Dumplings with Wings
We came here because:
We wanted a change of dumpling scenery. Sometimes we crave dumplings that are a little more high brow, and swing away from the usual options of pork and cabbage or pork and chives.
The décor was:
Basic, and a bit rickety. Dumplings with Wings looks more set up for takeaways than dining in. We decided to dine-in and found everything we ordered was served on paper plates with disposable cutlery.
The food was:
As its name suggests, the dumpling flavours hail from more places than just China. Currently they have a choice of Korean pork mandu, Japanese pork gyoza, Chinese vegan jiaozi, Mexican beef empanadas and Indian chicken momo. All orders are accompanied by a small salad, similarly from different parts of Asia. My friend Jamie and I ordered a large serving of dumplings ($25 for 15 pieces) allowing us to sample 3 different flavours. We opted for the gyoza, beef empanadas and chicken momo. This was accompanied by a Thai-inspired salad and we ordered a Chinese spring onion pancake ($5) for good measure.
Although I was initially skeptical about the Mexican beef empanada dumpling, this parcel of juicy minced beef, tomato, kidney beans, onion and spices was the clear favourite. Think chilli con carne, enveloped by a toothsome maroon coloured wrapper. This was closely followed by the Japanese pork gyoza, which had a strong mushroom flavour. The Indian chicken momo were sadly, quite bland. The Thai salad that accompanied our dumplings was a simple shredded cabbage and carrot number with a a smattering of mung bean sprouts, crispy shallots and coriander, with a coconut, sweet chilli and peanut butter dressing. Nothing outstanding but it is a refreshing accompaniment to the dumplings. The Chinese spring onion pancake, whilst well executed in being thin, hot and crispy, suffered a similar issue of blandness.
We loved:
Their commitment to cutting out crud. Dumplings with Wings don’t use any preservatives or MSG in their food and use natural food dyes to colour their dumplings.
If I could change one thing it would be:
Making those Chinese spring onion pancakes and momo tastier, somehow. Although I suspect this will be hard with their no MSG policy.
Overall:
A novel dumpling shop in the eastern ‘burbs with a few hits and misses. Hit them up on Fridays (when the Mexican dumplings are the flavour of the day) for ten empanadas, a pancake, and a salad for $18.
Dumplings with Wings
600 Remuera Road
Remuera
Auckland
This review was originally written for Cheap Eats.