Chinese-American chef Ming Tsai, of the Emmy-nominated PBS series Simply Ming, is hosting an extravagant Dim Sum & Disco Brunch at the New York Wine & Food Festival, but he still appreciates cheap fried pork dumplings. Tsai joined us last week on a pot-sticker crawl that covered dumpling spots throughout downtown Manhattan, including Fried Dumpling, Tasty Dumpling, Vanessa’s Dumplings, Vanessa’s Dumpling House, Joe’s Shanghai, Shanghai Cuisine, Prosperity Dumpling, Dumpling Man, and Plump Dumpling. (Tsai enjoyed the variety of fillings at Rickshaw, which, incidentally, appears on The Tyra Banks Show today, but its new, steamed-only approach excluded them from consideration.) He rated seared specimens on a ten-point system for taste; five for texture; and another five awarded at his discretion. The chef prefers thin-skinned dumplings. “That’s what I grew up with,” he said. “Absolutely one’s better than the other.” Click through the slideshow to see which dumpling rules.
