Beantown Pho and Grille (Boston, MA)

A great man once told me that when life gives you dumplings, you better bring the soy sauce. That man is my coconspirator and fellow blogger Eric Mac, the one true tri-state king of the dumplings.

But if you find yourself around here in good old Boston, home of revolutionary liturgy and the Boston tea party, look no further than Beantown Pho and Grille. Right on Newbury Street, this small mom and pop shop won't disappoint. With Vietnamese roots, their specialty Pho dishes are also not to be missed out on.

This beautiful dish came out after a quick ten minute wait on their nice outdoor patio area, and they were savory and sweet. All the things you could ask for in a dumpling, by way of meat and dough and most importantly, love. Don't pass this place up on your way through.

4 out of 5 stars for the dumigs at Beantown Pho and Grille.

Until next time fellow travelers

Tyuck!

Lemongrass (Warwick, RI)

 

It's a testament to the connection between man and food, taste and sense, the human transcendence of the collective meal. When we eat dumplings, we are all one. And when we are all one, we eat dumplings.

Cut to Lemongrass, a small Asian cuisine gem with a supple raw bar and a wont for dumplings. The insider's tip to eating here is that the dim sum is not on the appetizer menu, and from there, the average dumpling adventurer might be discouraged. But fear not! You must ask for the fried pork dumplings behind closed doors and in a whisper, and they will provide you the spoils of good eating. Or, you could just ask them to deliver over the phone, which is what we did.

Only mere minutes later did these beautiful puppies show up at our doorstep, ready to be consumed by family. The dumplings were sweet and salty, cooked almost to perfection and with a dip of soy sauce they simply melted in your mouth. And I must admit that for several moments I was taken to another dimension.

What brought me back to earth was the small hints of unperfection - a stray herb in the presentation and a bite of one dumpling that resulted in a disappointing volume of pork and goodness.

And yet, we arrive at my recommendation: which is that while following E and I around the world on our Transcontinental Dumpling Adventure, you must stop in Warwick, Rhode Island, for the momentary bliss.

4 out of 5 stars.

Until next time,

Tyuck!

Sushi Lounge (Morristown, NJ)

So I was down in Morristown celebrating a friend's birthday and eating sushi for like the 5th time in 2 weeks, I should probably cut down. Walking into an asian restaurant, I obviously go straight for the dumplings. I immediately put in for an order of gyoza, and out they came.

First, thing I notice is that these puppies are gigantic, and honestly I'm not a fan of big dumplings. Cut them in half, give me 8 smaller ones, is that so hard. I bit into them and they were okay. Much more heavily influenced by the veggies inside than the actual pork. Sauce was pretty good, however.

Maybe after the several sakai bombs I had, they would rank a little higher on my radar. Then again, whenever you go into a sushi restaurant it's more about the raw fish. Definitely concentrate on that aspect first, 10 times out of 10. If I wake up in the night with stomach pains because of raw fish, I don't care how great the dumplings were.

Sushi Lounge dumplings are okay. They gotta cut back on there size and then we can talk. Sauce is good. Dough was great, filling ehh. With that being said...

Ahhhhhhh ahhhhhh....sakai bomb,

3 out 5

Eric

Hunan Wok 2.0 (Sparta, NJ)

While Tyuck is galavanting around in Asia, I'm here in the Garden of Eden fro dumplings; yes you guessed it New Jersey. Asia might seem like the most logical place to get dumplings, but any real connoisseur knows the the great New York Metropolitan area is the primer dumpling hotspot.

Sparta seems to have a Chinese place every 10 feet. These morsels of heaven come from Hunan Wok. Now Hunan Wok is across, so its about time I try them out hot. Other then not having rated these dumplings properly before (see previous Hunan Wok post), I am also coming down with a cold so I obviously needed some dumplings to help boost my immune system. Vitamin C wishes it was on the same level as a fried dumpling.

