Mimi Cheng's Dumplings

I am going to be posting some backlogged New York restaurants so Hong Kong friends please don't kill me when you get excited and then realize it's thousand of miles away!

I love love love dumplings and Mimi Cheng's is a must visit! I love how they use their mother's recipes and how they also keep things creative by partnering up with other popular restaurants for special monthly dumpling collaborations. Mimi Cheng's is started by two sisters and the shop is super cute and serves awesome food. I love how they named the restaurant after their mom and each dumpling has a adorable little background story. Apart from their regular menu, they have incredible monthly specials where they collaborate with a popular restaurant (I see that they now collaborate with businesses that aren't only restaurants now also!) in New York to create the special dumpling. I was lucky to try two great monthly specials, the Blacktap and Sunday Sauce dumpling. Apart from dumplings, they also serve other yummy dishes such as noodles and veggies.

Slather this on! It's delicioussss

Spicy Dan Dan Noodles - Soba Noodles, Housemade Chili Garlic Oil, Tahini, Baby Bok Choy
I love sesame sauce so this noodle was right up my alley. I loved how it really packed a flavor punch but also used very simple and health ingredients. The bok choy added a much needed crunch and the chili oil was fragrant and spicy. This is something I definitely want to try recreating myself at home. 

Reinvented Classic Dumplings - Pasture Raised Pork, Baby Bok Choy, and Cabbage
These dumplings were awesome! The skin was the perfect thickness and each dumpling was nice and crispy. The filling was well flavored and you can tell that the ingredients are fresh. The meat was not overly fatty but still very juicy. These dumplings are also large! They will definitely fill you up. 

Look at this beauty! 

Monthly Special Sunday Summer Dumplings - Pasture-raised Beef and Pork, Fresh Basil, Parsley, Mozzarella, and Parmesan Meatballs in Marinara Sauce 
These dumplings are definitely more on the heavy/hearty side! The marinara could be slightly more tart to offset the meaty dumplings but they were still very tasty. I usually would prefer a little more veggie in my dumplings though. 

Monthly Special Black Tap Burger Dumplings - Dry-aged Pasture-raised Beef, Caramelized Onions, Blue Cheese, Summer Tomatoes, Arugula, and Dill Buttermilk Sauce 
OMG these dumplings were BOMB. The tomato and arugula was the perfect freshness to the indulgent beef and onion. The dill sauce was also quite tart and creamy and was perfect with the dumplings. These dumplings are some of the best I've ever had and also super unique! I was so sad when they were no longer available. 

I love Mimi Cheng's and am so sad that I am no longer able to enjoy their great dumplings! The food is awesome and I also love the story behind the restaurant. I would definitely recommend going!

Mimi Cheng's Dumplings

179 Second Ave. 

East Village 

New York

NY 10003

Chinese Noodle House

I had a massive craving for dumplings and so I was super excited when I heard that there was a authentic Chinese shop near our office. The lady there also smoke mandarin which I was super excited about as I have barely practiced my mando skillssince my Tsinghua days so I was super eager to show her some what my Chinese program taught me (and years and years in HKIS haha...). Unfortunately the dumplings were only ok but the noodles were actually really good! I should be smart next time and get the noodles since the name of the place is Chinese Noodles House... either way, the dumplings weren't bad and it was a comforting meal at a crazy cheap price. They have people hand-pulling the noodles at the front which is also a tourist favorite (although I am not sure how many tourists come here). I got the water booked and the deep fried dumplings. I realized that many places here only deep fry dumplings and don't pan fry them like places usually do. I suspect that it may be because it is faster and requires less effort?

Fried Noodle with Pork and Egg
I had a small bite of this because it was my friends and I really enjoyed it! The noodles were chewy and had a great bite to them. The egg was also super yummy as it was smothered in the sauce and te amount of veggie and meat was also good. I will definitely get this next time.

Water-cooked Dumplings
As you can see, the dumplings are slightly messy and they definitely contained much more veggie than pork. I usually don't mind that there is a higher ratio of veggie to pork but this was to the next level. The skin was a bit too thin as I like to have a bit of a chew to my dumpling. They were not bad, but I think I will order the noodles next time! 

A must visit when you are in Phnom Penh? Definitely not, but if you are here for a longer stay and you are craving some yummy noodles and average dumplings for cheap, definitely hits the spot. 

Chinese Noodle House

No. 551 Monivong Blvd

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

Dumprings