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Deciding that a food media job would be less stressful (but still fun), in April 2016 she applied for a position as a recipe developer at Tasty Japan, the Japanese edition of BuzzFeed’s food media brand Tasty. We have dumplings in Vietnam, but they aren’t as popular as they are in other Asian countries,” says Minh Luong, chef and owner of Tan Lac Vien, in Squirrel Hill, and Tan Lac Vien 2, at Novo Asian Food Hall. Dumplings have a long history in Japan, but their popularity and current preparation are relatively recent. Roger Li, owner of Umami Izakaya in Lawrenceville, believes that’s because modern gyoza, those of the post-World War II era, are a specialty item found in homes or at shops dedicated to the craft of making them. Gyoza — which gets its name from Chinese jiaozi — is Japan’s national dumpling.
Unpacking the menu
He tends to offer the from scratch dumplings at his Garfield restaurant once or twice a week, so be sure to jump on them if they’re on the menu when you visit (and check Soju’s social media to see when he’s serving). His dumplings have a silky skin filled with a dynamic blend of ingredients and toppings. An April iteration included a mixture of pork, beef, kimchi and tofu perfumed with aromatics and garnished with scallion oil, chili oil, green onions and sesame seeds. Famous across the Southland for their shengjianbao (pan-fried Shanghainese soup dumplings), this casual, cash-only takeout spot with locations in Monterey Park and Alhambra sells a wide, affordable array of Chinese cuisine.
Maine Lobster Siu Mai
The menu spans Sichuan, Taiwanese and Cantonese classics including boiled pepper fish, beef noodle soup and fermented tofu, plus the requisite dumplings and fried rice. Dishes like sliced potato slivers and cucumbers get at the essence of the Chinese cold case, and you can also find a delicate rendition of Shanghainese yan du xian (salt pork, bamboo and tofu skin soup). Plus, Luyixian stays open fairly late and features a few large tables—meaning you can get soulfully made, affordably priced Chinese fare for a crowd until 11pm most nights of the week. This sprawling restaurant in Alhambra offers refined made-to-order dim sum all day, every day. Along with cast-iron teapots full of steaming jasmine tea, Lunasia Chinese Cuisine serves their famous steamed and baked bites including giant pork shumai, plump har gow and fluffy BBQ pork buns. You’d be remiss not to try the dim sum house’s dessert offerings as well, like the almond milk tea, a show-stopping dish of hot, sweet almond milk covered by a flaky puff pastry top.
Chef Tony Dim Sum
Named the King-Dum, the $10 xiao long bao is so large you’ll need a straw, while the 3 for $5 barbecue pork steamed buns with a touch of peanut butter are our new favorite affordable lunch option. And don't leave without an Instagram-able dessert bun—the colorful doughy puffs are topped with flower petals. Char-siu roasted pork belly stuffed into fluffy buns that we could eat all day long.
Power Ranking Every Two-Word SF Restaurant That Starts With "Dumpling"
There’s also an all-star lineup of sake poured and a deep assortment of loose leaf tea offered, served in individual glass pots. Dumpling Time playfully pushes the boundaries on traditional Bao, Siu Mai, Har Gow, Xi’an, Gyoza and Xiao Long Bao, all served in a dining room that feels a little like a hot spot in Tokyo. Maybe that’s not a big shocker considering those involved with launching this clever project are also responsible for snagging a Michelin star for another restaurant in San Francisco.
The filling combines chicken and pork, boosted by ginger and garlic. Let them cool for a minute before popping these delightful bites into the vibrant dipping sauce. Restaurants build upon familiar options such as mapo tofu and kung pao chicken, and feature harder-to-find items like mung bean jelly tossed in chili oil; wok-fried crab; and the “party in a pot” Leshan bobo chicken pot. Somewhat of a rarity among other Sichuan restaurants in town, Sichuan Impression also offers desserts, including a brown sugar rice cake, and pumpkin mochi wrapped around red bean paste. Enter Dumpling Time’s owner Kash Feng, a native of Xi’an, China. He was inspired by his mother’s recipes but decided to take a cross-cultural approach to the art of Asian dumpling making.
They’re served, with golden-brown aplomb, upside down on the plate, with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame and chili oils. As of press time, Seok Kun Han’s gorgeous dumplings are only available on weekends at his Korea Garden 2 restaurant in Novo Asian Food Hall. The dumplings here come out faster than people bring up their dogs on Bumble. There are a few twists on the classics, like a wagyu beef gyoza or lobster siu mai—which is just OK and sounds more interesting than it actually is. Even when you inevitably order everything in sight, you can get in and out for around $30. Listed on the menu as kyoza, the fried dumplings at this Upper Lawrenceville spot hit the nexus of crispy and juicy better than most in Pittsburgh.
