There didn’t seem to be as much stuffing inside the dumplings as at other dollar joints. And that was my big complaint with these dumplings. Maybe they decided to keep the original price and deflate the fillings while other places decided not to skimp on the food, but jacked up the prices. Either way, it’s a matter of a few cents.

The fried dumplings were seriously browned with a crispy, practically burnt exterior. The wrappers were lukewarm, but they made up for the lack of heat with the charred crust on the skins. These were definitely the crunchiest dumplings I’ve had so far and I was amazed that they weren’t dried out. Inside, the pork and chive mixture was moist but was missing a flavor component (some ginger would be nice). The stuffing also tried to slip out a few time due to some openings in the sloppily made dumplings.

I really felt the dearth of the filling with the steamed dumplings. The wrappers were quite tender and juicy, but inside, there was just the smallest amount of pork and chives. It did make it easier to finish all the dumplings since it didn’t fill me up as quickly. It was as if I was eating perfectly made Chinese pasta (in crescent shape, of course) with some pork juices for flavor. I didn’t mind the flavors – in fact I enjoyed them – I just wish there was more of it.

And with that, I welcomed in the Year of the Rabbit. I did search for rabbit dumplings, but was unable to find them. Too bad this isn’t the Year of the Pork (although isn’t every year the Year of the Pork in this city?)

Does North Dumpling have the best dumplings in NY? I liked both the charred, crispy fried dumplings and the tender steamed ones so they get a 7 out of 10, even though both were missing an abundance of the pork and chive mixture.