Toronto-Best Chinese Soup Dumplings

[il davis]

Goint to Toronto shortly and want to enjoy the best soup dumplings we can experience.Also, great chiunese noodles. Please help.

[itsvince]

Chinese Traditional Bun is my favorite - everything homemade, fresh and excellent. North side of Dundas just west of Spadina.

[grandgourmand]

I went here for the first time on Sunday. Didn't try the soup dumplings, but everything else I had was pretty good, and homemade. Had pork and dill dumplings, which were flavourful, if a little under seasonend. Dan dan noodles were great. The best was the mutton skewers...great texture and subtle spicing. Really enjoyed the place.

[sleeping_cow]

Ding Tai Fung at First Markham Place is where i go whenever i need confort food. their chives/pork dumpling is jucy and tasty. along that, bamboo small sish is my regular plate. double boiled chicken soup is a bit pricy, but worth to order.

[il davis]

That's exactly what we are looking for.Soup filled dumplings. Not dumplings that you put in soup. Where can we find them in Toronto downtown?

[happycamper]

Asian Legend on Dundas (Down Town) has them.
They are not quite as tasty as Ding Tai Fung, but they are pretty passable.
For noodles, try the dao lu mian from Mother's Dumpling that's just a few minutes away (Huron/Dundas). They also carry a great hot sauce; ask for it.

[katana750]

To all that praise Ding Tai Fung, when was the last time you went there? I thought it was fantastic 4 or 5 years ago. It has gone down ever since. the deep flavour is gone, the finely sliced ginger isn't fine anymore! Very good indication is that, the place is not packed as it used to be! Few years ago I had to make sure I went before 12 noon to get seated.

[moh]

I just went to Ding Tai Fung last week. The pork soup dumplings are delicious, with a rich fatty savoury broth and a wonderful flavour. The crab and pork dumplings are a little less flavourful, but still very good. My only minor quibble is that the skins are a little thicker than those at Shanghai Bund. The finely sliced ginger was pretty fine to me. I also enjoy their Shanghai noodles, the noodles are handmade and have a nice firm texture when you bite into them. The noodles are garnished with pork and cabbage. I will note that my friend thought they were a little oily, but I liked the oiliness. I also had a sizzling tofu dish. The dish really is sizzling, they have to keep it covered for the first 5 minutes so that it doesn't spray oil all over you. The tofu comes in a hoisin based sauce. The tofu is silky and soft, and there are pork belly slices, dried shitake mushrooms, and crunchy bamboo shoots. It was delicious.

I can't compare it to 4-5 years ago, it may very well have gone downhill, but I would say it is an excellent restaurant, and the soup dumplings are still worth going for.

[Chandavkl]

Yes, the place wasn't full, even on the Saturday night that I went. This is not the same Din Tai Fung of renown out of Taipei with a branch in the Los Angeles area. Their XLB aren't bad, but certainly not as good as good as the real Din Tai Fung in Los Angeles. And they do have the display area where you can see the chefs busily at work.

[cowhound]

Don't soup dumplings have soup inside them, not just dumplings you put in soup?

[Bobby Wham]

Yes, I believe that's what this thread is about, though confusing. Chinese Traditional Bun has AWESOME 'soup-filled' dumplings.

[Ubervache]

I second Chinese Traditional Bun. The owner is very nice and the menu is fairly extensive. The wife and I usually split our dumpling cravings between CTB and the Dumpling House (328 Spadina Ave, West side). I think that CTB has a greater variety of dumpling types, whereas DH has a greater variety of dumpling fillings. If you do end up going to DH, make sure to order the Shredded Pork & Veg in Spicy Garlic sauce (menu item #53; I know it seems pretty sad when I know the menu item off by heart, but it is really good!).

[baby_tran]

This is my son's favourite food so we've tried a lot of places. Its hard to find a balance between the amount of soup, filling, thickness of the skin and price.

I like Ding Tai Fung at First Markham Place (Hwy. 7 between Warden and Woodbine) but its a bit more expensive and busy but more variety on their menu.

Closer to home is Dumpling King in a strip mall on Midland just north of Finch. Not much variety but prices are good.

[il davis]

Any decent places in Chinatown(for Shanghai dumplings)? We are going to be in dowtown exclusively during our stay. I amassuming Ding Tai Fung and Dumpling King are a distance from downtown (Royal York).

[chocabot]

Asian Legend in Chinatown has soup dumplings.

[sweetie]

What are Shanghai dumplings? Are they like the xin long bao or are they like pan fried dumplings or maybe the dumplings served steamed or in soup? Sorry I know everything in a Hong Kong/Cantonese context. I am wondering if maybe i have had Shanghai dumplings and not known it.

[il davis]

Superb,thin skin dumpling or bun filled with delicious soup.You must be careful eating or the soup will spill out or burn your lips.Please describe
what a xin long bao is like.

[sweetie]

It sounds like you are describing xiao long bao hee hee... that just proves how uneducated I am. I spelled it wrong it is xiao long bao

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolongbao.

I am afraid that I do not go downtown to eat the shanghai dumpling. But there are many useful threads on this topic in this board.
Good luck

[ltdchef]

Have you tried Shanghai Dim Sum 3 6 9? It's way out there, almost to unionville, but best ones that I've had yet.

[il davis]

Can someone suggest where I can then find Shanghai dumplings or a good Shanghai restuarant?

[skylineR33]

You may find this helpful :

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/496543

[Thaithechef]

I walk by a new place after having a dinner at Sneaky Dee 2 weeks ago, they offer us some dumpling for sampling. My friend/boss who is a chinese talk to the owner/chef and he confirmed that they are serving Shanghai cuisine. I am not a dumpling lover and can't comment on that but I know they made it fresh.

[miranda]

I love the Dumplings at Mothers Dumplings on Huron St just North of Dundas...in fact I was there today and they were making them in front of me...they were making my favorite....chicken and mushroom...they told me to take them home and put in the fridge...and we had an amazing dinner tonight with them...cost 30 Dumplings $12.00....they also have great noodles which I haven't tried...Miranda

[food face]

I second Mothers Dumplings. Wonderful dumplings for soup. The beef/onion roll is also lovely.

[TorontoJo]

I don't think Mother's Dumplings has soup dumplings (aka xiao long bao). These are usually found at Shanghainese restaurants. I do love MD, though!

To the OP, the best places are probably in Markham, but I'll have to let the more knowledgeable hounds chime in with recs.

[vorpal]

You are right: Mother's doesn't have soup dumplings. I think that the other posters are confused and are just thinking of dumplings cooked in soup.