Uncover and continue cooking until the water has completely evaporated and the cornstarch has thickened to a gel-like web at the bottom of the skillet, about 2 minutes. She found herself compromising once again with ingredients in her chase to conjure the flavors of her childhood during a post-college job at Disney World’s Japan Pavilion in Orlando, Fla. But at least she was honing her skills as a cook, which would prove useful in her next job working for a Japanese culinary school.
Lunasia Chinese Cuisine
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The plate was finished with scallion oil, chili oil, green onions and sesame seeds. Handmade every step of the way is the key to the gorgeous mandu served at Bae Bae’s Kitchen. The Downtown restaurant offers chicken and pork dumplings, both mixed with cabbage and green onions. You can get them pan-fried, which adds a nice crispness, but experiencing the supple texture of the steamed version is a real treat. A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds added as a finishing flourish heightens the depth of flavor of these edible memories of co-owner Edward Lai’s childhood. Chef/owner Simon Chough’s mandu are an exquisite expression of his Korean American heritage.
The filling is commonly made with pork, shrimp or a combination. Take the leisurely dim sum approach and order a couple of dishes at a time, starting with the wood ear mushroom salad, the marinated cukes finished in a sweet/hot blast of Fresno chili. Every table in the packed dining room seemed to be enjoying the garlic green beans or the snap peas tossed in a pan with loads of fresh ginger.
Minh Luong, chef and owner of Tan Lac Vien, offers a Vietnamese spin on Chinese dumplings at his Squirrel Hill and Strip District establishments. The Saigon native, who grew up in Orange County, Calif., spent months working on a recipe that would pay homage to his roots and multifaceted culinary training. His cushiony dumpling skins turn breathtakingly tender when he steams them. Those wrappers envelop a finely chopped chicken stuffing; the combination translates to sublime texture and fragrance in each juicy bite.
Those memories are carried by Korean American chefs such as Lai and Simon Chough, owner of Soju in Garfield. The history of mandu remains somewhat obscure, yet it is widely acknowledged that their introduction occurred during the 14th century by the Mongol-Chinese Yuan dynasty. This was particularly notable because Korea’s then-ruling Goryeo dynasty followed Buddhist principles that forbade meat consumption. Sign up for our email to enjoy Los Angeles without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).
That means soup dumplings that take a Thai detour with pork belly and coconut milk filling delicate wrappers infused with beet juice. Those tasty beauties — like all the others — are made from scratch throughout the day and diners can watch the process in the open kitchen and glassed-in dumpling room. Nak Won Garden’s mandu — listed on the menu simply as “dumplings” — are filled with pork and beef and have a soft, fragrant aroma. I popped a few of mine into a boiling bowl of kimchi jjigae, where they melded with the tart heat of the stew. Pan-fried, the dumplings served in Nak Won Garden’s homey dining room are crispy comfort food.
You won’t find the traditional push carts, but it’s always an energetic scene filled with families, friends and dates. There are newer locations in Pasadena, Cerritos and Torrance with slightly smaller menus, if you’re just looking for a quick dim sum hit. Royal Thai cuisine isn’t represented in Pittsburgh (head to Kalaya in Philadelphia). Here, you’ll typically find a different type of dumpling with a more direct Chinese heritage — siu mai. These delicate dumplings with an egg-and-wheat wrapper in Cantonese style are left slightly open at the top and usually decorated with fish roe.
And, yes, people were doing just that while posing for photos no doubt destined for social media. Wait a few minutes for the first one of these pork-filled soup dumplings to cool before you eat it. That way you’ll be able to actually taste how good the second one is too. For the prettiest pleats, be careful not to overfill the wrappers. Adding a little cornstarch slurry to the pan while cooking the dumplings will create a lacy, crispy crust on the bottom called “hane” — Japanese for wings. Her mom’s recipe also includes seasoning the ground pork filling with grated ginger, soy sauce and sake and adding fresh shiitake mushrooms and lots of finely chopped cabbage for a bit of silky heft.
Eaten in Japan since ancient times, the long, grass-like blades are more pungent and garlicky than regular chives. In addition to dumplings, they’re a go-to flavor-booster for everything from soup to kimchi, stew to green onion pancakes, after trimming off the root end and white tips. Pittsburgh’s oldest Japanese restaurant keeps it simple with the gyoza prepared in the Station Square establishment’s hot kitchen.
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