10/04/17
This was my first experience with soup dumplings, so there was the novelty factor in play, but I dare say the dish stood on its own merits. The outside of the dumplings were incredibly soft, yet their structural integrity was seemingly never challenged as I flipped them upside down to detach them from the paper, transferred them on my plate, poked a hole to retrieve the broth, dipped them in sauce or went in for my first bite. The 'soup' was an ideal temperature, still very warm but not quite steaming hot. The contents of the dumpling itself, a mixture of pork, crab, mushrooms and leeks, were very tasty. I ate the first couple unvarnished before being told I *had* to try them with the vinegar-and-ginger sauce. The sauce added an extra kick, but honestly, the plain dumplings already stood as the best I can remember having. The only downsides were the quantity (4 — standard for dim sum) and the price ($16 — welcome to New York). Everything else about the dish was simply outstanding.