Dumplings are generally considered one of the lucky foods for the Chinese New Year. Enjoy these special soup dumplings to partake in the New Year’s spirit. Before you go, be sure to read “How to eat soup dumplings.”
Two places to go for soup dumplings in Chicago Chinatown are Hing Kee and Lao Shanghai.
Hing Kee’s ambiance is more of a student hangout. Formica table tops and no efforts in decoration. Service is quick and no frills. Tea does not flow freely here. You have to order it, and it arrives in a mug. When a restaurant does not invest a lot in interior design, quite often it puts its energy into the food. The soup dumplings here are excellent. They offer two different kinds: the usual (pork) and the crab-pork soup dumplings. They are beautifully shaped with uniform folds on the top end. The usual has a strong peppery flavor, and the crab … need we say more?
Lao Shanghai offers nice ambiance with white table cloth, black and red dish set, and a pot of tea is immediately served upon arrival. Tea flows freely with no charge. Refills are kindly provided. Service is warm and attentive. The soup dumplings here bear a clear human finger print. They don’t have the proper number of folds, and they look a bit hurriedly pinched together. The flour wrappers are not as thin as those at Hing Kee. However, the simple soy-based flavor is quite nice too.
Give all three kinds a try. You won’t get tired of them. Each steam basket contains eight soup dumplings. Each basket runs around 7 to 8 dollars.
Comments