More Than Dumplings at The Dumpling House

The Dumpling House
328 Spadina Avenue
416-596-8898
Dinner for two with all taxes and tip: $24

As the Chinatown traffic flows by, the area’s markets and restaurants also flow with traffic of their own - and right in the middle of it all sits a small eatery called The Dumpling House. Almost as a spectacle, two ladies stand at the restaurant window diligently making dumplings; one rolls out the dough, while the other fills and presses that dough into the final product. The dumplings are made tremendously fast, with hundreds if not thousands created every day. They are prepared in a variety of flavours, from the classic pork and chive, the tasteful (and my personal favourite) pork and fennel, to the more unusual sour cabbage. In total there are 23 kinds of dumplings, each with a chewy-soft shell and a powerfully flavourful inside.

Although I was attracted by certain aspects of the restaurant such as the focus of the menu, I was trepidatious about staying and eating here because of its rundown décor and seeming uncleanliness. The walls were off-white and had the grey tinge of age and poor upkeep.
The menu, to my surprise, had many interesting things beyond dumplings, including a wide selection of noodle dishes, rice plates, chef’s specials, meat/vegetable dishes and daily specials. On my first trip I ordered 3 items: pan-fried pork dumplings ($5.99), sour and spicy seaweed ($3.99), and a pan-fried green onion cake ($2.59). The dumplings were fried on low heat and while frying the chef poured a ladle of flour-water mixture into the pan, causing the dumplings to combine and form a circular, crispy and brown crust. The bottom crust was crunchy, the top perfectly chewy, and they tasted excellent with a simple mixture of soya sauce and black vinegar. The sour and spicy seaweed was a mixture of pickled peppers and vinegar with fresh seaweed. It was cold, a little sour, spicy on the tongue, and as an appetizer complemented the dumplings well. The onion pancake was a combination of flour, water, oil, and salt with green onion mixed in. It was crispy, and doughy - a little too thick and heavy for what a Chinese onion pancake should be, but pretty good over all.

After my first visit to The Dumpling House I had no hesitations trying it again - it was a decent meal at a more than decent price. The second time I ordered 4 dishes: five colour stretchy noodles ($3.99 on special), steamed lamb dumplings ($4.99), ten-ingredient fried rice ($6.99), and flavoured jellyfish with napa ($3.99). The five-coloured stretchy noodles were a medley of flavour and colour made with carrot, bamboo, parsley, peanut, mu-er mushroom, cucumber and cold, flat, and stretchy rice noodle. The dish had a strong peanut flavour, and it reminded me of a Thai salad, but was still definitively Chinese with a fermented saltiness and an unmistakable woody-mushroom flavour.

The steamed dumplings were moist and succulent; the lamb filling was rich and spicy with slightly exotic hints of cumin, star anise and white pepper. When eating the flavoured jellyfish with napa, it gave the impression of a Chinese style coleslaw. The jellyfish was wet and creamy, and in combination with the carrot, napa, and parsley, had excellent texture and taste.

The only bad dish I had at The Dumpling House was the ten-ingredient fried rice. It was ostentatious; having too many flavours without any aspect standing out.

The Dumpling house has in and out service, with quick staff and a kitchen to match. The second I put the menu down, the waitress took my order, and the second I finished my meal the plates were picked up and the bill delivered. This style of quick no-nonsense service is to the restaurant's credit, because just like the décor, the service doesn’t do any of the talking, it’s all in the simple and honest pleasure of the food.