By Ellen Spitaleri
When Hungry Dumpling House, a new Chinese restaurant, opened on August 1 at SE 41st Ave. and Hawthorne Blvd., it marked the coming together of three best friends and cousins, each bringing something unique to the table.
Co-owner Ting Chen chose the décor, with the goal of giving the place an authentic yet modern Chinese feel. Then she and co-owner Emily Chen carefully chose only dishes that they loved for the menu, ones that they knew chef Chengcheng Zhen would be passionate about cooking.
Ting, who has previous restaurant experience, noted that many Chinese restaurants have multiple-page menus, but she and her partners chose a smaller menu, with dishes that “people like best, and everything is good.”
As for the name Hungry Dumpling, she noted that when people get hungry for dumplings, they will know where to come, since the restaurant specializes in dumplings of all kinds.
Ting also said that she and her partners chose the space on Hawthorne Blvd. because there are diverse kinds of businesses that people can walk to in the area.
The menu features four distinctive styles of dumplings, including steamed, pan seared or boiled, sauced and dumplings XLB. Prices range from $7.50 for shu mai and har gow, to $16.50 for crab and pork XLB. XLB dumplings “are a more traditional and juicy steamed dumpling, with a little bit of soup inside,” Ting noted.
For the vegetarian, there are veggie and mushroom steamed dumplings and mushroom pan-seared or boiled dumplings, along with stir-fried dishes like garlic bok choy, sauteed string beans and eggplant in hot garlic sauce.
Other menu items abound with appetizers, noodles, fried rice, chow mein, soups, ramen, stir-fried dishes and ala carte options, including sweet and sour chicken and General Tso’s chicken.
Ting noted that customers’ favorite dishes include wonton in chili oil and chicken dumplings. One specialty item that is Ting’s favorite is salted egg yolk wings, which is cooked in a wok.
She added that salt and spice levels can be adjusted up or down for customers by request.
Desserts include deep-fried sesame balls, steamed red bean buns, sesame buns and egg-yolk buns. Drinks range from tea and soft drinks to an array of beer and wine.
There are always challenges when opening a new business, and Ting said that they had to remodel the entire space. But that turned out to be a good thing, as neighbors walked by all the time to check on their progress, and people were so happy when the place finally opened, she said.
For her, the most fun part of co-owning Hungry Dumpling is when the place is packed with people from the neighborhood who all say the food is good.
Ting also said that she wanted the space to look like a welcoming family and neighborhood-oriented restaurant, like one might find in modern-day China. She especially likes all the natural wood tables and chairs, and the big windows, which allow plenty of light to greet customers coming in for lunch.
Emily runs the house, taking orders and making suggestions for first-time diners. “Some people don’t know what a dumpling is, and we have some that are not traditional that other places do not have,” she said.
In addition to the dumplings, customer favorites include curry katsu chicken and ramen with veggies, pork, chicken or shrimp.
This is Emily’s first business, so she commented on the challenges involved in hiring responsible people. She runs the house by herself weekdays, and brings in help on the weekends, while Zhen has two or three assistants in the kitchen.
Her favorite moments include when “customers and neighbors come in and say they love our food and then come back again.”
Hungry Dumpling House
4111 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
503.206.5271
Hungrydumplinghouse.com
Tuesday-Sunday 11 am-11 pm
Newly opened Hungry Dumpling House serves up a varied selection of dumplings and other Chinese dishes in a space with plenty of natural light and a contemporary ambiance. Photo by Dick Trtek.
