Food: ☆☆☆½

Service: ☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $

Must try: Egg and Cilantro,  Fish and Lotus Root, Duck Meat with Mushroom, Pork with Shrimp, Egg and Chives and the pan-fried dumplings.

An official temple to dumplings has now been opened at Dumpling Galaxy at the brand new Arcadia Mall in Flushing. The owner is none other than the queen of dumplings Helen You, of Tianjin Dumpling House fame.

So ofcourse my foodie buddies Cindy of Chubby Chinese Girl Eats and Terry of Food Journies and I had to go and pay homage there.

Dumpling Galaxy is housed in bright, modern digs outfitted with personal TV screens in each booth showcasing the 100 plus varieties of dumplings that are available on the menu. It’s quite a far cry from its modest and intimate origins in the basement of Flushing’s Golden Shopping Mall where Tianjin Dumpling House still thrives.

The menu at Dumpling Galaxy is extensive offering over a 100 different kinds of dumplings, which are made to order. The prices are much higher than the average dumpling joint in Flushing but still reasonable in comparison to New York City prices.

Just as at Tianjin, the fillings that Helen You offers are off the beaten track. There is so much more than “pork and chives” that one can order here. Not all the dumplings are stars but there were enough that hit home for me to make me a believer.

The standouts for me were the Egg and Cilantro,  Fish and Lotus Root, Duck Meat with Mushroom, Pork with Shrimp, Egg and Chives and the pan-fried dumplings.

Their pan-fried dumplings are really good and must be tried. I would stay away from the lamb and beef dumplings – which I personally found too meaty and just not good. The dessert dumplings were also a bit of a let down. They do however offer a full menu of all kinds of food other than dumplings too.

The staff at Dumpling Galaxy are very helpful and sweet but the efficiency rapidly declines as each round of dumplings is served. I think that the staff and kitchen are having a hard time coping with all the press and attention that they have received in the past few months but hopefully, with time they will be able to work out the glitches to a more smooth sailing experience.

Here is some of what we ate: