After finding Sushi Bong was closed, I stumbled onto their neighbor, Yummy Dumpling House, located at the same North York condo building base. Yummy’s cozy dining room only holds fifteen at capacity, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem as the restaurant wasn’t overly busy during our Sunday lunch. It did have a steady stream of a couple tables coming and going, which is good as the kitchen is a one-woman operation (another wraps dumplings while a gentlemen greets and serves).
We’re
given small dishes, which I assumed were for holding a dipping sauce, but turns out is
also the plate for eating. As the steaming Chinese cabbage and pork
dumplings ($8.50 for 15) arrives, the first dumpling, slippery with
water, was a bit difficult to maneuver without any real dishware or spoon. Nevertheless,
I was eventually successful and took a bite of the scalding dough.
Personally,
I prefer dumplings steamed (the wrapper is thinner and hence results in more
juices and flavour), but for being boiled these were decent – the wrapper still
on the thick side but the filling incorporated enough ginger and spices to
stand out.
Eat
the pan-fried pork dumplings ($7.98 for 8) while they’re hot, as the thin layer
of crispy caramelization on the wrapper is delicious. After a while, with the
condensation and being piled onto a small plate, they start to get soggy. Some
of the wrappers did break so the juices (one of the best parts of the dumpling)
escaped. But, the couple of intact ones I had were tasty - Yummy Dumpling House
really gets the seasoning right.
If you
like Peking duck, give their flavoured pork wrap ($5.98) a try. The wrapper is
thicker but has that same chewiness as the Peking duck counterpart. Lightly
toasted with crispy edges, it holds thin slices of roasted pork covered with
sweet hoisin sauce and fresh scallions.
In the end, it has a Peking duck essence but isn’t oily and much heartier.
The
experience reminds me of the need to just get out and explore restaurants. I’m
guilty of it: relying on reviews or Instagram pictures to decide on where to
eat. However, this limits the opportunities of stumbling across little
hole-in-the-wall places where you can support mom-and-pop establishments that can’t
afford media events. So set a date and grab someone to just take a stroll; find
a small place that you’ve never heard of and just walk in. It may not be
perfect, but at least you’ve supported a budding local entrepreneur.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 5 Northtown Way (Unit 16)
Address: 5 Northtown Way (Unit 16)
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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