26/09/2022

Little Dumpling King, Stoke-on-Trent

Little Dumpling King in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, serves up its take on well-loved East Asian favourites: Chinese dumplings and bao buns with tasty fillings. On my first visit to this casual bar and restaurant I found reasonable prices and good flavours alongside a truly memorable, lip-smacking dish.

Little Dumpling King opened its doors a couple of months ago, joining the ranks of independent food and drink on Piccadilly in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

In the heart of the city’s Cultural Quarter, just opposite the Regent Theatre, Little Dumpling King is the brainchild of Rob McIntyre, former chef at Meltdown in Chester. Like so many new businesses, Little Dumpling King grew out of the lockdowns of 2020 when the whole of hospitality had to innovate to survive. For McIntyre, that meant making and delivering Chinese dumplings.

Then, at the end of July this year, Little Dumpling King opened as a fully-fledged restaurant at 50 Piccadilly, taking over the site that had been home to The Orchard Bar & Bistro.

LITTLE DUMPLING KING

From the black and red décor, the skateboards on the walls, and the promise of ‘banging booze and loud f#©king music’, Little Dumpling King is geared to a youngish crowd. But if you’re a middle-aged croc like me, or just fancy something a little more sedate, that needn’t put you off.

Open from 12.00 noon on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (from 4.00 pm Wednesdays and Thursdays, closed Monday and Tuesday), you can do what I did and go at lunchtime. Along with my other half, ID, I turned up just after opening last Saturday (there’s no booking, just walk-ins) and enjoyed a relaxed vibe with music not at all obtrusive.

LITTLE DUMPLING KING MENU

The menu is a short and simple one, split into Dumplings, Baos, and Sides. It’s set to change regularly and there’s also a blackboard with daily food and drink specials.

Little Dumpling King september menu — *LDK menu Sep ’22 (tap to enlarge)*

Our friendly server explained that the food would come out as it was ready, so not necessarily all at once. Which was fine by me.

DUMPLINGS

On my visit, there were four choices of Chinese-style dumpling. Two were vegan (sweet potato and kale or wasabi pea and mint, both £6.25) and two meaty (pork or beef, both £6.85).

ID and I shared a plate of the beef dumplings and one of pork. They came as four dumplings per portion, with a sweet yet tart (presumably rice vinegar-based) dipping sauce on the side.

The dumplings looked well-made: the dough nice and thin but with no dreaded leakage. Inside, the beef ones were juicily pink when, holding one not-very-expertly between chopsticks, I dipped it into the sauce then took a bite. Apart from the beef, the other main flavour was subtle garlic.

I thought the pork dumplings were even better. Incredibly moist and succulent, with what seemed like quality minced pork with robust meaty flavour.

ID said he would have liked a choice of dipping sauce. I argued that offering a choice might mean wastage and extra costs. On the other hand, I couldn’t help thinking an optional drizzle of crispy chilli oil would have been a great addition.

BAO

But I don’t see how my next dish, bao with Korean fried chicken, could have been improved.

If you don’t know about bao buns, where have you been? Originating from gua bao, fluffy, folded steamed buns stuffed with braised pork belly, in the West bao (the word literally means ‘bun’) have become hugely popular with all sorts of fillings. At Little Dumpling King there was a choice of five.

Two of the bao were vegan: five-spice roast cauliflower with sriracha mayo at £7, and tenderstem broccoli with sesame guacamole and chilli oil for £7.25. Meat choices were shredded confit duck or shredded pork belly (both £7.95), or the Korean fried chicken at £8.75.

We both went for the chicken and, when the plates were brought out, neither could help letting out a ‘wow!’ The bouncy-looking white buns were overflowingly stuffed with great looking goodies. It’s easy to see why in Taiwan the original version is known as ‘tiger bites pig’, isn’t it?

I knew I was going to get into a right old mess getting my jaws around this beast but picked it up it in both hands and had at it anyway.

The two generous pieces of chicken per bao were coated in a wonderfully crispy crumb. Inside, the meat was juicy and tender.

As with a good, messy burger though, it’s often the choice of fixings to complement and contrast with the main ingredient that can make or break it. And at Little Dumpling King they were perfect. Crunchy and creamy slaw, medium chilli heat from sriracha tempered with mayo, sliced gherkins for an acidic tang, plus heaps of chives for freshness.

In short, if this is still on the menu when you go, get it!

SIDES & DRINKS

For most people, even those with a hearty appetite, a plate of dumplings and/or a generously filled bao is probably plenty.

But for the purposes of research (and not just because we’re greedy), we ordered a side of Gochujang Mac and Cheese Croquettes (£6). Expecting maybe a couple of dinky little patties, the two crispy house bricks came as something of a surprise.

Moist, saucy, and cheesy within, if I was going to quibble, I’d say they’d benefit from a greater kick of more Korean chilli paste. But at just £3 a hunk, I’ve no real grounds to be sniffy.

The other sides available were Szechuan chicken wings (£5) which, going by the chicken I ate, are probably tremendous, plus Pickled Chillies (£3.25).

To drink, we both had a small bottle of Asahi (£4 each) but there are craft beers available and a small wine list too.