Northern Pasta - Chinese Dumplings - A Michael Shum Discovery

 Friend Michael Shum writes: "

Dumplings are Northern China’s specialty. A friend from Beijing highly recommends this place that specializes in Northern Cuisine, especially Dumplings.

I wanted to try their Fennel Pork Dumplings, but they ran out. I picked my second choice which is the Mackerel Dumplings. I think this is the first time I’ve tried authentic Northern-style Dumplings. It’s so good that my Northerner friend says she doesn’t even need her Mom to homemade it for her.

The casing or skin is what stands out to me, different than other Dumpling skin I’ve tried before. It’s way smoother and delicate, instead of doughy and chewy. The stuffing has just the right amount of flavors, breaks apart nicely when bitten, and is moist and juicy. I’m quite impressed by the quality of the dumpling. Even after finishing a full order, I think I can still eat another full order.

My friend also told me that skin that is too chewy and doughy is harder to digest and make people feel stuffy; that’s why this type of smooth delicate skin is preferable to the Northerners.

The language barrier might be an issue here. They have a great website northernpasta.com that shows all the menu items under “order online”, but the online ordering service is not available now.

I’m a fan of Bao Shi Yi on Bellaire, and Northern Pasta is a worthy contemporary and counterpart dumpling restaurant. I will definitely visit frequently to try out all the Dumpling options they have and move on to Bao and Breakfast Item. Soy Bean Milk that is unsweetened is also very good, it’s a drink I usually order if the restaurant makes them in-house.

All in all, I’m happy that Houston provides a large selection of authentic Chinese cuisine, in addition to the more assessable Chinese American food. Despite the challenges and difficulties we Houstonians go through, this city is still very awesome to me."

Note from Jay Francis: There is an app that I have downloaded but have yet to try that reads the Chinese characters and posts a translation and a photo of the food dish. It is called Waygo and costs $12 in the Apple App Store.