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Food Food & Drink

Dumplings do differ

Rating: NNNNN


Mention pizza and everyone’s got an opinion. Same thing goes for fish ‘n’ chips, butter chicken and pad flipping thai. But how many have actually lined up the competition side by side and tasted them all? That’s just what the NOW Test Kitchen set out to accomplish, pigging out across Hogtown in the Year of the Pig in search of the perfect Chinese dumpling.

WHERE VIBE WHAT/PRICE THE VERDICT RATING
LAI WAH HEEN, 108 Chestnut, at Dundas, 416-977-9899 Located in the swanky Metropolitan Hotel, with prices to match. Servers dress better than many customers. A little on the stuffy side. Steamed Phoenix Eye with shrimp and truffle/$7 for two. Ornate pale green rice paper purse stuffed with buttery shrimp and barely cooked Chinese chive, the lot garnished with shaved black truffle: unprecedented artistry in dumpling form. Runner-up: pink “penguins” stuffed with shrimp and peppery shimeji mushroom. NNNNN
CHINESE TRADITIONAL BUNS, 536 Dundas West, at Kensington, 416-299-9011 Subterranean white-on-white grotto with minimal decor. Steamed Xian mutton dumplings/$4.49 for 12. Juicy shredded mutton, carrot and Chinese chive in fiery chili-sesame oil, all in a thick northern-Chinese-style wheat wrapper. NNNN
MOTHER’S DUMPLINGS, 79 Huron, at Dundas, 416-217-2008 Tiny hole-in-the wall just north of Dundas. Don’t be confused by the lesser dumpling joint next door. Steamed whole wheat pork dumplings/$4.75 for 12. Pulverized precooked pork bursting with jus mixed with sweetly pickled cabbage and MSG-free soy sauce in a unique and health-conscious wrapper. NNNN
SAIGON PEARL, 2A Kensington, at Dundas, 416-598-1573 “The best Chinese and Vietnamese in town,” as the sign outside says? Likely not. Well-executed fare with unusual twists? No problem. Steamed spinach dumpling/$2.50 for three. Delicate green rice wrappers freckled with spinach, loaded with chopped shrimp, eggy custard and sesame-kissed bok choy. NNN
DUMPLING HOUSE, 328 Spadina, at St. Andrew, 416-596-8898 Small take-away with freezer case up front and a few bare tables out back requisite photo of Jean Chretien on the wall. Steamed pork with fennel dumplings/$4.59 for 12. Succulent, sweet minced pork kicked with licorice-y fennel in thick-skinned, northern-Chinese-style wheat wrappers. NNN
PEARL COURT, 633 Gerrard, at Broadview, 416-463-8778 Self-proclaimed king of har gow features lunchtime carts and window-posted reviews that date back to the early 80s. Steamed shrimp balls/$3.10 for four. Heftier-than-most har gow but with proportional amounts of egg and veggie filler tastes house-made. Nice rice wrap. NNN
YUNG SING BAKERY, 22 Baldwin, at McCaul, 416-979-2832 Toronto’s longest-running dim sum spot. Sunny lunch-counter seating, lots of plants and friendly servers. Steamed shrimp har gow dumplings/$3.50 for six. Similar to the house’s weekend-only siu mai, thinly wrapped, with good non-mushy frozen shrimp texture slightly sweet and eggy, but no sesame oil. Original recipe since 1968. NNN
GRAND’S SEAFOOD HOUSE, 611-615 Gerrard East, at Broadview, 416-778-8888 Well-worn family-style spot with cart service, plastic on the tables and a microwave oven proudly on display at the dumpling station. Fried shrimp dumpling with salad sauce/$2 for three. Deep-fried feathery wonton wrapper, toothsome shrimp and crunchy Chinese celery filling, innocuous dip of Miracle Whip mixed with white refined sugar on the side. NNN
E-PAN, 369 Spadina, at Nassau, 416-260-9988 The avenue’s newest and by far most stylish room, with a very short lunch-only dim sum card. Steamed enoki and pea-shoot dumplings/$2.95 for three. Finely chopped leafy greens and chewy mushroom strands subtle smokiness of sesame borders on bland standard rice flour wrapper. NN
KOWLOON, 5 Baldwin, at McCaul, 416-977-3773 Bleak bare-bones operation on Baldwin’s resto row popular with nearby university crowd. Steamed chive dumplings/$2.40 for three. Minced chicken in fishy soy sauce flecked with scallions in doughy fluted rice flour wrappers. Pass the hot sauce. N

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