Vanessa’s Dumpling House

Today was definitely a 5 star day! Veggie dumplings were delicious… But very hot! The scallion pancake with kimchi was nice and spicy, not too fermented.
Our friend ordered the egg, ham scallion pancake and we definitely be getting one next time! It looked delicious!
My favorite was the tofu soup with the duck bone broth… WOW! So sweet, salty, and the tofu was chewy, and the cabbage tender and well seasoned. I will be getting it from now on!
Great food… Even better prices.

It’s not all just hype! I can definitely live off of their hot and sour soups and roast duck sesame sandwiches foreverrrrrrr. It’s so good! Not to mention, their prices are really satisfying (especially for any place in NYC). The only downside is, the place is almost always crowded and there’s never any seats to sit in and enjoy your meal. The atmosphere is just too packed and rushed.

I decide to visit Vanessa’s because of how popular their fried dumplings sound.
But it’s actually quite original.
I ordered the chives and pork fried dumplings.
It was dry. The skin of the dumpling was thick (almost like bread). The pork and chives were nothing special.
Not coming back.
I have taste way better dumplings before.

If you’re looking for really good hand-​made dumplings, Vanessa’s is is the place to go. Forget the sesame pancake sandwiches — the dumplings are where it’s at! My go-​to are the Chive & Pork, Chicken & Basil, or the Spicy Wontons. All dumplings/​wontons are handmade on location and cooked at the time of order.
Did I forget to say how cheap it is? Yeah, you will probably pay less than $ 10 for all that goodness. For the price and the quality, it can’t get any better than this. Yup, exactly.

The place was pretty crowded when my friends and I got there; It makes sense since its a really popular place.
Atmosphere: Loud, very crowded, pretty hot [well for me] inside
Food: I was pretty broke that day so I didnt really get to try anything else besides the dumplings. The dumplings were ok: the skin ripped off the moment I picked them up, and it wasn’t as flavorful as I had liked.
Price: Very cheap prices though so if you’re ever around in Chinatown, I would suggest to give them a try.
End: Ehhh, not really a memorable place for me. Hmm or maybe I should give them another try. Heh, maybe! But yeah if I’m ever around Chinatown, I’ll try them again.

Great price
Delicious and great dumplings
But due to the fact that I rated PROSPERITY DUMPLING 5 stars (I wish 6 was possible) I can’t give Vanessa’s Dumpling more than 4. And it’s more expensive here as well. Well I just ate at Vanessa’s, because Prosperity is closed. So the dumpling and price here doesn’t 100% satisfy me.

Omg this is the best stuff! Man, those dumplings are magical. I wasn’t expecting much in this hole in the wall. I was wrong people. I had the basil and chicken dumplings 2 orders. Very cheap lunch in NYC. That’s why I love Chinatown. People ya’ll need to come and yes I am from Texas.

This spot is very popular among locals and visitors to Chinatown. The price is something that people love. Call it what you want — cheap eats, bargain bites — for what they charge you get your money’s worth and then some.
The menu has quite a selection for hand made dumplings including favorites like chives, pork and vegetable. Then they also have stuffed buns and pancake along with soups and special noodle soups.
For the take out person they have a section of the menu that offers frozen dumplings to cook at your leisure.
As far as beverages you have boba or bubble tea and hot or iced tea. This place pretty much has everything one would need as one stop spot for a quick bite.
The place caters to both the natives and foreigners so there is at any given time a lot of foot traffic. The seating area is to the left while the ordering and food prep is to the right. Finding a seat can be an issue so it requires good timing and good people skills.
They are fairly quick at preparing the orders. But definitely expect to wait. The food is very good for the speed and volume they make everything. Although not perfect I doubt many will not be satisfied with they they ordered (if you know what you want to order).
Employees there can be construed as mean and unemotional but one has to realize the the amount of people they serve daily. They are not rude at all. They embody the old school working class immigrants that people can liken to their own relatives.
When I get time and am in the area again I would definitely go back to Vanessa’s Dumplings.

Chinese joint cranking out thousands of dumplings per day. We got 5 pork and chive dumplings each. You can really tell these are being made in bulk. The pork is definitely to grainy in mouthfeel and a bit dried out. There could be a better flavor balance with more aromatic chives and a greater percentage of fat.
Overall, this is a cheap spot at $ 1.50 for 5 dumplings. The dumplings are not great. They are just OK.

