For those who know me, it will come as no shock that I am blogging today about a place called Tasty Dumpling. In fact, it's a shocker that it's taken me this long to blab about how much I love Chinese food in general. After enjoying something just so delicious today, I just felt it was time to let everyone in on what I have been enjoying so much. While I live uptown, I have an internship this summer that lands me right next to Chinatown 3 days a week. This is heaven for me. While I'd love to go out for a Chinese feast every day, adventure and frugality has led me to some cheaper, and very tasty restaurants, kiosks and hole in the walls that really have pleasantly surprised me.
I really like dumplings, so when I saw a hole in the wall called "Tasty Dumpling" right by my office, (located at 54 Mulberry St, between Mosco & Bayard) I had to try it. Unfortunately, when I went for the first time, the dumplings really were not good. In fact, I don't think I even finished my 5 for $1.25 portion which has never happened in my life. I don't know what made me go back a second time, but I think I was somewhat intrigued by the other items on its rather limited menu. On this second trip, I decided to try the pork and cabbage pancake. I assumed it would be something like pork and cabbage sandwiched between two scallion pancakes, but I was willing to eat pork, cabbage and pancake in any combination. What came out surprised me, as I had never seen anything like it before, even after a summer studying in Beijing. It looked like a disc with a flat, chewy, golden, almost english-muffin like exterior, stuffed with onion-y, moist ground pork and cabbage. Oh my. It was fantastic. And $1.50. How can you beat that? So, if you're downtown and need a very quick and very cheap bite (and you're not near Prosperity Dumplings on Eldridge Street) head on over to Tasty Dumplings for some porky goodness.
