Mandoo Bar

...is located in NYC's Koreatown at 2 West 32nd Street.

You can watch the mandoos being made by hand in the front window.

"S" and I shared the Vegetable Mool Mandoo (10 for $9.25) - boiled dumplings filled with mixed veggies and Seafood Pajeon ($15) - scallion pancake served lightly pan-fried with squid, mussels, shrimp and vegetables.

Delicious!

Noodle Village

...is located in NYC's Chinatown at 13 Mott Street. There were 2 dozen of us and many dishes so I can only highlight a few...

Steam crab meat soup dumplings (6 for $6.95) - delicate skinned dumplings will hot soup.

Steam rice roll ($2.75) - plain steamed dumpling skin with a peanuty dipping sauce.

Scallion pancake ($2.75) - it really looked like a stuffed crust in a ring shape.

Fried pork dumplings (6 for $5.75).

House special fried rice - excellent rice with shrimp.

Squid & pig skin with curry sauce lo mein hong kong style ($6.50) - the curry and egg noodles were good, but we were disappointed by the pig skin. It was not crisp.

Oxtail with curry sauce lo mein hong kong style ($7.95) - very good with a hearty flavor.

Shrimp wonton, shrimp dumplings, cilantro with black egg dumplings lo mein hong kong style ($7.25) - dumplings were pedestrian.

Seasonal vegetable & mushroom lo mein hong kong style ($6.25) - pretty boring after the previous lo men dishes.

Braised Beef Brisket noodle soup hong kong style (small $6.25) - very tender beef with egg noodles.

Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce ($4.50) - pretty standard.

The food was good, but not outstanding. The service was exceptionally speedy.

Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant - Vancouver

...is located at 3888 Main Street in the Richmond area of Vancouver - also known as the "other Chinatown".

I visited for dim sum and was disappointed. I don't think the quality was as good as dim in the States.

I tried the traditional roast pork steamed buns, shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, taro cake and steamed sticky rice (each order was about CA$4.00) along with a pot of Jasmine tea (CA$0.80).

Rickshaw Dumpling Bar

has been around for several years and is located on the border of NYC's Chelsea at 61 West 23rd Street. This restaurant was started by an NYU student who presented a business plan for a dumpling restaurant as part of his graduate thesis.

During this visit I had the Peking Duck dumplings (6 for $6) and Braised Pork Slider steam bun ($3.50) and a fountain soda ($1.75).

The dumplings were okay, but you really couldn't tell they were duck. The pork slider was good, but had too much sauce and shredded cabbage which made it quite messy.

Germany - Post 24

From Munich...

Schweinbraten mit kruste, kartoffel knodel und speck krautsalat = roast pork with crispy skin, potato dumpling and sauerkraut

Germany - Post 5

From Meunsing, a suburb southwest of Munich....

Gasthaus Limm

- Venison with vegetables

- Whole roasted fish with lemon wedges

- Liver, potatoes, vegetables

- Side of Red Cabbage

- Topfenknoedel = Quark (Austrian) dessert dumplings with plums

- Hirschgulasch (venison goulash) with red cabbage, bread dumpling and vegetables.

Chef David Burke & The Reisling Collection

This was a special 4 course prix fixe dinner with Riesling wine pairings for $42 at NYC's Bloomingdale's at 1000 Third Avenue.

Before dinner there were pass hors d'oeuvres (duck spring rolls, sushi grade tuna, vegetable spring rolls, fried oysters and chicken dumplings) with Alsace wine (all of the appetizers were great).

Then we were given a parmesan popover with butter - this is always yummy and one of the reasons I dine at this restaurant so often.

First course: Duo of Foie Gras & Tempura Frog Legs with kumquat riesling sauce paired with Ste Chappelle Dry Riesling from Snake River, Idaho (the foie gras pate was delicious, but the frog legs were excellent with their light tempura coating).

Second Course: Crispy Trout with Black Petter truffle and Almond Cavatelli paired with Covey Run Quail Series Riesling Columbia Valley, Washington (the trout was light and flaky and the cavatelli were smooth and delicious).

Sorry, but I forgot to take a photo of this dish.

Third Course: Crispy Duck Breast with Duck Meatloaf with sweet potato mash & chestnut honey duck au jus paired with Columbia Valley Cellar Master's Riesling Columbia Valley, Idaho (the duck was juicy and delicious and the meatloaf flavorful).

Fourth Course: Pear Pistachio Tart with cardamom and grains of paradise ice cream paired with Covey Run Reserve Series Semillon Ice Wine Columbia Valley, Washington (the tart was fantastic and the ice cream had a wonderful flavor).

Then we were treated to an advance tasting of Beaujalais (sp?) wine. All throughout the night the wine was poured and refilled freely.

We each left with a goody bag containing two $5 gift certificates for any of David Burke's restaurants, a bottle opener and brochure about the restaurants.

Overall this was a fantastic dinner and great value. I look forward to attending more of these dinner series.

NYC Dumpling Festival 2009

Today was the first annual NYC Dumpling Festival which was held at Sara D. Roosevelt Park on E. Houston Street. All proceeds of the event benefit Food Bank for NYC.

They sold tickets for $5 each which were exchanged for plates at each booth. There were "dumplings" from all around the world:

Italy - Gnocchi

Philippines - Palitaw

India - Idli

China - Bao, steamed dumplings and spring rolls

Mexico - Tamale

Malaysia - Kuih Koci

Poland - Pierogi

"J", "R" and I tried the steamed dumplings (veggie and chicken), spring rolls (veggie) and Kuih Koci (coconut filled sticky dough dumplings wrapped in banana leaves). All were good.

There was a dumpling eating competition (men's and women's), a dumpling mascot, a giant dumpling and free samples of bottled water and ginger drinks.

Despite the rain there seemed to be a good turnout.