Hua Du Dumpling

I randomly stopped in Hua Du before heading on the BD train for some quick bites to take home for the fam.
6 buns for $ 4!!!
Seems like the negative reviews are from those who dined here. I did not, so I can’t speak of their service or prep. This review is of their ready to go hot buns, which are amazing! The filling is delicious and the bao is just so fluffy. I wish I had taken a photo of these hot buns before the family devoured them.

The topic of a perfect dumpling is a very hot topic and a never ending debate among my friends.
Emily L.‘s comments about Hua Du versus Prosperity sparked a new debate and a new challenge.
(It was also interesting reading the reviews for Hua Du Dumpling and seeing the extremes in opinions especially with the compassionate comparisons to Prosperity Dumpling on the next block.)
We found two friends who have never tried Hua Du or Prosperity and asked them to rate both side by side.
First up– boiled dumpling, Hua Du won easily; the quality was better, the ingredients tasty and lighter. $ 2 gets you 8 soft and juicy dumpling.
Second round– fried dumplings, it was even. (I thought Prosperity was a little greasier and saltier.)
We have all decided that more testing will be required! Onward…
BTW– the address of the store is 69 Eldridge St. not 7 Allen St.

My friend and I went here on a whim today. We got pork and cabbage dumplings fresh from the skillet. The filling was amazing. it was like biting into a soup dumpling, where the oil and fat leaks out to burn you. That might put off dieters but that is one good dumpling. She even gave us an extra dumpling (5 for $ 1 instead of 4 for $ 1)
Negatives? The woman really doesn’t know how to cook dumplings… she over cooked the skin a bit, making it soft and not chewy. But if you buy the frozen and bring it home to cook it properly yourself, it would be great.

I decided to roam around Chinatown the other day because I had some extra time before class. I walked a block down Eldridge St. past Prosperity Dumpling and noticed a fairly new dumpling shop. Thought to myself, how can they go wrong with dumplings right? Wrong
These were one of the worst dumplings I ever had in New York. The skin was very soft, almost like they did not bother to fry it. The meat was very fatty and had some cartilage inside! Boy did I wish I just went to Prosperity instead.
Setup was the same as Prosperity some chairs to sit by the wall with the kitchen in the back. This is one to avoid guys!
Positives: A dollar for five
Negatives: Terrible dumplings, cartilage in the meat

i went in and bought a 50 piece bag of frozen pork, shrimp, and chive dumplings for $ 12 and they’re good. nice chunks of shrimp throughout. i also got the scallion pancake which was not what i was expecting but it was ok. i wasn’t expecting something as tough and doughy as that but my friend said it was similar to what her mom makes. except her mom makes them better. i do want to try their other stuff now. and some dumplings to try right then and there.

Hm… what to say about this place. After having experienced the goodness of Prosperity Dumpling (which isn’t far from this place) Hua Du really just disappointed. There’s about 5 seats open for people to enjoy their food, things aren’t badly priced though a little more expensive than Prosperity but the quality was definitely subpar.
We tried the fan twan, which is this roll with cruller, pork sung, pickled mustard and wrapped with sticky rice. Generally when the cruller is fresh it tastes really good but obviously theirs was not fresh and the rest of it, not only was small, but was just not fresh or had its original flavor. We also got the soymilk which was obviously a burnt batch. Even though they had sweet soymilk already so we didn’t have to add sugar the burnt taste overpowered the goodness of the soy.
I’ll be hesitant to return to this place, but I have to say I would have to try the dumplings before saying an absolute no. But for now I won’t be returning any time soon.
fyi the ladies there aren’t very nice.

We only had the pork fried dumplings and they were good. the skin has a sweeter tinge to it that was nice. Not as good as Prosperity but Better than Vanessa’s Dumpling House. We will definitely go back again sometime to sample their other offerings.

4 dumplings for $ 1. Truly a hole in the wall. A hole in the head is what I wanted after this experience. Bland meat and skin falling apart everywhere. Made for quick turnaround. Too bad it’s always empty. Gee I wonder why. Someone stop me from hanging myself.