I recently embarked on another tour around to a few restaurants in Richmond that specialize in a variety of house-made dumplings. If you didn’t already know, there are over 20 different types of Asian dumplings that come in all shapes and forms, from water-boiled, to deep-fried, steamed and even dessert dumplings.

Tourism Richmond has created and recently updated a walkable, self-guided tour that showcases Richmond as a culinary destination. Each location on the Trail offers unique varieties of dumplings and Tourism Richmond has identified some of the city’s best.

Starting off at Empire Seafood Restaurant, a first time visit for me, it’s a beautiful yet busy restaurant serving up daily dim sum in the heart of Richmond. One thing to know is that if you dine before 11am you get 20% off your bill, this is a great tip. If you glance at the Richmond Dumpling Trail map you will see which dumplings they specialize in here and they have many more on their menu. I enjoyed the Har Gow (shrimp dumplings), Wu Gok (taro dumpling filled with duck) along with the Siu Mai, Scallop Dumplings and the Mushroom truffle dumpling.

Next stop was a few blocks away to the new Dinesty Dumpling House on Gilbert Road, this 20,000 sq foot recent is the newest and largest restaurant for this local chain. Here I enjoyed the Xiao Long Bao (Soup dumplings), Cucumber with garlic and chili peppers, Drunken chicken with wine, Vegi & pork wontons and Steamed red bean buns.

Last stop was to Samsoonie Noodle & Rice a great new discovery for me where they specialize in Korean comfort food. I loved the Fried Korean Spicy Dumplings which are known as Mandu, also loved the Vegetables with Potato Noodles and Mandu (Dumplings); also had some of their Banchan along with the Wonton soup, and Seafood pancake that was filled with seafood.

The Dumpling Trail offers visitors the opportunity to explore Richmond’s food scene, while demystifying Asian cuisine in the city, check out the types of dumplings on offer here. This was a fun way to explore Richmond’s diverse dumpling scene and a tasty one at that.

By: Richard Wolak