Blue Moon Cafe (Maui, HI)

Blue Moon Cafe is set back on a small street away from the main tourist strip of Kihei. It's menu touts mostly American food with hints of asian fusion, though you know by looking at its owners - a nice older brother and sister - that they can cook up some mean authentic dishes. While Maui is glamorous in all of it's devices, it's a bit of a stretch to get dumplings here. You'll be running through back alleys looking for them, and on this particular dumpling run I had to special order them. There were no dumplings on the menu, but I knew if I worked it right I could get my fix. After a few inquisitions it was clear the owner of rhe establishment could make a mean wonton soup. I came out of the conversation thinking I would get the wonton soup without the soup - i.e. dumplings, but I was wrong.

It came out as a soup anyway, but my, my, it was delicious. Normally I like to keep consistency to my order with pan fried pork dumplings because as any true dumpling adventurer knows this is the best food in the world. But over the next few days you'll see my orders change, as Korean mandu often feature a wide variety of choices. Here, the wonton soup came out steaming. It was delicious, and I put it upon myself to take out the dumplings individually and try them.

The dumplings were steam cooked, so they lacked the usual crisp that I so love. Coupled with the broth of the soup, however, the dumplings were great. They were savory and sweet for pork dumplings. Not too much herbs mixed in, which is what I generally strive for, but they still had an earthy taste and hints of love obviously went into the cooking.

As the dumplings came in a soup, there was no soy sauce to dip which was sorely missed, however, they were still juicy enough that one didn't require a sauce for them. Overall, I appreciated the gesture. They were terrifically nice people at Blue Moon Cafe and the meal came out quick, however, these aren't quite the dumplings I'm looking for. Alas, they did not impress me terribly. But, if you are a dumpling lover they are worth eating, and I suggest you swing by on your beautiful Maui vacation in your nice rental car. Or, if you're me, you'll swing by with all of your possessions in your 2005 dodge neon that smells like mold and miller lite.

These dumplings get a 3 out of 5 stars. Don't forget to follow me on instagram @tyucktyuck

Holler! Next, we go to Seoul, South Korea, on the greatest transcontinental dumpling adventure the world has ever known.

Izakaya Tairyo (Honolulu, HI)

Izakaya Tairyo has a deceiving exterior. From the outside, the restaurant might appear as a fish market, a bar, a grocery store, a black market auction house, or all of the above at once. Inside, it's got a local feel. All of the servers and staff wear black flip flops. They serve sake from an overflowing ceramic container and it catches in a wooden basin that you drink at the end. The food is of high quality, now let's get on to tbe reason we are all here, the dumplings. 

The dumplings were precision made. They arrived on a sizzling skillet with a small decanter of soy sauce. The presentation and service was excellent, and I can't say much more about it. The soy sauce was a fragrant dish with many extra herbs and greens added in that gave it an earthy but delicious flavor. It was somethijg Organic Jesus would certainly approve of. The dumplings were cooked just how I like them, quick and crispy on the outside to a nice golden brown. The dough was savory and the pork was mild but slightly spicy. They had not lost their juicy texture and I enjoyed thoroughly every bite. Though I can say that I was mostly all of the way through a tallboy of Ichiban Kirin, I can say with good reason that the dumplings deserve a solid 4.25 stars. Not quite perfection, but I can tell that as I near Asia in my travels, I am getting closer and closer to the perfect dumpling with every bite I take. That's all for now folks. Until next time

4.25 out of 5 stars.

Tyuck