Okinawa (Hoboken, NJ)

Thanksgiving is a fantastic holiday, but it would be better if it were acceptable to throw in dumplings to the mix. Pass the cranberry canned jelly, and the pork fried dumplings is a sentence that needs to be uttered more in America. It's what the pilgrims would have wanted. Continuing in the great tradition of eating raw fish just like the Native Americans and Pilgrims did like 400 years ago (I think or sometime in the past), I ordered some sush, and obviously some gyoza to start of the meal. 

Surprising these gyoza were still very crisp. The sauce was fairly good, and the filling was tasty as well. The ratio was spot on too. Gyoza being a little thinner than the traditional dumpling is something I always have to consider. These guys did a bang up job. Go to Sushi place now strictly because the gyoza was on point.

4.4 out of 5

Eric 

Some people throw out photo creds. I throw out chopstick creds. Shoutout to Izzy, best chopstick plug in the business, competition is not even close. Look at that tale too. Damn, try to find that bad boy at restoration hardware, not possible. 

Good Taste (Hamburg, NJ)

In the dumpling game it gets pretty hard to remember where you have gotten dumplings before, unless they blow your socks off. So, I was driving home when I decided to act on the ever present dumpling craving. I thought I'd try Good Taste, thinking I haven't them before. Nope I have had them before; they were just so underwhelming I wiped ever having them from my memory.

Looking back on my previous entry of these dumplings, everything I said before still stands. They cant even get the portions right. Last time I had six, this time seven, c'mon man. These dumplings were big, but that doesn't always translate to a quality dumpling. The filling could've been a contender at one point, these though not even close. Dough to meat ratio was a little shoddy, and the sauce being straight soy, which I should've remembered, was horrible.

Try for me one time Good Taste and maybe I'll have good things to say. Do I really have to go out of my way to bring my own dumpling sauce from another joint to give you a fair rating ? In baseball you get three strikes, but in the dumpling world you're unbelievably lucky to even get a second chance.

1.7 out of 5

I'm disappointed in myself guys thats two redo reviews.

Be Better (That's a reminder to myself and Good Taste)

Eric

Kao Sandwich Shop (Brooklyn, NY)

Brooklyn's Smorgasburg is a weekly food flea market held at the East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Every Saturday hundreds of vendors flock to the seven-acre waterfront park in search of that perfect deep-fried oreo, mozzarella-basil pizza, ramen burger, or in our case, the perfect dumpling. It is a constantly evolving search -- our efforts becoming more and more addicting, our standards higher and higher. We are like the cat chasing the laser pointer. We may never find the perfect dumpling. But if we look a little harder and keep our ears to the ground, claws extended, that perfect dumpling may fall into our paws.

The dumplings came from a tent rented by Kao Sandwich Shop. The dumplings came out swiftly and steaming. These dumplings were clearly the work of fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. Each dumpling was wholesome, artfully put together and cooked to perfection. The light sprinkling of cilantro was the perfect touch. They were delicious. And yet, the problem upon serving was their heavy hand in the soy sauce. They might have found more success in keeping the soy light as well, but alas the dumplings found towards the bottom of the bowl were drowning in sodium. If not for that, these may have been a perfect five

4 out of 5 stars

Until next time

Tyuck!