(traditional Chinese fare) at Dumpling Palace near Berklee

At a glance:

179 Mass. Ave, Boston, MA

Price: $$

Stars (out of 5): 4

I got pretty hungry touring around Berklee School of Music, so I ventured into Dumpling Palace by myself at the risk of getting judged for eating Chinese food by myself. Oh well, my stomach’s satisfaction comes first, always. It’s not that I don’t enjoy eating by myself, it’s that Chinese cuisine is mostly a family style one that intends for dishes to be shared among people. Immediately when I walked into the restaurant, I loved the atmosphere. Dumpling Palace is bright, open, and modern, not typical for a traditional Chinese restaurant. The menu is very authentic and appealing to someone who grew up eating traditional Chinese food, but contains Americanized dishes as well to appeal to a broader clientele. Though dumplings are their specialty, and they have many different varieties of dumplings: steamed, fried, buns, shumai, all of which come in an assortment of fillings, their noodles and rice dishes sound quite delicious as well.

    

The service was superb. The waiters were attentive and got my orders on my table within 10 minutes. I got a small dish of beef with tendons and tripe to start, then seafood chow-fun and also a basket of crab soup dumplings. The beef with tendons and tripe was very well-seasoned, and I could tell the meat was quality and fresh. It was lightly spicy but not nearly as spicy as this dish should be, so that was a bummer. The roasted peanuts, chili flakes, and anise on top of the beef were a nice touch. Loved the bits of cilantro too! Tendons and tripe are both very chewy types of offal, but because tripe is found in the stomach, it’s much more light and has more surface area. Eating tripe is like eating a cold piece of edible sponge with a chewy surface texture. Yeah it doesn’t sound very appealing does it? But how would you know if you never try. It’s actually really refreshing.

a closer look at the tendons and tripe

The seafood chow-fun was under-seasoned and leaned towards the oily side. The flat rice noodles were smooth on the tongue and maintained their chewiness, the seafood was cooked well and there was a lot of it! I didn’t quite enjoy the large pieces of leek lurking around the noodles. The leek tasted too raw and wasn’t incorporated into the dish as an aromatic flavor enhancer, but instead jarred my taste buds.  Sprouts were nicely sautéed.

And my favorite dish of the night was the crab soup dumplings. These soup dumplings were not greasy, which is kind of a miracle in that alone, and very flavorful. The crabmeat mixed with the minced pork made the whole flavor profile a lot more interesting. The broth inside after you poke open the thin dumpling skin was delightfully salty and hearty.

the beautifulness inside is not to be underestimated

   

Did I mention the whole time I was eating, the Harry Potter soundtrack was playing?

Overall, a very traditional meal with very enjoyable food. They are open every single day from 11 am to 3am in the morning, bless them. For the Berklee kids who crave dumplings after some late night composition and practicing, you are in luck.

Eat on!