If you live north of Houston, sometimes Chinatown is a little too far to walk when the dumpling craving hits. Lucas Lin opened Dumpling Man in the East Village after a year of researching the wrapper technique and training with masters in Chinatown. At his shop, women clad in white robes and caps work behind plexiglass in assembly-line form, rolling the dough and shaping the dumplings with the intense concentration of lab technicians. There is a lot of science behind that cheap little morsel you plop in your mouth.
These are dumplings gone high-brow. Lin offers four varieties (chicken, pork, shrimp, veggie), all listed on the menu with descriptions like those on a chef's tasting menu. He infuses the fillings with herbal juice for flavor and softness. He adds boiling water to his flour instead of eggs and butter, for a thinner wrap. The dumplings are either steamed or "seared," otherwise known as fried.
Novelty doesn't come cheap. Six dumplings will costs you $4 to $5, compared with five for $1 at most Chinatown places. But Lin's creations are good, especially the pork and veggie. And where else can you eat your dumpling to the blaring sounds of Sleater-Kinney? Eschew the soy sauce for fiery Red Monster or Marco Polo basilica sauce? Buy a t-shirt, tank top, or thong with the Dumpling Man logo? Get a fluffy snow ice for dessert, hand cranked from a vintage ice machine?
All the dumplings are made to order, so waiting times can be up to ten minutes. But all the more time to contemplate whether you really want that thong.
Dumpling Man
100 St. Mark's Pl. (btwn 1st Ave. & Ave. A)
212-505-2121
Dumplings: $4-$6 for 6, $6-$8 for 10
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