The place: Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant in Chinatown (Pell St.)
It was a dark and stormy night…well it was but that’s not really the point of this entry. Soup dumplings are, so here we go.
I had never experienced such a food phenomenon. If you’ve heard of these treasures but never ordered them because you were perplexed as to what you’d actually be eating, hesitate no longer. The waiter at Joe’s Shanghi will ask you if you want to start with soup dumplings, because what fool would not. You then tell the waiter what protein it should be filled with, we chose crab, and then he runs away to place your order. When they arrive, to the untrained eye they look like standard steamed dumplings resting in a steamer on a bed of cabbage. Delicious already, I know, but just wait. Tongs come in the steamer to help airlift the delicate dumpling from their cabbage cushion and land them safely on your spoon one at a time. Dumpling on board, you lean in to take the first bite. Oh my! What is this hot liquid gushing out? It’s SOUP. Yes, if you haven’t figured it out yet, the soup is IN the dumpling.
“The soup is IN the dumpling?! HOW do they do that?” I asked amazed.
“It’s one of those things you just don’t question,” replied Danielle, my dinner companion.
Speculation complete, we devoured the remaining soup dumplings, and then remembered we had also ordered entrees. But really, all we wanted were more soup dumplings.
SPOILER ALERT: if you want to learn the true secret behind these delectable bundles, here’s food fanatic Anthony Bourdain to reveal how the soup gets in the dumplings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SenvN3SjVbo Skip to 2:48 for the unveiling.