I went in with my expectations not too high, I was just looking for a quick dumpling and one I haven't properly rated. These blew my socks off for not expecting much. The dumpling center was tasty, the dough ratio was great, but those alone would have only made these good dumplings. What took this dumplings from good to potentially my new replacement for Lucky House (Never Forget), was the sauce. It was so much more than just your standard soy sauce with chives thrown in it. It elevated the dumplings to another level. Its like when you open a brand new pair of socks on wear a pair right out of the bag. That feeling of fresh socks makes you feel like you could climb everest, if you weren't currently scrolling through the TV looking for something to catch your attention for the next 20 minutes. This sauce was a pair of new socks. Sure maybe after a while of eating it its allure wears off, sure it could possibly be I haven't had a dumpling in a bit, or I'm coming down with a bit of a cold, but deep down I know this sauce was a fresh pair of white crew socks fresh out of the package and with that I give these dumplings-

4.1 out of 5

Eric

Now where did I put my socks.

Mapo Dumpling (Seoul, South Korea)

Mapo Dumpling, or Mapo Mandu is located in a little neighborhood by Hongdae, minutes from the Hapjyeong stop off the circle line. If you are ever in the area it is a must try, partially because of the dumplings and partially because there are two of the exact same restaurant only twenty feet away from each other, and it's hilarious.

We stopped here after a long day of hunting dumplings, and we were not disappointed. As you can see from the picture, these dumplings came in many assortments. I attempted to order my dumplings pan fried, but if you are an American traveling in Korea, you will quickly realize that just about nobody speaks English, and so it was impossible.

The assortment was, in ascending order: pork, veggie, chicken, kimchi, and mystery. The dumplings came out steaming, and arranged beautifully on a metal platter. The pork and chicken were by far my favorite. They were savory, juicy, and packed with meat and fresh herbs. On their own, these dumplings would have received four and a half stars. The issue for me was the kimchi, and the mystery dumpling at the end. The kimchi was far too spicy for my liking, which in Korea is actually only about a two on the spice scale. And the mystery dumpling, well, I literally have no idea what that was.

Point being, these dumplings rate a 3.75 out of 5 stars. And if you are ever in this area, stop by to check out Mapo Dumpling.

Until next time.

Tyuck

Super No. 1 (Kapa'a, HI)

Ahh, Hawaii. So majestic. Known most for its pristine beaches, beautiful sunsets, and clear waters. But where there is people, there is food. Kauai is the northernmost island of the main Hawaiian island chain, and only 60,000 permanent residents reside here. You can get the fresh ono, ahi, kalua pig, or taro. Or you can seek out the dumplings.

To find them, you'll go to the old town of Kapa'a, to a little plaza across from the shell station, where Super No. 1 keeps food steaming in tin foil baking dishes. They have an assortment of rices, sweet and sour chicken, and veggies. Now let's get down to the reason we're all here today, the dumplings.

First of all, dumplings are not on the menu. You have to ask for them, and they'll either steam or pan fry and of course, if you're a true dumpling connoisseur you'll order pan fried. In Hawaii you should expect to pay about two to three times mainland prices for just about everything. A gallon of milk will run you eight dollars. A loaf of bread will be six. Expect to pay 9 dollars a pound for organic chicken. Getting hosed is the name of the game here. But it comes with all of the aloha you could ever want. At Super No. 1, a plate of eight dumplings cost 4.65, which is a total steal. Gas out here once cost 4.65 a gallon when the rest of the country was buying it for three. So when they told me I could get eight dumplings for 4.65 I would have been a mad man to say no.

The dumplings arrived in a plastic container, which I've grown accustomed to in the dumpling world, but am against in general due to the nonrecyclable waste it produces. So where they had me at 4.65, they lost me at plastic container and plastic forks. The dumplings came out hot and just a little brown. At first glance, they were impressive. They had a good body, full arrangement, and the soy sauce looked packed with herbs and spices. However, the first bite proved that all was too good to be true. The fried garlic in the pork was way overpowering - I might even say the garlic was burnt- and the dough was just a little too thin for my liking. The soy sauce was tasty, but the dumpling had to soak in it to assuage the overpowering garlic. Although the dumplings were a total steal at their price, I give them a safe rating right in the middle.

2.5 out of 5 stars for Super No 1. on Kauai.

Until next time my dumpling loving peeps.

Oh, and follow me on instagram @tyucktyuck where I will begin posting dope dumpling photos along with my other bidness.

Tyuck!