What makes for a proper Chinese feast? Some might say diversity of flavor, but I prefer the known quantities that are dumplings and camaraderie. Really, there’s no better time to test out the adage, “Liquor before beer; you’re in the clear,” than when you’re among friends – friends who care about such things as being able to put down more dumplings than you.

The truth is, all dumpling feasts test your core eating strength, making you feel the burn in all the wrong places. Yet, pound of dumpling meat for pound, you’d be hard pressed to find one with more heartiness packed into each bite than at the Dongbei dumpling house, a perfect setting for a feast to help you forget all your foibles and a reminder of why, when it comes to personal eating habits, you hate the word “foible” anyways.

Dongbei refers to the Northeast region of China, known for its biting cold and unthinkable levels of poverty. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but when it’s cold and the threat of famine lurks around every corner, it’s best to eat – and drink – up whenever you can. This, my friends, is why comfort food was invented.

Whoever thought up the words “comfort food” is an evil genius with a predilection for doublethink: whenever I think of the phrase, I conjure up thoughts of delicious food that’s also deplorable in the sense that it makes you uncomfortably full. Fried chicken and mac-and-cheese are obvious American candidates, but there’s no chance I could eat either of them with as much frequency – and voracity – as I can the Dongbei dumpling.

Shanghai is littered with Dongbei restaurants, all of them possessing the subtlety of a jackhammer. Somehow, this turns out to be a good thing. Menus scream at you with bright, bold-faced lettering, parading lesser meats (donkey, dog) and dumpling fillings as if they were the last items at a clearance sale.

As a matter of fact, certain foods are like the last items at a clearance sale. At my go-to Dongbei dumpling house, where it’s feast and never famine, a clear rice noodle in peanut and chili sauce dish (majiang lapi) is arguably the piece de resistance: a little sweet, a little sour and a little spicy, with the kind of slippery, seductive texture that only gets better upon repeated munchings. Only problem is: It runs out fast. And trust me, no amount of cajoling or groveling to the waitstaff can change the fact that Chinese people eat early and often, and always know what’s at stake – in this case, the best rice noodles in peanut and chili sauce that you’ll have in Shanghai.

Lucky for us, then, that the dumplings never run out, and like most food meant for mass consumption, are better enjoyed with a mass of like-minded people who enjoy nothing more than mass destruction at the dinner table. Consider yourself lucky to be seated at a table among such gastronomical giants, but consider yourself warned that there will be little to no consensus on choice of dumpling filling. The vegetarians will crow about the mushroom-and-greens but blanch at the sight of dark-mushroom-and-meat (my brother’s personal favorite). Cilantro lovers are derisive of celery buffs, but both bow down to green pepper (my filling of choice). Leek dumplings, on the other hand? I love them, but nobody else really seems to… probably because they’re the wrong shade of green.

The dumplings (or dumps, as they’re more affectionately known by our merry band of miscreant overstuffers) at my Dongbei diner aren’t always the most consistent (loose, flabby skin is loose, flabby skin in any context), but when they are, boy, do they hurt so good. Down them with a beer or five of Harbin’s finest, and leave no dumps behind. This is the clearance sale of feasts – everything must go.

Dongbei Dumpling King
1791 Middle Huaihai Rd (near Wanping Rd)
Shanghai, China

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 1:03 am and is filed under Shanghai.