Lunch Anyone? Dumpling Kingdom

Dumpling Kingdom joins the many Chinese cuisine spots in Allston, but sets itself apart with Taiwanese dishes and a focus on dumplings. Photos by Kylie Obermeier (COM’16, CAS’16).

Fans of Chinatown’s popular Dumpling Cafe and Back Bay’s popular Dumpling Palace are in for a treat. Their owners have brought their dumpling empire to Allston with Dumpling Kingdom, opened in July. It’s as good for a tasty and affordable lunch as it is for a late night snack (it’s open until 2 a.m. seven days a week).

We visited on a recent Monday afternoon to find the restaurant half full, but filled with pleasant chatter. We were seated us at a table with a view of the fish tanks, filled with lobsters and silver-scaled fish.

We ordered hot tea thinking it would be complimentary, as it is at most Chinese restaurants. The single mug (not pot, as is usual in Chinese restaurants) cost $1.50, but the oolong was soothing and fragrant. You can also get bubble tea and milkshakes ($3.95) in flavors like mango and green tea.

Dumpling Kingdom’s menu offers much more than a typical dumpling house: noodles, soups, several kinds of fried rice, clay pot dishes, savory pancakes, and more. The seafood tofu hot pot ($16.95), one of the most popular dishes, is served in a clay pot with large chunks of fried tofu and pieces of octopus, squid, and shrimp, green onion, carrot, and cabbage in a creamy sauce. The steamed four-piece duck buns ($7.95) are made of fluffy bread-like dough. If you’ve got a big appetite, order one of the value combos: one entrée, soup of the day, and white or fried rice ($8.50); the same with three entrée choices ($24.50).

With 30 appetizers, we had a hard time choosing how to begin our meal, but decided on the scallion pancakes ($6.50). The Chinese classic is different from a Western pancake, made from dough instead of batter. These were nicely chewy and the scallion added a subtle flavor, but the outside could have been crispier. They were also rather plain, and while the tangy soy sauce helped, it was too thin. A thicker chili sauce or hoisin sauce would have been better. Next time we’ll order the oyster pancake with gravy ($7.95), a gelatinous Taiwanese specialty, or the egg drop soup (small $3.95, large $6.95), a variation of the dish that’s served with tomatoes.

With the specialty here dumplings, we had to try some. The question was which. Dumpling Kingdom has several kinds, from the thicker bun-style to the thin and delicate wonton style like in the dim sum dish called har gua, an entrée of six shrimp steamed dumplings ($7.95). On the heartier side is the chewy, empanada-like pan-fried Chinese pie with chive filling ($4.95). We ordered the Taiwan pan-fried dumpling ($7.95), similar to a long, open-ended gyoza filled with green onion and what we think was pork (our waiter didn’t provide a straight answer). The outside was nicely crispy, the filling savory and moist, but it could have been more flavorful. Although the tangy soy sauce helped, the dish seemed a bit underwhelming.

Much better were the mini juicy buns with pork ($7.95)—six dumplings with twisted tops served in a bamboo basket. They look like ordinary steamed dumplings, or xialongbao, but with one bite, the difference is clear. These rich, meaty soup-filled dumplings are made by wrapping the dough around aspic and solid pork filling. The steam melts the aspic, and the result is a delicious and juicy dumpling. Word of warning: the broth is hot. We recommend biting a small hole in the dumpling, pouring the broth into one of the provided soup spoons, and letting it cool down a tad. The Zhenjiang vinegar, a type of rice-based black vinegar served with strips of ginger, has a tanginess that spices up the pleasantly chewy dough. Next time we may try the equally popular mini juicy buns with pork and crabmeat ($8.95).

If your meal hasn’t left you stuffed and carrying leftovers, as we were, head next door to Kung Fu Tea or Sweet Kingdom for a Chinese dessert.

Despite the mixed results of our lunch, Dumpling Kingdom is a solid option for a tasty and affordable lunch near campus. We would happily return for the soup dumplings and to try more of the extensive menu.

Dumpling Kingdom, 137 Harvard Ave., Allston, is open daily, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; phone: 617-562-8888. Make reservations or order take out or delivery (within three miles) through Yelp or delivery through Grubhub. Major credit cards accepted. Take a MBTA Green Line B trolley to Harvard Avenue.

This is part of a weekly series featuring Boston lunch spots of interest to the BU community. If you have any suggestions for places we should feature, leave them in the Comment section below.

Kylie Obermeier can be reached at kylieko@bu.edu; follow her on Twitter at @kyliekobermeier.

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