My search for the best dumplings in New York continues….
SADLY, LAM ZHOU HANDMADE NOODLE IS NOW CLOSED.
Based on its name, you’d think the speciality of the house at Lam Zhou Handmade Noodle would be noodles. And you’d be right. That’s mostly why I didn’t rush here during my official dumpling search. I had enjoyed their showy hand-pulled noodle soups in the past, but never looked further down the menu at the dumplings.
I returned recently after reading an article on Serious Eats about their dumplings. And I soon learned that I shouldn’t have overlooked them in the potsticker department.
The restaurant is more of a room than an actual restaurant. It looks like most cheap spots in Chinatown. Except here, there is a little nook where you can watch (or hear) the noodles being whipped into shape. The dumplings are cooked further back in the kitchen.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a dumpling excursion and I ordered three different kinds: the usual steamed and fried, plus the sweet rice dumplings which were amazing. I could only handle about four of each variety since my stomach space is limited, but my wallet was happy. $6 bought me food and dessert for the entire day.
The fried dumplings arrived first and they were almost stuck together. The skins weren’t too greasy and featured little bits of fried crispiness, which gave the wrappers a slightly sweet caramlized flavor. Overall, they could have been hotter and a bit crunchier on the outside. Inside, they were great with a garlicky flavor ontop of the sweet brown soy sauce infused pork.
What the fried ones lacked in hot crispness, the boiled ones made up for with a perfect tenderness and a steamy interior. The pork and scallion filling was just as spot-on and punched another round of flavor with the tangy dipping sauce and a squirt of sriracha.
Their handmade noodles might get most of the attention (and they’re incredible in beef brisket soup), but a helping of dumplings here will show you some of the best in Chinatown. Now I’m realizing there’s a whole slew of untapped restaurants in Chinatown that advertise one thing, but also exceed at something else. My dumpling search may just have to begin again…
Does Lam Zhou Handmade Noodle have the best dumplings in NY? Their boiled potstickers, with the impossibly tender skins and juicy interiors, are up there with the nearby dumpling factories earning them an 8 out of 10.
| LAM ZHOU HANDMADE NOODLE |
| 144 East Broadway (between Pike Street and Rutgers Street), Chinatown (212) 566-6933 |
