I would love to do a "Dumpling Crawl" through Chinatown but have no idea where to go or where to start

[hungryinmanhattan]

I have no idea where to go or where to start. Can anyone suggest a route to take and where to eat? I have read many of the postings. Are many of these dumpling spots in the same general neighborhood? Would a dumpling crawl to hit a bunch of them be feasible? I am open to sampling other items that are along the route if suggested!

[boccalupo]

Prosperity Dumpling and Vanessa's Dumpling House both on Eldridge St. would be a good place to start. I also like the boiled dumplings at the hand pulled noodle shop at Lan Zhou Handmade Noodles on 144 East Broadway.

-----
Vanessa's Dumpling House
118 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[small h]

I second boccalupo's suggestion of Vanessa's (haven't been to Prosperity or Lan Zhou), and add Dim Sum Go Go, which has a wide selection. And if you're sick of dumplings by the time you get to the foot of E. B'way, try the the shrimp rice roll, as it is excellent.

http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/...

[alkapal]

buttertart should know this info like the back of her hand.....

shout out to the tartalicious one!

[buttertart]

The sheng jian bao with chicken filling at the Old Sichuan on Bayard between Mott and Elizabeth are not to be missed - they're a Shanghai specialty (the owners are Shanghainese) and these are the best to be found in the city - small, raised-dough buns, fried on one side like proper guo tie fried dumplings, juicy inside, served sprinkled with sesame seeds and sliced green onions with black vinegar on the side. Wish I had some RIGHT NOW!!! They reheat beautifully as well.
Their soup dumplings can be super and can be pretty ordinary, they're dependable but not inspired.
Love dumplings but am not a real dumpling maven...I'm leaving that to sccopG!

-----
Old Sichuan
65 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013

[JungMann]

Is there somewhere else you would recommend if one wanted to get frozen shengjianbao?

[buttertart]

I haven't seen them packaged. But haven't really looked, usually just buy shao bing (thinking I should make my own, the frozen ones are only a convenience) and cong you bing (same thoughts on the matter) frozen (lack of freezer space for dumpligs). It'd be beyond great (w ref to your Beijing dumpling thread) if you could get Beijing da bao frozen, especially the one with the beef and dill filling.

[scoopG]

I've not had the ones at Old Sichuan yet but Deluxe Supermarket on Elizabeth sells them fresh.

[buttertart]

Good to know, thanks.

[c oliver]

I LOVE that market!!! We always go there when we're in NYC.

[sockster]

Old Sichuan dumplings we just ok- we were there Saturday!!

-----
Old Sichuan
65 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013

[scoopG]

Chinese Dumplings? Let us count the ways: boiled, steamed or pan-fried. Which type are you looking for?

Prosperity on Eldridge is numero uno for pan-fried (Guo Tie.) Vanessa's? A notch below. But Vanessa's is not far from Prosperity - further north on Eldridge; so you could do your own immediate taste-test.

There's another joint on Mulberry (Tasty Dumplings? Between Mulberry and Mosco) and Fried Dumpling on Mosco, between Mulberry and Mott. I think the chap on Allen shut down.

-----
Fried Dumpling
106 Mosco St, New York, NY 10013

[kathryn]

Let's also not forget soup dumplings!

[sugartoof]

Start at Vanessa's. It's a safe intro into the world of cheap dumplings, and is clean with some seating.

I'd suggest straying beyond the cheapest dumplings, which aren't their best offering. The best thing I've had there isn't the dumplings though, it's the vegetarian sesame pancake.

[rschwim]

I like the dumplings at Super Taste (also Eldridge right below Canal on the east side of the street) a lot

-----
Super Taste
26 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[chompchomp]

I second that emotion. Their dumplings are fantastic -- better than their soup even!

[ESNY]

Thirded. My "normal" meal is a stop at Prosperity for an order of pan fried pork/chive dumplings. Then walk down Eldridge for a block to Super Taste for the dumplings and a spicy beef hand pulled noodle soup. Then depending if i'm still hungry, I may go back to Prosperity for another order of the fried dumplings for "dessert".

