Archive · modern edition Every bar New York on Tap knew, as it stood around 2008, with a 2026 check on each one. This page in the 2008 edition

No photo of this bar survives from the 2008 site.

A New York on Tap pick

Fried Dumpling

The word bargain fails to do it justice

99 Allen St. · btwn Delancey and Broome
Chinatown, Manhattan

In 2026

Closed; now Shelly's

Later here: Round K (licensed 2019–21).

Checked October 19, 2026.

Overview

Five tasty dumplings or four pork buns for a $1 dollar. A can of coke for $.75. One of the last true bargains left in this city.

Fried Dumpling doesn't look like much from the outside (or the inside for that matter). Its simple facade easily blends in and it would be easy to walk right past without taking notice and miss one of the last true bargains in New York City. Empty out the change in your pockets and you just might have a meal. 5 fresh pork dumplings can be had for just $1. Afd a large fresh steamed sessame pancake for 50 cents, and an $1 order of 4 steamed pork buns, and finish it off with a 75 cent coke and you have yourself a $3.25 dinner which isn't just merely passable, but actually delicious.

Why you should go

  • Cans of coke are 75 cents. When was the last time you saw that anywhere?
  • Fried Dumpling is cheaper and faster than Taco Bell, but it doesn't taste like crap.
  • Your food isn't just served immediately, it's served instantaneous. Before you can get the order of your mouth it'll be waiting piping hot on the counter in front of you.

What you should know

  • The sessame pancake (da-bing) is a must. First steamed then fried, the resulting texture is similar to the best fresh pretzels. They're delectable.

History

Inflation finally reached the dollar dumpling

Fried Dumpling, which the Village Voice called the city's first dollar dumpling stall, gave you five dumplings for a dollar, on paper plates1, 2, 3. We called it one of the last true bargains left in the city; in March 2009 its landlord, the Heaven Way Buddha Church, evicted it, with a notice saying the lease had expired1, 2. By 2010 a new crew of dumpling makers had taken over as Inexpensive Delicacies Company, Inc., a name the Village Voice called ethereal, selling dumplings at four for $11.

Sources

  1. villagevoice.com
  2. thelodownny.com
  3. gayot.com

Researched October 2026.

What's nearby