Wednesday, September 14, 2016

A look at Drunken Dumpling, now open on 1st Avenue

Drunken Dumpling is now open at 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street.

Grub Street checks out the 11-item menu and talks with owner Yuan Li.

Li’s real secret weapon, though, is his mom, Qihui Guan, a mathematics professor and amateur cook turned professional dumpling-maker. When she emigrated to the United States 15 years ago and couldn’t find work in her chosen field, Guan’s hobby became her profession, leading to a position at soup-dumpling dynasty Joe’s Shanghai.

As for the "Drunken," Li says that in this case "the term alludes to the juiciness of the dumplings." A monster soup dumpling called the XL XLB is served with a straw.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too rich for my blood. Potstickers were $10 and six soup dumplings $12 or maybe $13. Compare to Bao on St. Marks which has great soup dumpling $8 and up.

Anonymous said...

Dumpling Man is still my favorite: 10 piece pork for $9ish. Thank the landlords greed for the insane prices at new spots.

Anonymous said...

I will be there will bells on. I live for dumplings. I think it will be a HUGE success.

Anonymous said...

Damn that is a pricey dumpling

Anonymous said...

I know they are trying to be punny with the name of a food that you literally drink while enjoying, too bad it strikes a wrong note. 'drunken' is typically a negative word, perhaps even more so in a neighborhood overrun with alcohol.

Unknown said...

I went to the Drunken Dumpling the other day and was so captivated by its dumplings, that I went to all the other well-known dumpling places in East Village, including The Bao, Dumpling Man and Mimi's dumplings. I was so disappointed with all the other dumplings at these places that I went back to the Drunken Dumpling just to wash the taste of the other places out. While the prices are high, these are the best dumplings I have ever had, and I used to live in China. The ingredients are extremely fresh and the flavor combinations are well planned.

Anonymous said...

@ 1:55 PM. Not only did I live in China, I used to be Chinese, and I have to agree: Best dumplings in the known universe. And well planned too!