Home Chinese DUMPLING HELL!!!

DUMPLING HELL!!!

2299
Big Week For Food Truck Freebies Coming Up
Big Week For Food Truck Freebies Coming Up
Key Takeaway: This post covers a disappointing visit to the 2009 NY Dumpling Festival (sponsored by Chef One), where good variety and decent bao, pot stickers, and spring rolls were undercut by hour-plus lines and a crowd too large for the venue.

I walked out my front door Saturday (10/24) thinking about going to dumpling heaven.  Instead, I ended up in dumpling hell!

IMG_1288

The NY Dumpling Festival on Sat (10/24) was a decent idea, very poorly executed.   The festival was sponsored by Chef One, a large food manufacturer, so I wasn’t expecting the world’s most amazing dumplings.  There was good variety and decent food, but the crowd was way too large for the site, and the lines were over an hour each for the stands that didn’t run out early.

Later on, you can check out our NYC Chinatown dumpling guide!

IMG_1294

With the intermittent rain and several stands running out of food quickly, I only tried the bao dumplings, the pot stickers and the spring rolls.  The Chinese bao were good, although after waiting on line for nearly an hour and a half, my judgment may have been impaired.  The pot stickers were good, too, but nothing that couldn’t be found at numerous other places in the city.  Good food, interminable waiting.  Next year, I’ll take a pass.  (They did have the world’s largest dumpling, though.)

World's largest dumpling
World’s largest dumpling

FAQ

Q: What was the NY Dumpling Festival?
A: A 2009 dumpling festival sponsored by Chef One, a large food manufacturer, featuring multiple dumpling vendors and a “world’s largest dumpling” attraction.

Q: What went wrong at the festival?
A: The crowd was too large for the site, with lines running over an hour for stands that hadn’t already sold out.

Q: What dumplings were tried at the festival?
A: Chinese bao, pot stickers, and spring rolls, all described as good but not exceptional.