Soup Dumplings?

Hi all.. long time browser, first time poster

A few weeks ago I had what are rumored to be the best soup dumplings on the planet - at Joe's Shanghai in Chinatown, NYC. They were, as promised, incredible.

I had heard about Phoenix Dumpling House back home in Chicago but never got a chance to visit before they closed. And now I'm craving a soup dumpling fix. Are there any places in town that are recommended?

Cheers..!

Joe's Shanghai
9 Pell St Ste 1
New York, NY 10013-5134
(212) 233-8888

Welcome to LTHforum!

A good beginning:

Soup dumplings/soup buns

Katy’s dumplings

Ed’s Potsticker House

Regards,

I have to say that while I really love Phoenix for dim sum, I wasn't impressed with their soup dumplings.
Joe's and Grand Sichaun Int'l in NY are pretty tough shoes to fill, though.
I'll have to try the ones at Ed's

What? soooop dumplings?

xiao long bao?

I know this may be an unpopular reply, but we recently dined at Ed's Potsticker House and it was the WORST dining experience I'd had in a long time. The food we ordered was mediocre and at worst mispresented. We ordered the jajang mein, xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and seafood noodle crisped on both sides. I know some items highly favored by LTH are the cumin lamb, yu xiang eggplant aside from the xiao long bao, but I wanted to see how they did on "luncheon fare." The first two items we ordered were mediocre, however it was the last item which really set me steaming. Not only did I confirm what I was ordering on the menu through the Chinese script, I was confirmed by the owner (while we conversed in Mandarin) that this was indeed seafood noodles double-sided crisp (He even made sure I knew what I was ordering), however what came out was not what you would find in a typical Cantonese Hong Kong-style restaurant (I knew it was bad news ordering Cantonese from a Northern Chinese style restaurant). I was served fair quality stirfried seafood on something which resembled La Choy crispy noodles (like you'd find as a topping at a salad bar). Those who know what I'm talking about re: double-sided crisp noodles or liang mian huang (literally translated "two face yellow") know these noodles should be egg noodles that are panfriend on both sides so that they come out like a noodle pancake of sorts which is crispy shelled however soft inside whereupon the stir-fried toppings are placed on top. I know, really it's my fault for ordering the wrong style food at Ed's, however I feel that the owner misrepresented the item both on the menu and in his verbal confirmation of what I was ordering (He also did not quite care when I inquired upon receiving the dish if it was correct). What made the evening even worse was that they were horribly understaffed - just the owner, a teenage waiter and presumably the cook. We had to ask for our check and a carryout box 6 times. Not once did they stop by to ask how the meal was, or if we needed anything. Granted the owner seems like a very very nice guy (he gave us quarters for the meter when we came in asking to make change, so that we could park and dine in). The restaurant seems exceedingly popular, and they appear to serve many authentic items not found in other restaurants; Upon looking at the menu I had remarked that my father would really love the menu items, particularly the "small eats" (ie: sesame beng w/ beef, onion pancake, sweet/salty soy milk). It's a shame that this poor dining experience will probably send me in search of other dining options, although I'm still dying to make it out to Katy's.

I made a similar request a while back and those responses are available here.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5680

Basically, you aren't going to find the same quality soup dumplings here in Chicago, so you'll have to scale back your expectations. If you do find them, please let us know as I crave those things all the time. Good luck!

The dumplings in Chicago definitely won't compare to those in NYC but although I can't speak for Katy's Dumpling House in Westmont, Ed's Potsticker House and Phoenix now defunct dumpling restaurant are pretty sub-par even with scaled expectations.

Ed's dumplings are made with wrappings that are too thick and have a bad meat to wrapping ratio. There is also very little juice/soup compared to the NY offerings. A large part of the dumpling experience is also the vinegar that's used to complement it but Ed's vinegar is cheap and not balanced in flavor.

Phoenix's dumpling restaurant no longer exists. There's a reason for that.

Despite Chicago lack of good dumplings compared to NYC, I don't believe that Joe Shanghai's is really that great. It's definitely an experience, especially if you dine with other smaller parties at a larger table, but the best I've had so far is at Shanghai Cuisine at the corner of Bayard and Mulberry.

I agree with the review above on Ed's. The actual dough is too thick (don't like how that filles you up) and the inside of the dumpling was nothing memorable. Ditto for their potstickers.

We just returned from a 2 week stay in Hong Kong where we tried a different Dim Sum place virtually everyday for lunch. Juicy Dumplings, Xio Long Bao, were a must every time.

In comparing these soupy dumpling from the motherland of Dim Sum our call is that Phoenix has the best by far, here in Chicago, and could easially hold thier own in HK. The dumpling skin is light and not heavy, and the inside is bursting with juicyness.

Save some for me...

Whisk wrote:In comparing these soupy dumpling from the motherland of Dim Sum our call is that Phoenix has the best by far, here in Chicago, and could easially hold thier own in HK. The dumpling skin is light and not heavy, and the inside is bursting with juicyness.

Save some for me...

Interesting comment, b/c my wife's first Chicago experience w/ xiao long bao was at Phoenix and she was horribly disappointed at Ed's. She really like the ones at Phoenix as well.