Dumpling House
328 Spadina Avenue
Phone: 416-596-8898
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Picking out a restaurant in Chinatown can be a little daunting sometimes. There's always an overload of options and you want to make sure you leave satisfied without a large abyss in your wallet. Thankfully I came across a nice little place called the Dumpling House Restaurant.
Being Korean I've eaten my fair share of dumplings, but I must say I've never come across dumplings like these. $5.99 got me a plate of Pan-Fried Pork & Chive Dumplings, which come in a group of 12 and are loosely bound together by a golden fried net that crumples apart at the touch of a chopstick. Simply put, they were absolutely delicious. The texture was just right, not too cripsy and not too flimsy. Dip it in the hot sauce provided and thats some serious flava. Judging from the framed pictures of former PM Paul Martin on the wall across from me, I think he'd agree.
In addition to the dumplings my company and I ordered the Stir-Fried Noodle Shanghai Style ($5.99) and a bowl of Hot & Sour Soup ($2.59) The soup was quite good but I must say the noodles stood out to my taste buds even more. They were thinner than your average Shanghai noodle filled with bits of cabbage and pork. The next time I'm craving dumplings, I'l know where to go.
Dumpling House Restaurant
328 Spadina Ave.
416.596.8898
11 am - 11 pm
Comments (22)
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I was just working out day to go and get some photos so I could do a post on the Dumpling House, myself. You beat me to it and well done. heh.
The shanghai noodles *are* pretty good, but I gotta say, quite a bit greasier than I'm used to. I'm stickin' to dumplings.
haha thanks...i didn't think anyone else really knew about this place! I hear ya about the greasy bit but i guess with chinese food you gotta be ready for a bit of that...
The Dumpling House has always been tasty, but there have been previous episodes where they lost their food service license due to failed health department inspections. Unless they've recently remodeled, you can see why - cleanliness is not really their top priority.
So while I'd still eat there (I have faith in my healthy immune system), I don't know if it's everyone's cup of tea.
You know, your comment CGI script is broken, not returning a page to the browser. That's why you're getting duplicate comments, no one is getting feedback that their comment was posted.
Thanks Anon, we know, we're trying to fix a number of bugs right now. At least the comments are working!
As for the Dumpling House, yeah, I won't say I haven't seen an unpleasant creature or two crawling up their photos of paul martin. They gotta stay active in trying to keep that place clean. Thank goodness its so good. Sit in the front.
Its funny reading what you say about the cleanliness because it reminds me of something a Chinese friend of mine said "With Chinese places, I hate to say it, but the case is usually that the dirtier it is, the tastier the food."
Try the Congee Queen on Don Mills ... flavourful stir-fried dishes, yet in a clean, bright, pleasantly decorated room with a young, quick staff. Or the House of Gourmet on Dundas.
This place is good, but Mother's Dumplings at Dundas and Huron is even better.
Although the spadina place has better pan-fried! as pictured, Mother's use better quality homemade fillings... it's literally just a house kitchen in a basement with an old chinese mother :)
I hear they have rats... thats too bad, I remember in one of the rare moments, that the place was calm, I talked to the owner. Truly a gentleman. Would even tell me his idea of the best dim sum place in Chinatown...
heck, even gave my American buddy, first time in Toronto a lecture on the best Indian\Greek\Latino place in town. "You wanna know the best burrito place? Even LA doesnt have a burrito place like this, best of anything food is from Toronto"...A true Toronto foodie.
Judging by the sanitation of Chinatown in general, its extremely difficult to prevent rats from getting into his place, exterminator or not.
My family & I ate here over the Christmas holidays and I vowed never to return. The veggie dumplings were so bad that we ate one of the plateful were received, the glasses were dirty & the place was so filthy [particularly the bathroom]. The only saving grace was our lovely server, who worked her butt off in between being yelled at by the manager/owner. Try Kings Vegetarian Cafe on Augusta for wicked dumplings!
If you want dumplings, go to Mother's Dumplings. I go there about once a week. Simply the best.
As an update, the source of the rats got sorted out and the restaurant reopened to the satisfaction of the inspectors. I've been several times since and it's been just as busy with the food still very good.
Was there yesterday for the first time since they closed. The place still looks (and smells) the same: dirty floors, dirty walls. But, my oh my, their dumplings are still good. Going there again today, actually. Rats or no rats, I still love my dumplings.
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