We are in the middle of a dumpling renaissance

"How lucky we are to be alive right now" isn't just a lyric from Hamilton. It's also joyous refrain of many food lovers. Because we are smack in the middle of the golden age of dumplings. 

Many of the dumpling hotspots popping up around the country are run by people who grew up cooking and eating dumplings. These owners and chefs bring both a modern sensibility and a classic understanding of the technique and importance of the dish to the table. 

Hannah and Miriam Cheng of social media superstar dumpling emporium Mimi Cheng's tell Mashable, "We grew up eating this food, so we’re just glad to see the rest of world is catching on! Our mom always made her dumplings with sustainable and local ingredients[...] For us, we think the craze is in the limelight because all of the above, in terms of convenience and taste."

Nom Wah Tea Parlor has operated on NYC's Doyers Street since 1920, but only started serving dim sum all day long, including dinner, since Wilson Tang took the helm in 2011. Since then, the restaurant has expanded in to Philadelphia and, earlier this month, opened its first fast casual concept in New York's Nolita neighborhood. The original version features charming signage, while the new branch is all iPads, televisions playing sports games and sleek, modern design. Both specialize in crave-worthy dim sum, including dumplings. 

Though Nom Wah serves food beyond dumplings at its locations, expansion after nearly a century of one storefront is a clear sign that the world is ready for more delicious dumplings. 

Drunken Dumpling believes bigger is better. The eatery specializes in gargantuan soup dumplings drunk with a straw and draws a daily line of people each vying for a taste of the savory broth filled dumpling. Owner Yuan Lee and his mother Qihui Guan, who used to make dumplings at Joe's Shanghai, make only 25 of the garganutan dumplings per day. The concept for the XL soup dumpling (xiao long bao) came when a conventionally sized dumpling dropped on the floor. 

Lee tells the NY Post, "We joked about seeing if we could create a bigger dumpling that wouldn’t break [...]  there are some bigger dumplings in Hong Kong and Taiwan, very few stores carry it, and we wanted to do our own version.”


If you miss out on the XL xiao long bao, don't worry — the dumpling-focused spot has you covered with other dumplings filled with gourmet and locally-sourced ingredients. 

Mimi Cheng's (which recently opened a second NYC location with an expanded menu) was at the forefront of inventive dumplings when it opened in 2014 selling Taiwanese dumplings made with fresh, high quality ingredients. The menu doesn't restrict itself to conventional dumplings and continually offers dumpling specials alongside traditional fare. 

Monthly specials range from cheeseburger to taco and kabocha squash with parsnips and Chinese chives. The Cheng sisters tell Mashable, "While we love that our staple dumpling fillings allow us to honor the tradition we grew up on, we also have had a lot of fun using unexpected ingredients to celebrate the seasons or collaborations with chefs and restaurants we admire." 

They also say, "The most important part of a dumpling (and why we started Mimi Cheng’s) is connecting friends and family around the table together with a home-cooked meal."

It's just a bonus dumplings are also delicious.