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Chinatown dumpling place closing its doors forever at the end of the month
By adamg on Tue, 06/21/2022 - 9:48am
Never a branch store in town.
Gourmet Dumpling House on Beach Street reports it's lost its lease, so its last night of serving up dumplings will be June 30:
Thanks to all those who have supported Gourmet Dumpling House over the years, we are extremely proud of all that we have accomplished in these glorious years and be more thankful to those who have believed in us. We got so emotional when we see so many touching comments online, you are all our families! We will miss you all! Please also visit us at our Cambridge location or follow us on Instagram @dumplinghouse.cambridge for updates on our Cambridge location.
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Comments
While I'm sure whatever
While I'm sure whatever replaces it will be great, this is a huge loss. I'll have to check out the other location.
No.
This is a tragedy. THeir dumplings are exceptional, especially the juicy pork dumplings. If this keeps up, we’re going to be importing all our Chinese food from Quincy within a couple of years.
While the sign says there's
While the sign says there's no branch store, their message says to visit their Cambridge location. So I'll have to go check out Dumpling House between Harvard and Central.
The OG of the "dumpling"
The OG of the "dumpling" bunch in Chinatown.
RIP.
Branch or no branch?
The sign says they have no branch stores, but the post says there's another in Cambridge (that is staying open)
"In Town"
I would use the rest of the sentence to determine they meant in Boston. Since the other is in Cambridge.
A bit misleading though
And indeed, the Chinese description says that they only have one restaurant and no branches, without the "in town" disclaimer.
In the days of my youth, in
In the days of my youth, in town was the phrase of choice to refer to downtown Boston.
I believe the sign in the
I believe the sign in the window is in reference to the non-related restaurant directly across the street called Gourmet China House that popped up there a few years ago.
Here today, gone tomorrow
That's too bad. Even on the rare occasion when I was able to get in, the food was really good. Not sure but are the owners the same as the Taiwan Cafe? If so maybe it would make sense to you know, remodel the worn out cafe and relocate the dumplings there, just saying.
Either way, every Asian restaurant in the region that uses dumpling in their name owes them a debt of gratitude. They will be missed.
Who’s the jerk that didn’t
Who’s the jerk that didn’t renew their lease
Don't panic. Gourmet China House across the street
is from the same owners, has a very similar menu to Gourmet Dumpling House, and based on a recent visit is every bit as good.
But, rival Dumpling Cafe around the corner on Washington has better soup dumplings than both those two, in my book.
Non-Asian favorite??
I never understood why this place was so busy. It always had a line full of non-Asian people waiting to get in. I assumed they had a deal with the local colleges. The few times i went in, i enjoyed it but didn't quite understand the draw with so many other options close by. Hate to see another place closing though.
Blame the Phantom Gourmet, which featured
this place shortly after it opened ("Even a broken clock", etc.)
I have always pushed locals to nearby Taiwan Cafe and Dumpling Cafe, each of which is superior to GDH in its own way, and never seem to be as full of white faces. I always liked GDH, but wouldn't stand in line for it.
If you liked it, too, just walk across the street to its sibling Gourmet China House. I went the other day: it's very good.
There's X'ian at the Corner Mall
Apropos of the topic of Chinese food Downtown - I was thrilled to learn that there's now a X'ian style spot in the Corner Mall. (Never thrilled about going to the Corner Mall, but this place seems worth it - a far cry from the old Bourbon Grill and "Thai" and whatnot that populated this place in times past.)
Whether it's as good as other Western Chinese places like Chili Sq. in Quincy may be open for debate. But still, a novelty to find such a place in food-court-form and not be in Flushing or Sunset Park.
Have you tried this out yet?
If so, what did you think?
Five Spices House?
Maybe less so for dumplings, but I actually feel like their Sichuan food is just a bit brighter and better defined than Taiwan Cafe's. I'd happily eat at either but if I had the choice I'd go with five spice.
I love 5 Spices House, too, but it's
a straight-up Sichuan restaurant, so it may be a tad unfair to compare its food to local Taiwanese restaurants that do Sichuan dishes but also native-Taiwanese, Cantonese, Shandong, Shanghainese and other regional cuisines all on one menu. And I think the 5 Spiceses are among our best Sichuan places. My review of its Central Square sibling, which adds Sichuan spicy dry pot to the Chinatown original's menu.
The eclecticism of Taiwanese restaurants is a legacy of Mao's victory in the Chinese Civil War, which drove pro-democracy forces (including chefs) from all over China to Taiwan. If your party doesn't only want Sichuan food, that variety is a virtue.
In its defense, I think Gourmet Dumpling House does the best rendition among its Chinatown Taiwanese rivals of the soupy, molten-hot, classic Sichuan boiled fish dish called shui zhu yu (I forget what they call it there, often seen as "fish filets in spicy chili sauce" or the like). That one's a barn-burner.
Dumpling Cafeeeeeeee
I was gonna say, I can live without Gourmet Dumpling House, but if Dumpling Cafe goes away I will be UPSET.