Rickshaw Dumplings

On a recent trip to New York City, we were able to plan in two restaurant stops, Le Bernardin and Rickshaw Dumplings. As one of those who didn't know Anita Lo before she showed up on Top Chef Masters, I've been tracking her since her tv appearance and was excited to try Rickshaw based on the buzz. (My sister had heard of Anita Lo a long time ago. Just goes to show you how hard it really is to keep up with NY chefs when you aren't there.)

Anyway. We went to the Flatiron Rickshaw location so that we wouldn't be trying to track down a truck. We had stayed in the city the night before at Hotel Metro so it was a brisk 13 block walk down to 23rd to get there soon after they opened and before the line formed.

Certainly I was most excited about the dumplings though the ordering of them was a little weird (to me). You can order six or nine of any one kind, which seems like a lot to me but considering I eat 14 dumplings at home as one serving, maybe it's not that weird. You can also get the sampler which we did. Each one comes with its own dipping sauce. I won't do the legend for you because it doesn't matter too much.

All the dumplings weren't really hot (and admittedly it took us a little while to get situated). The chicken saag was good but I really felt that overall, all the dumplings lacked a boldness in flavor that I wanted. The Peking duck was okay but I found the texture to be rather mushy with no real definition. I was very excited to try the traditional pork and chive, but it was boring and bland.

I can't help wishing that Rickshaw had decided to focus on just the Chinese dumplings without foraying into a broad spectrum of Asian-inspired dumplings that I saw.

I did not know previously that Rickshaw has two styles of buns. Overall the bun quality is very high. The meats are well-prepared and well-seasoned. Based on that flavor profile alone, it seems like whomever came up with the buns is not the same person who came up with the noodle bowls and dumplings. The buns are light and fluffy, similar to the ones I had growing up and to those that David Chang uses in his popular pork belly bun at Ssam Bar.

Here is the first; a pork belly bun. It's served with cabbage, scallions, and a light vinegary sauce. The pork belly itself was tender and unctuous. Perhaps a little on the fatty side, but what can you expect with pork belly? You get a nice fat slice that is a little too big for the bun. You can't complain about that. The balance was delicious. The vinegary taste was addictive, and Josh loved the crunch. He said that the taste was similar to Carolina barbecue. Well, you know me. I'm inclined at that point to say that the part of Carolina that is known for its balance of pork and vinegar stole it from the Chinese. :)

After we had one, we had to get another. Delicious.

Here is the second bun, a bulgogi bun. As you can see from the second picture, the beef was a bit spongy, which I wasn't really expecting but it was still good. In the first bun we had, the meat was a little pink in the middle but the second was cooked more. The sprouts and carrots were lightly pickled and the sauce was spicy but not overpowering. I found the spiciness to be rather addicting actually. It definitely made me want more. I was surprised that Josh didn't like the bulgogi as much either. Normally he likes really spicy things and the balance was very good.

I liked the pork better, but the bulgogi was definitely tasty.


Here we have two of the noodle bowls. Josh opted to get the miso, and I got the clear broth. I suppose "clear broth" sounds rather boring, but I'm a traditionalist. They had other flavors, too, that I was skeptical of, but who knows, maybe that is where the flavor is.

It turned out the Josh didn't like the miso at all and barely touched it. (He ended up getting some sesame noodles that weren't that great either.) I liked my soup though as a noodle bowl it was a bit weak considering the strength of noodle bowls available in NYC. The broth was clear and good. I didn't finish the bowl, which is saying a lot for me, and since I abandoned it to eat more buns, it wasn't because I was full.

I was torn on Rickshaw. I really like what they are doing as a concept and will keep an eye on Annisa when it reopens but I wouldn't make the trek out there just for the buns. We took home two Rickshaw caps and I got a shirt that says "nice dumplings" across the boobs.