I know what you’re thinking… who orders soup-filled
dumplings or xiao long baos for delivery? These babies are made to be
eat fresh from a steamer and straight into your mouth. If it’s not scaling your
tongue, something’s wrong. And you’re right, it’s not the best way to enjoy
these delicious morsels of pork, broth, and pastry, but when you’re craving
something and Juicy Dumplings flashes across the Uber app, attitudes can be
swayed.
Inevitably, once out of the steamer, the wrapper of the steamed
pork mini soup dumplings ($2.99 for 6 pieces) will harden. Nevertheless, even
with the delayed delivery (this Eglinton cross-town construction traffic is a
bane to freshness) the dumplings held up so that I could still pick them up
with chopsticks without any breakage. The filling was nicely seasoned, and the
dumpling contained plenty of broth; I could only imagine how much better they’d
be fresh.
The same dumpling can be ordered pan-fried ($3.99 for 6
pieces) and that extra crust on the bottom, while not pronounced, makes it a
little easier to deliver arriving warmer. However, considering the dish commands
a 25% premium for this very lightly done crust, I’m not sure this extra step is
worth the additional $1.
I’d go with the pan-fried chicken dumplings ($3.99 for 4
pieces) instead, while it also could use more time on the grill, at least the
dish is unique. These dumplings are bigger in size, just two are substantial,
and the filling is much denser. Still, these weren’t as nicely seasoned, so you
really need a dipping sauce to counteract the bland chicken mixture.
If you are a condiment fiend, you’ll probably find the small standard Wing Wing sauce packages that comes one per dish a little lacking, especially when condiments are typically offered free at the table in Shanghainese restaurants. Still, I can understand the need to conserve expensive packaged sauces: Juicy Dumpling’s low prices like mean margins are razor thin. All in all, while these would have been 100% better at the restaurant, I was nonetheless pleasantly surprised how they didn’t suck being delivered.
Address: Various locations
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never order again
- 6 - decent for delivery and takeout, but there's better
- 7 - this is good, for delivery and takeout
- 8 - great for delivery and takeout, it's almost like you're in a restaurant
- 9 - wow, it's like I'm eating at a restaurant
- 10 - I'd happily order this for delivery or takeout instead of dining in any day!
Is That It? I Want More!
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