DUMPLING CAFE: EATER RAVES OVER THESE DUMPLINGS BUT ARE THEY WORTH IT?
The Cost -$29
The Atmosphere – Dumpling Cafe is located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston. It is a very casual, no-frills restaurant with carpeting in the dining area. If you are looking for a restaurant with a nice ambiance, I would keep searching; Dumpling Cafe is not a luxurious dining experience.
I was in the mood for a low-key but delicious dinner one evening in Boston and saw that Dumpling Cafe was listed as one of Eater’s Top 38 restaurants in Boston. The article mentioned the Taiwan style dumplings and eggplant as being two amazing dishes and so I figured I’d go and see if these dishes really lived up to the hype.
The Order –Taiwan Style Pan Fried Dumplings and Taiwan Style Eggplant.
The Good – The Taiwan Style Dumplings are pan-fried and filled with pork and come eight to an order. They were cooked nicely, and I loved that they were crispy on the bottom and soft on top. But while the texture was great and the filling was tasty. these dumplings just didn’t blow me away as I expected more from dumplings that were raved about by other food media sites.
I had the same general feelings about the Taiwan Style Eggplant which was very similar to a typical eggplant in a garlic sauce dish. I was glad to see that it was a large portion and that it came with rice given the $16 price tag, but I’m still not sure it was a great value. The eggplant and the sauce were good, but I was not incredibly impressed and thought that the sauce did not have nearly enough spiciness to it.
The Verdict – I enjoyed my meal at Dumpling Cafe but wish that the food lived up to the hype. While I would certainly go back and try a couple of other items on their large menu, I would not go back and order the same dishes knowing that there are other options available in the Boston area.