Shredded Potato Salad
Green Onion
Pancake
JANUARY 2020 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM 33
huge variety of flavorful jiaozi.
This was likely the inspiration
for launching New Dumpling
last April. In China, dumplings
are among the most popular
of cuisines, and are especially
popular during the Chinese
New Year season. They are
considered to symbolize
longevity and wealth.
My guest and I visited New
Dumpling for Saturday lunch
between 11:30 and noon. We
were fortunate to find parking
on the street in front of the
restaurant, although this may,
at times, be challenging, due
to the many businesses on
the same block. When we
entered the restaurant, there
were already several tables of
customers enjoying their meals.
We were promptly greeted
and seated, and provided water,
menus, chopsticks, utensils, and
napkins. The menu is a onepage
laminated sheet, listing
available side dishes on the left
side, and listing the varieties
of available dumplings on the
right. A white board hanging
near our seat also listed several
daily specials to supplement the
menu.
Not having done any
research on New Dumpling in
advance, I didn’t realize that the
menu was limited to dumplings
and side dishes. There were
ten varieties of dumplings to
choose from, each prepared
with one or two proteins
(shrimp, pork, beef, chicken,
egg) and vegetables (chives,
cabbage, celery, carrots, green
peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes,
corn). All were priced at
$7.99 or $8.99, and our server
informed us that each portion
included fourteen dumplings,
but no accompaniments. My
guest chose the Green Peppers
with Pork dumplings and I
chose the Carrots with Beef.
We also decided to order a
side dish to accompany the
dumplings. The sides included
seven different types of cold
salads, including interesting
choices such as Shredded Pig
Ear Salad, Shredded Seaweed
Salad, and Bean Curd Strips
Salad. Not feeling adventurous
enough to select one of the
more unconventional dishes,
we opted for the Shredded
Potato Salad, which our server
assured us was a suitable size
for sharing. All salads were
$4.99 except for the Shredded
Pig Ear Salad and Marinated
Beef, which were listed at
$6.99. The menu also included
an appetizer, a Green Onion
Pancake, for $5.99, and Beef
Noodle Soup for $10.49.
Specials for the day were
Wonton Soup for $9.99, and
an additional dumpling choice,
Vegetarian dumplings, made
with carrots, cabbage, celery,
tofu, and fungus.
As we waited for our food,
we had the opportunity view
the kitchen staff who were
hard at work in the open
kitchen. Very near where we
were sitting, separated only by
a clear glass divider, a female
employee sat in the kitchen
hand-wrapping dumplings
individually at a very fast pace.
She was very adept at scooping
just the right amount of the
meat/vegetable mix into thin
circles of previously handrolled
dough. After filling the
wraps with the mixture, she
expertly folded the dough
over, pinching the edges
closed to seal in the contents.
As each tray was filled, it was
covered with cellophane, but
the dumplings were in such
demand that they seemed to
almost go faster than she could
HOURS: MONDAYS: CLOSED | TUESDAYS THROUGH SUNDAYS: 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM & 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM