chef – The Concordian

Check out the Dumpling Hut on a break in between your classes!

Located on Clarke Street, the Dumpling Hut is almost not visible to the naked eye. If you drive past it you will probably miss it if you do not look up and see the sign.

Walking through the front door of the Dumpling Hut, you are greeted by an entrance full of post-it notes from guests who have tried the restaurant.

Post-It note entrance at the Dumpling Hut. Photo by Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

AMBIANCE:

I decided to try out the Dumpling Hut on a Friday afternoon. The restaurant itself is pretty small, but you instantly get warm and homey vibes when you walk in. Something that I found pretty interesting was a huge traffic light in the corner of the restaurant.

I was expecting the place to be packed but to my surprise, it was only my boyfriend and I in the restaurant and we got to pick our seats.

In terms of service we got waited on pretty quick by a very friendly server.

FOOD:

The menu itself was pretty compact. The restaurant offered portions of dumplings in either 10 or 16 pieces. You can also choose to get them steamed or fried for an extra charge.

Dumpling Hut menu. Photo by Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

I’ve had experience in the past with fried dumplings and whenever I ordered them, they would always sit pretty heavy in my stomach; so out of caution, I went with the steamed ones.

Out of all the filling options on the menu, the combination of lamb and coriander was speaking to me. My boyfriend and I ended up ordering the same thing. I ordered 10 dumplings and he ordered 16.

While we were waiting, we could see the chef preparing our dumplings. We could view her laying the outside dough of dumplings and carefully filling each one.

When we got the food, we dug in. The dumplings were a delightful explosion of flavour, as the coriander in the filling brought a level of freshness to the dumplings. I absolutely loved it.

Lamb and coriander dumplings at the Dumpling Hut. Photo by Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

I dipped my dumplings in the spicy sauce that they had on the table and it elevated the flavour for me. I rate the dumplings 9/10.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

I feel that for the location and the price of the dumplings, it was excellent. The other dumplings on the menu vary in price, depending on the quantity, filling and whether you get them fried or not. For $15, I got a great plate of food, great service and a very cool atmosphere.

I definitely recommend trying out the Dumpling Hut if you are in the area or even if you have a break from classes.

Which poutine will you be voting for?

When you think of February, what comes to mind? Valentine’s day? Superbowl? I think of La Poutine Week!

This year, La Poutine Week spans over two weeks from Feb. 1-14. I had the chance to speak with Na’eem Adam, co-founder of La Poutine Week. Adam founded La Poutine Week alongside his colleague Thierry Rassam.

“This started off as a hobby for Thierry [Rassam] and I. Every year, this festival has grown to become more and more a Canadian festival, than [a] Montreal or Quebecois festival,” Adam said.

Adam explained that when people think of poutine, they think of Montreal or Quebec. But poutine has really been a dish that has become popularized outside the province.

“There are more than 1,000 locations all across the country that are participating in the festival. In the last 11 years, poutine has become a Canadian celebrated dish,” Adam said.

Adam explained that the best part of La Poutine Week is the multiculturalism from the participating restaurants who offer dishes like a Thai poutine, a Piri-Piri poutine, Indian-influenced poutine, and much more.

You can find a list of all the participating restaurants in your area on La Poutine Week’s website.

“The mission that we have had since the beginning was to help support local restaurants. We just wanted to find something that would pull people together to try poutine guilt-free,” Adam said.

You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to participate in the festivities, as La Poutine Week has partnered with DoorDash and Sysco.

Adam highly recommends trying the poutines in-person and voting for your favourites on the website.

That is exactly what I did over the past weekend.

I live near Paulo et Suzanne, a 24-hour diner located on Boul. Gouin in the Ahuntsic Cartierville borough of Montreal. The poutine that they entered in the festival was Poutine Pop’n’Hot.

As I walked into the diner, I saw the big colourful sign that had a picture of the Pop’n’Hot. When I sat down, I immediately ordered that.

Pop’n’Hot poutine for La Poutine Week. Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

When my order had arrived, I was overwhelmed to say the least. It was huge. The poutine was made up of hot peppers, popcorn chicken, SouthWest sauce, fries, cheese curds and of course gravy.

When I took the first bite it was like a flavour explosion in my mouth. The peppers provided a good source of heat to cut through all the fat from the cheese curds and gravy. The only thing I would omit would be the SouthWest sauce. I rate that poutine an 8/10.

To vote and rate poutines, you have to make an account on the La Poutine Week website.

The Pop’n’Hot was such a delicious poutine that it made me curious to know what other poutines are out there. I was able to speak with president of the Fromagerie Victoria franchise Marc-André Gosselin. He told me all about this year’s poutine.

“It’s called the Rétro. It has fried pickles, coleslaw and smoked meat,” Gosselin said.

This year’s poutine from Fromagerie Victoria is a collective idea from all the participating franchises.

If this hasn’t gotten your mouth watering yet, I don’t know what will. This year’s edition of the festival promises some exciting poutines.