ottawa foodies

I turned up at lunch time last Sunday and the young male server seemed kinda sulky, fairly incommunicado. I guess he may have been having an off day, or maybe he underslept. I understand that, but I nonetheless felt like a nuisance to him as the only customer there.I asked for the boiled dumplings and a sauce, he told me sauce would cost 50 cents extra. While 50 cents is not painful, that is not clear on the menu re: boiled dumplings. Further, the tiny bowl of sauce was not adequate for 15 dumplings.
I found the peanut sauce so-so.
Maybe I'll just buy some dumplings next time, and make my own sauce.

Funny enough, I was at Qing Hua on Thursday night. I only went there because my usual dumpling place, Mai Xiang Yuan, was lined up. Qing Hua is good and some may prefer the soy sauce dip, but Mai is my preferred dumpling with the delicious chili oil dip.

RiceLover Thanks for the response. Two dumpling shops that were recommended were Soupe and Sammi and Qing Hua but last year I decided to try Soupe and Sammi first for no particular reason. Qing Hua is next on my list!

I buy the frozen ones and cook them up at home. I like them very much. I have seen them being made - one person rolls out the dough, another person stuffs and folds. No machinery in sight. For the work that goes into them, I believe they are worth every penny.

15 boiled dumplings are $8.99. A dumpling shop in Montreal will charge $11.90 for steamed or pan fried, which seems to support Mark's theory.

While we are on the topic of Montreal dumplings, I do recommend the dumplings at Qing Hua. They are made fresh to order and steamed. They are very juicy!

If the prices *were* the same, the steamed dumplings would be subsidizing the cost of the pan fried ones. Pan frying requires at least double the cooking effort compared to steaming. Worth the extra $1.50 if you're in the mood for crispy! And that peanut sauce sure is nice. :-)

Is it commonplace for restos to charge more for pan fried dumplings? When I ate at Soupe and Sammi Dumplings in Montreal last fall I am certain they charged the same price for both pan fried and steamed...

Boiled pork, mushroom and cabbage dumplings is apparently the de facto way they serve the dumplings so I tried that. I drizzled some hot chili oil and black vinegar. It came out steaming hot and juicy. There are 15 in one order.

For an extra $1.50, they can pan fried and served with a choice of sweet chili, peanut, spicy mayo or teriyaki sauce.

Service was prompt and courteous today. I did wait a little bit because they had to wait for the water to boil. It was just 1pm but it seemed it was past the lunch prime time so the water was cooled down? Service was spottier at previous occasions, I agree.

I did notice that the people at the other tables (who looked like regulars) were all having the beef stew noodles. I will try that next.

I bought some frozen dumplings ($5 for 15) and fried them up. The interior was very juicy and flavourful. It is even a little too salty but I hoping it was just that batch. I love the dough as it is thick, a bit chewy and way fresher than at any location in town. It is definitely locally made. In fact, I saw one of the employees wrapping them manually when I was in the store. I'll be back for more.