SAVOR THE FLAVOR (Steam Dumplings)

My search for the best dumplings in New York continues….

SADLY, STEAM DUMPLINGS IS NOW CLOSED.

What did we do before the internet? How would I have discovered and felt confident to walk into Savor Fusion Food Court if others hadn’t told me to? It’s located a bit south from the hulabaloo of Roosevelt Avenue in the Chinatown of Flushing, Queens. It’s not too far away from the Golden Mall, which is an even more intimidating food court but one I have traversed many times. Know how I discovered it? The internet (more specifically this and this)!

This new food court was the first stop in a Flushing eating adventure I had organized with a group of friends. Most had never been to Flushing before and since I was the veteran, it was up to me to come up with the itinerary.

I led the way past the first few stalls until I found what we were looking for: Steam Dumplings. It’s labeled as stall number 1, but so is another stall if you enter from Main Street. This dumpling stand was rather unassuming all the way in the back corner, but I kept reading about the transcendent 3 Mixed Meat dumplings. I was willing to relinquish my go-to Pork and Chives for something a bit more exotic.

The 3 Mixed Meats is a bit of a misnomer since there are only two meats inside: pork and shrimp. The third meat (or treasure as would be a more accurate translation) is leek. Based on the colors and textures, I also think we may have lucked out with some egg and mushrooms in there.

While the wrapper was tender and chewy, the flavors fought with one another. And although the treasures made for a rich filling, they were rather bland. A healthy dip into the wonderful dumpling sauce did help matters.

Thankfully, we also chose the lamb dumplings because those were much more flavorful than the ones everybody raves about. They were juicy with lots of earthy lamb flavor. Bursts of cumin and pepper also rang through. These dumplings were so good that I even forgot there was a dipping sauce.

We had lots of eating to do, so we didn’t spend too much time exploring this court. This could be worthy of a trip to Flushing all on its own. One day I will do it and write about it on the internet in the hopes that some other hungry group will discover this hidden temple of food.

The internet has recently told me that this food court has been closed since I visited. While it may be true, I won’t know for sure until my next trip to Flushing. Some things you have to see for yourself.

Does Steam Dumplings have the best dumplings in NY? They earn a 7 out of 10 because I wasn’t as taken by the popular 3 Mixed Meat option but the lamb filling shows just how juicy and flavorful these treasures could be.