Anchalee Pagsanjan

Interns who work in the city together, go on foodventures together.

Met up with my friend, Steph, to check out some foodie spots after work. We both intern in the city so it was only right to do so.

It was such a disgustingly humid day but we pushed through. We needed to do it for the gram!

Our first stop was Qi Bangkok Eatery. This place was aesthetic as f*ck. Furnished with white tables, cool lighting fixtures, and crystal chandeliers inside a glass box to separate each table. Qi had a chic vibe going on! Even though this place looked like it would hurt our bank accounts, the prices here were pretty reasonable. The portions were pretty good too.


Usually, I would get Pad Thai with shrimp but I wanted to try something different. I ended up getting the Massaman Curry with shrimp. After eating at many Thai places, I expected my dish to come with a maximum of 5 shrimps. To my surprise, it came with a good amount (these are my favorite types of surprises). The curry was delicious. I think my favorite part of Thai food are the peanuts. It added that needed crunch to my dish. I would definitely recommend Qi to a friend.




And for dessert, we went to Ample Hills Creamery. After trying literally all the flavors, I choose Ooey Gooey and Snap Mallow Pop. This was a really hard decision. Ample Hills has amazing and unique flavors. Next time, I am grabbing myself a scoop of Hell's Kitchen (Guinness stout, rich chocolate, spiced brownie, etc) and The Munchies (potato chips, M&Ms, Ritz Crackers, etc).

If I could say anything bad about this place, it would be that the cookie cone was not much of a cookie. I was really expecting it to be a real cookie in a cone shape. It was more like a hard ice cream cone. For $1.50 extra, I don't think it's worth it - not even for the gram.

Back at it again with another FOODVENTURE!

This past fall, Prosperity Dumpling, a famous $1 dumpling spot in Chinatown, was shut down because it failed its health inspection. It was my absolute favorite spot for fried dumplings. You got 4 for $1! That's an unbeatable price. Most importantly, they didn't skimp out on the meat or the crispness. Every dumpling experience should be just like Prosperity.

I know some of you guys are thinking, "They shouldn't be serving out of an unclean restaurant!" I agree with you. However, to my knowledge, there has never been an incident when someone has gotten sick from their food. The way I see it is: cooked food = dead bacteria = edible.

Prosperity Dumpling will be reopening at a new location. In the meantime, I had to find another $1 dumpling spot in Manhattan to fill my Prosperity void. This is my criteria: crispness, freshness, meatiness. So the hunt begins...

WORST TO BEST FRIED DUMPLING SPOTS IN CHINATOWN

1. Fried Dumpling - 106 Mosco St. - 5 for $1
This place wasn't featured in this Foodventure and I'm glad it wasn't. Not only are the workers rude but the dumplings suck. I don't care if you get 5 for $1. Those 5 dumplings are soggy, not fresh, and lacking meat.
Crispness = -5/10 (yes, that's a negative)
Freshness = -10/10
Meatiness = 0/10

2. Jin Mei Dumpling - 25 Henry St - 5 for $1
This place resembled Prosperity so I had some hope. But even nostalgia couldn't save this place from a bad review. I wasn't able to eat more than two. I paid $1 to eat dumpling wrapper.
Crispness = 0/10
Freshness = 0/10
Meatiness = -10/10

3. Lam Zhou Handmade Noodle and Dumpling - 10 for $3
There was waiting time involved - something I'm not used. I wasn't mad about it because that meant the dumplings were newly cooked. While I was waiting, I noticed the cook pulling and kneading dough. I was sold after that. Handmade dough, cooked-to-order dumplings, lots of seating, sauces galore (they had real soy sauce), and an option to order their yummy-looking soups. This place was it. My order came out and I was more than ready to dig in. The first thing that stood out to me was how crunchy and fresh the chives were. I literally finished the first plate in 2 minutes and I was ready to order another one.
Crispness = 6.5/10
Freshness = 10/10
Meatiness = 9/10




4. Tasty Dumplings - 42 Mulberry St. - 5 for $1.25
When I saw the server take the dumplings out of a warmer on the stove, I instantly became iffy about this place. To my surprise, I was wrong! The first bite was so crispy and the pork filling was delicious. You got 5 per serving, however, these dumplings are still smaller than Prosperity. But, I think most places have smaller dumplings than Prosperity. They do have more seating space here - something I appreciate. I ended up going here another time and I got a batch of dumplings that were freshly cooked. That batch was amazing!
Crispness = 9/10
Freshness = 8.5/10
Meatiness = 8.5/10

LET'S BREAK IT DOWN
Tasty Dumpling gets the win. It is definitely a close second to Prosperity. Some other things to point out about Tasty is that: 1) Fast service 2) Closer to the main part of Chinatown 3) Cleaner and more seating 4) Better taste. I really do enjoy the options of sauces, freshness, and meatiness that came with Lam Zhou but they lacked the crispy factor. Overall, Tasty Dumplings and Lam Zhou is a good filler option if you are craving $1 dumplings. They might not be Prosperity Dumplings, but they do the job. Prosperity lovers will just have to wait until they reopen again.





Note To Self: You eat wayyyy too many fried dumplings.Take a break.