-----
Super Taste
26 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[Miss Needle]

If you need some sweet to balance out all that savory, Panade on Eldridge Street has cream puffs. And if you're in the mood for some more savory, they've got a selection of sandwiches made with pate a choux.

-----
Panade
129 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[c oliver]

Is that Chinese?????? Not that I'm quibbling you understand :)

[Miss Needle]

Ha! No, but the owner is of Chinese descent if that matters. : )

Actually, some Chinese bakeries do carry cream puffs. So you can make it fit into that theme.

[AubWah]

If we are talking fried dumpling you will not find a better quality\price ratio than ayt Prosperity Dumpling. Just keep your nose clean on Eldridge

-----
Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[BillyBob]

Vanessa's is terrible compared to Prosperity. Also that greasy place on Mosco is the worst of the bunch. The place on Mulberry (Tasty Dumpling) sits in the middle for us. I totally agree with the recommendation for noodles at Lan Zhou but would also add that my whole family likes their fried dumplings better even than Prosperity - they rate the tops for us for fried dumplings. We like the soups at Super Taste but our preferences for dumplings are for the fried variety so we don't go there for dumplings. For a dumpling crawl, I would go to Lan Zhou first and have fried dumplings and an order of pork chop noodle soup, followed by Prosperity and then Shanghai Cafe for soup dumplings. Then, if you want more soup dumplings I would go to Nice Green Bo on Bayard then Shanghai Ciusine on Bayard and Mulberry and then the place down around the corner on Mulberry (Tasty Dumpling) for another hit of the fried variety. Then, if it is not too much, I would go to Joe's Shanghai for soup dumplings to compare to Shanghai Cafe. Joe's is somewhat reviled on the board - but I think going there is good for comparison. Also, if you want a respite from dumplings, after Prosperity but before Shanghai Cafe I would go to X'ian Famouse foods (88 East Broadway) for a lamb burger to go - eating on the way to Shanghai Cafe. But, I'm a pig

-----
Joe's Shanghai
24 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019

Nice Green Bo
66 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013

Super Taste
26 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[La Mavenette]

Take the Foods of New York Chinatown tour. Mondays only. No guessing, just fressing! AND THE BEST!

http://foodsofny.com/chinatown.php

[hungryinmanhattan]

You hounds are the best. I am so grateful for ALL the suggestions. I absolutely want to also try noodles and pancakes and everything else you suggested! I have never had a lamb burger! As for whether the dumplings are fried or steamed or soup dumplings, I was welcoming your suggestions for the best type for the specific places, which you have kindly supplied. This is going to be so much fun! Keep the suggestions coming!

[rschwim]

As BillyBob mentioned regarding my Super Taste dumpling reference, they are boiled, not fried. The sauce is different than most and it's a great combination--The dumpling skins are pretty elegant, too...

-----
Super Taste
26 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[drg2129]

So tonight my mother and I went to 3 dumpling joints:
1. Lan Zhou (144 East Broadway)
2. Prosperity Dumpling (Eldridge St)
3. Tasty Dumpling (Mulberry)

By far and way, Lan Zhou was the best. No challenge. Prosperity was significantly better than Tasty, which was flabby and underwhelming. But Lan Zhou was #1. In fact, I would say they were the best dumplings I've EVER had, and I am pretty passionate about dumplings. The skins are thin and tender, the pork is juicy, the chives are crunchy. We didn't even bother with soy sauce - they didn't need it.

Oh, also the sesame pancake at Prosperity rocked.

-----
Tasty Dumpling
54 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10013

Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002

[c oliver]

What kind of dumpling did you have? Please.

[Silverjay]

We usually buy $8 bags of 50 frozen ones from Lan Zhou and steam them at home. AFAIK, they only make one type- pork/chive, either steamed or fried.