Toronto Chinatown
Country: China 
Dinner guests: Suited Sebastien & Nickerbocker

Dumplings are a broad class of food that consists of dough wrapped around a filling. Although there are never-ending forms of dumplings, the Chinese variety is the first that comes to mind. Dumplings were invented in China during the Han Dynasty and they were likely created as a means to stretch the amount of meat to feed a group of people. It’s often thought that Marco Polo brought back the idea of the dumpling to Italy, the modern day ravioli, during the 13th century after returning to his homeland after a voyage to China.

Dumplings are one of Mandrea Bike’s favourite categories of food, and therefore, we decided to set course on our exploration of Toronto’s Chinatown in a Dumpling Crawl. Most of the restaurants are located in the heart of the city’s iconic Chinese neighbourhood, with the exception of the first and last stops. An attempt was made to taste Dumpling House’s pan fried dumplings with their crispy exterior, but apparently a filming of some kind was taking place. We’ll probably see the scene on Netflix in the next few months….

Please let us know your thoughts and if you have any other must try Toronto Dumpling restaurants. The following restaurants are in the same order as we visited them during the crawl and not in the order of our preference.

The Daily Dumpling Wonton Co – 750 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5S 2T1
Seating: Walk up counter with a few outdoor tables
Region: Shanghai
The order: Classic Shanghai with peanut & ginger soy sauce

The Daily Dumpling has two locations, but at the time of our visit the College Street location was under construction so the Spadina storefront was the only option. The Daily Dumpling specializes in fresh and frozen Shanghainese-style wontons made with traditional family recipes. The in-store experience was informative as the difference between a dumpling and wonton was explained.A umpling has a circular wrapper that is folded in a manner similar to a large tortellini, while the wonton wrapper is squared.

There are several options of fillings and the choice to have it served in either a Shanghai street-style soup or served alongside a peanut or ginger soy sauce for dipping. As we had a lot of dumpling eating ahead of us, we opted for one order (10pcs) of the classic Shanghai, which is filled with pork and mustard greens. The flavours were on point, but the immediate observation was that the dough was too thin and the filling created a dense ball inside that made it difficult for the less experienced chopsticks users to manipulate.

Mother’s Dumplings – 421 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5T 2G6
Seating: Large interior with table service and limited sidewalk patio seating
Region: Northern China
Our Order: C2 – Pan Fried Pork, Shrimp and Melon Dumplings & B4 – Steamed Pork and Chive Dumplings

Things became familiar real fast as we ventured to Mother’s Dumplings, which we reviewed this past April. We decided to return during our crawl as we wanted to have a good baseline for dumplings that we already love. The pan fried pork, shrimp and melon dumplings were our favourite but the pork and chive were not far behind.

This spot also serves up other Chinese staples like steamed buns, green onion pancakes and abundant noodle dishes. Get a cold Tsingtao to accompany your warm dumplings, you won’t regret it!

Juicy Dumpling – 280 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5T 0A1
Seating: No seating, it’s strictly a walk up take away scenario
Region: Shanghai
Our Order: Steamed Mini Soup Dumpling (Pork) & Pan Fried Mini Soup Dumpling (Pork)

In terms of the value, Juicy Dumplings was hands down the biggest bang for your buck in the entire crawl. Coming in at $2.99 for the Pork Steamed Mini Soup Dumpling, and $3.99 for the Pork Pan Fried Mini Soup Dumpling, these are among the cheapest dumplings you can find in the city. Although they were delicious and a good first introduction to soup dumplings for the crew, the soupy interior was quite bland and lacking in punch. We unanimously preferred the pan fried against the steamed.

Rol San Restaurant – 323 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5T 2E9
Seating: Large interior with table service with sidewalk seating
Region: Southern China and Hong Kong
Our Order: #2 Steamed B.B.Q. Pork Bunch, #4 Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (Shiu Mai), #9 Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow) & #37 Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings

With the sun shining, it was imperative that we score a seat on the patio. Rol San may be known to some around the city as one of former Raptor Serge Ibaka’s favourite restaurants. He often frequented this spot for some delicious dumplings and fried rice after big wins. Although we were trying to keep it to more strictly dumplings, we did veer off course to toss in a Pork Bun at the request of our newest dinner guest. We didn’t regret the choice nor did we regret getting greedy with additional varieties of dumplings.

The Pan-Fried Pork dumplings were the preferred of the lot, and the main take away was that the shrimp dumplings were not overly flavourful and we prefer the closed in variety of dumplings versus the Shiu Mai variety.

Yummy Yummy Dumplings – 79 Huron St, Toronto, ON M5T 2A8
Seating: Inside dining with approximately 10 large tables
Region: Southern China and Hong Kong
Our Order: E01 fish & chive (Basa), E17 Mutton shrimp and chive & soup dumplings

Yummy Yummy Dumplings got added to the list by chance and we were very glad it did. If you want a diamond in the rough, you’ve got it!

This restaurant is located in a basement just off the Dundas strip of Chinatown. Upon entering through the doors, we were very happy that it made its way onto our radar. The space was fashioned in traditional decor, without being tacky and the overall vibe was welcoming. For a late afternoon on a Tuesday, it was busy with a few tables occupied by a diverse crowd of single eaters, and a few families that seemed at home, conversing with the server in their native tongue. The server had a limited ability to speak English though we managed to secure some pretty amazing recommendations.

We’ve all had shrimp dumplings but this was our first time having fish dumplings, and they were amazing. The texture of the filling was way different then any of the previous of the day in a totally velvety way. As we were all fans of lamb, the surprise specialty of mutton dumplings was a treat. For those who don’t know, mutton is essentially the mature version of lamb.

The best part of Yummy Yummy Dumplings (beyond the really rad name) is that all of the dumplings are formed to order and they are not shy to show you into their kitchen. There’s a big window in the dining room that gives their guests a direct line of sight into the action with the dumpling folder at centre stage.

On the return to my seat after getting a closer look into the kitchen, I had a brief conversation with the server and discussed (through her translation app) our blog and that we were in the middle of a dumpling crawl. She was so excited that she brought out the owner and we had a photoshoot. The unexpected bonus was when she arrived at our table with a complimentary order of delicious steamed soup dumplings.

Thank you to the team at Yummy Yummy, we will be back.

Lee Chen Asian Bistro – 214 King St W, Toronto, ON M5H 3S6
Seating: Large interior with table service with a small patio
Region: Various Regions
Our Order: Xiao Long Bao (soup filled dumpling) & Pan fried shrimp pork and garlic chives dumplings

Our last stop was just outside Toronto’s Financial District. Lee Chen Asian Bistro is a small Toronto Chain with three locations across the Greater Toronto Area with an upscale vibe. As advertised on the whole first page of their menu, they specialized in Xiao Long Bao (soup filled dumplings) and they were our favourite soup dumplings of the day. The broth was the most flavourful, salty without being overpowering and the wrappers were firm enough even if you are a less experienced chopstix user.

The vinegar dipping sauce with ginger complimented them perfectly and they were a highlight of the day.

Despite Lee Chen having some of the best dumplings of the day, there was a huge lack of character there, which was so in your face in the earlier restaurants. It’s a safe place to bring people less comfortable with Chinese food that are looking for a more upmarket vibe.

A massive thanks to Nickerbocker and Suited Sebastien for indulging alongside us for the day/night.

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)