Dumpling House

The Dumpling House in New York has become a Lower East Side/​Chinatown institution and whenever I am there, I’m always ready to wait in line for a box of 5 fat, juicy, crispy pork and leek dumplings.
Imagine my surprise when I found a Dumpling House right here in Philadelphia, on Race between 9^th and 10^th.
$ 2.50 will get you 8 large, juicy dumplings with a skin just thick enough to fry up to a nice satisfying crisp while not overwhelming the filling inside. As for the filling inside… the best and original is the pork and leek mix. Combine this with some of the provided dark vinegar as a sauce and it is exactly what a fried dumpling should taste like. There are also other options including pork and cabbage (too gingery) and vegetable.
Some other great options besides dumplings include the sesame pancake, which can be stuffed with 5-​spiced beef and vegetables, as well as the wonton soup with fresh shrimp wontons.
Now, although I think the food is great, I give it three stars because the service is quite slow and not what you expect from a «Dumpling House.» When I want to eat dumplings or a sesame pancake, I want something fast and to-​go. Give this place some time, as I think they are just starting out and understaffed, but takeout will take you 10 minutes just to get some dumplings and eat-​in will take even longer. There were moments when I just wanted to get up to serve myself some tea or clear my own dishes… as the waitress seemed way too overwhelmed to handle all 7 tables in the restaurant at once.
And how does this compare to the famed NY Dumpling House on Eldridge and Grand? Not exactly the same… but good enough. A little more expensive than NY and the dumplings are a bit smaller. I also think that the NY dumplings have a bit more substance and bite to them. The service out there is also much faster, but they don’t have a sit down area like Philly’s Dumpling House. I think this place has great food — they just need to pick up the pace!