Are these the best dumplings in London? TOM PARKER BOWLES reviews new West London hotspot Mr Dumpling
Initial reports weren’t exactly glowing. ‘Pretty second rate,’ said my friend Mel. ‘Rubbish,’ complained my son Freddy. ‘I still can’t believe they replaced the hotpot with this.’ And therein lies the rub. Because Mr Dumpling, which sits on the Shepherd’s Bush end of Goldhawk Road, was once home to Shu Xiang Ge HotPot, a place of steamy windows and seething broths.At once violent with dried chillies and fragrant with Sichuan pepper, one dipped all manner of flesh, fish and fungi into this bubbling brew. It was our place of weekly pilgrimage, both restorative and therapeutic. And then all of a sudden, it was gone.
Those fuggy windows were wiped and widened, and there are now three chefs behind the glass, clad in immaculate whites, filling dumplings then pinching them into shape with well-honed élan. This is not a place to linger. Orders are made via a tabletop QR code (although there are menus if you ask nicely), and service is brusquely efficient. I’ve been twice now, but have yet to delve into the wilder reaches of a fairly extensive menu, where intestines, pig’s ears and spinal cord lurk. Those pleasures are still to come, along with a hearty selection of noodle soups.
Pots of soy sauce, chilli oil and vinegar sit on every table, so you can customise your dip.
Mr Dumpling’s menu: ‘no-nonsense and good value’
Finely shredded potato comes first with its gentle crunch and hint of dried chilli. Then cool smacked cucumbers with peanuts and a bracing vinegar kick. Hangzhou xiaolongbao take the form of densely fluffy steamed buns, rather than the usual soup-filled pastry, but have a comforting heft and decent spice, too. We order pork and pickled-cabbage steamed dumplings, a dozen tightly packed ears for under 13 quid, the pastry not too thick, the filling fresh and well-seasoned. Prawn, pork and chive dumplings are equally respectable: pure, clean and chewy in all the right ways. The ingredients here are a cut above the norm. Pork and prawn potstickers, on the other hand, are a touch dull.
Still, Mr Dumpling bustles along merrily, eternally full with a mainly Chinese crowd. You can even buy fresh dumplings to take away and steam at home.
OK, so it will never replace that beloved hotpot. But if you’re after no-nonsense, good-value steamed dumplings, served fast with the minimum of fuss, Mr Dumpling delivers.
About £25 per head. Mr Dumpling, 10-12 Goldhawk Road, London W12; instagram.com/mr.dumpling888
