Kai Feng Food!

I would like to begin by saying that Chowhound is amazing. Although it is useful for many things, I am obsessed with its message boards. When I moved to Sunset Park, I was overwhelmed with the hundreds of restaurants in the neighborhood. I wanted my food experiences in my new neighborhood to get off on the right foot, so I searched Chowhound for something special. I’ve been to a handful of restaurants based on peoples’ approval at Chowhound and they’ve all been great experiences. I will eventually get to all of them, but I would actually like to start with my most recent Chowhound-approved expedition.

There is an amazing Chinatown in Sunset Park and I was looking for a place with great dumplings, and I was led to Kai Feng Fu on 48th St. above 8th Ave. When you walk into this primarily take-out restaurant, there is a large menu above the counter. There’s quite the variety of dumplings, including pork and leek, pork and vegetable, pork and shrimp, and chicken and mushroom. You can get five pork and leek or pork and vegetable dumplings for $1. Let’s just say, I had to calm myself down before ordering. I was pretty hungry, but not extremely hungry, but after seeing those prices, I wanted to order everything.

Instead, I got five pork and leek dumplings, a ‘beef pancake’ ($1.50), and a can of ginger ale (75¢) for $3.25. Just writing this gets me pumped. After I ordered my food, I was quickly given the beef pancake, which is sliced beef in a sesame pancake, sandwich-style. I had never had a sesame pancake before, and it is essentially a thicker scallion pancake – almost the thickness of focaccia, but much less dense. So, between two slices of light, greasy sesame pancake is sliced beef. And that’s it. Vegetables and sauces are a distraction to this very basic, delicious feast.

After eating the beef pancake in the street, my friends and I noticed the back of the kitchen, where there are five or six women sitting and stuffing dumplings. I was of course still hungry after the sandwich and got even more excited about the dumplings after seeing this display. I don’t know if pork dumplings could ever taste ‘fresh,’ but this is close as they can get.

There is a separate dining area behind the kitchen with a few large tables and we sat there while we waited for what we came for. They came after what seemed like twenty minutes, but was actually closer to five, which was very impressive because it was packed. They fry the dumplings on one side and when they get to you they’re stuck together a little. When you pull them apart you can tell the dough is perfectly chewy and this only made me even more hungry.

So, the bottoms of the dumplings are crunchy from being fried, and the rest of the dough is soft and chewy. The gold, though, goes to the filling: tender pork, crunchy leeks, and delicious spices make these things take four seconds to eat. I haven’t had too much experience with dumplings, but these are really, really good.

I’ve been back a few times since my first trip and have tried different things from the menu (along with, of course, the pork and leek dumplings). The chicken and mushroom dumplings (eight for $2) are steamed and rather plain, but are a good contrast to the pork. Lighter and more gentle, they’re great to eat in between pork dumplings, mainly because this delays the inevitable—the end of the pork dumplings. I have also gotten their spare rib noodle soup ($2.50), which is also pretty good. The broth is really dark and rich, which is great, and the meat is incredibly tender. However, the noodles are nothing special and do not come close to other noodles I’ve had in the area.

My sister is a vegetarian (pescetarian), so I wanted to try the vegetable dumplings (eight for $2) and report back. They are steamed and are filled with numerous vegetables, including leek, carrot, celery, and other healthy stuff. I really enjoyed these and are probably my favorite next to the pork and leek. Another very important thing to note is that you can purchase thirty frozen pork and leek or pork and vegetable dumplings for $5. Super Bowl party?!