I’d give this place more of a 3.5. Mostly came here because everyone was raving about the spicy dumplings.
Tried the spicy dumplings, fried pork/​shrimp dumplings, steamed pork/​shrimp dumplings, fried pork buns, kimchi pancake.
The spicy dumplings and fried pork buns were pretty good, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go get it.
Kimchi pancake was not good at all, the kimchi was more like regular pickled cabbage. The filling inside the dumplings were good, but I thought the outside dough was too thick for my liking which is why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected.
Overall, it’s pretty cheap and more of a to-​go place for quick pick up. Would recommend Joe’s over here though.

I have been a regular at his place since my college years, prices are insane and very good food. They are so busy that they keep cooking the whole day and I think that’s always a good thing since food is fresh when you get it.
I always get pork dumplings, pork buns, and beef pancakes/​sandwich (if you don’t mind the fatty parts the pork is very good too).
Happy eating :)

This is hands down the most authentic dumpling house I’ve been to in the States. It reminds me of home and my grandma’s cooking in China.
The restaurant is tucked away on a smaller street. However, it is very clean. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. They make your food fresh in the kitchen, and you can see the whole process while you wait. Everything is so cheap too! Great for takeout or eat-​in.
Amazing food for a great price. I just love it for the authenticity. I’ll definitely be visiting again and again.

Where have you been all my life? Like I am honestly appalled to say that after a decade of being in nyc, living by union square and Chinatown at different times in my life, I have never ever tried Vanessa’s dumplings at either of their locations until this year. I can finally say that I have tried their dumplings and their AMAZING sesame pancakes. DROOOLLLL.
In regards to the dumplings, just on par with a good simple dumpling. I bought a pack of their frozen pork and chive dumplings and annihilated the whole bag in no time. Two thumbs up, great price for a big bag of dumplings.
And then their sesame pancake… GAHHHHH I can’t believe I haven’t tried you earlier. I got the roast pork sesame pancake and it blew my mind. The sesame pancake sandwich is huge. So fluffy on the inside. A pizza slice of delicious sesame bread. The roast pork stuffed inside was just as amazing. Full of flavor, beautifully braised in soy sauce. The pork was tender, a good balance of meat and fat. Couple that with the sesame pancake and you got yourself heaven. I cannot get over how good it was and must have more!
I will without a doubt come back, eat every sesame pancake combination they have to offer. Once I have sampled all, I will do another 2 to ten rounds of each sesame pancake to satiate my need. Just too good.

Meiner Meinung nach ein super Geheimtipp für alle die vielleicht nicht in NY wohnen und die Gegend noch nicht so kennen. Liegt etwas versteckt im Herzen von Chinatown, aber mit Straßenkarte gut zu finden.
Es gibt eine sehr gute asiatische Küche die sich größtenteils aus Dumblings [gefuellte Teigtaschen, Knödel] besteht und unterschiedliche Füllungen haben, Sandwichs mit verschiedenen asiatischen Toppings und Suppen. Der Geschmack ist einwandfrei und frisch. Für to go oder zum direkten Verzehr vor Ort geeignet. Skuril ist der Laden, weil man mit den unterschiedlichsten Leuten an einem Tisch sitzt. So entwickeln sich gute Gespräche. Es ist schon recht laut und hektisch. Hat man erstmal bestellt, bekommt man eine Quittung mit einer Bestellnummer. Diese wird dann an der Theke irgendwann aufgerufen. Das zu verstehen bedarf schon etwas Talent ;-)
Ich würde auf jeden Fall wieder hingehen!

If I could sustain myself on dumplings and sesame pancakes alone, life wouldn’t be all that bad. Especially with the ones at Vanessa’s. Although this location is a busy one, they churn out food quick and efficiently. And every time I’ve eaten here, the food is nothing short of spectacular.
If you’re on a budget, this should be your go-​to. Everything here is extremely reasonable. Their dumplings (obv) are phenomenal. From the classic Chive and Pork to (my personal favorite) the Spicy Wontons with pork and shrimp. Those things PACK A PUNCH. I love the spiciness of the chili flakes and oil. It’s the perfect amount of heat and it doesn’t take away from the flavor of the Wontons. Another star on the menu is their Sesame Pancakes. If you have a moment, watch them make it. Like a well-​oiled machine, they have a great system going on and the pancakes are generously cut and stuffed with delicious fillings. IMO, go for the Peking Duck (super generous with the hoisin) or the Egg Pancake. Those are my favorites. But if you’re looking to tame the heat from the Spicy Wontons, the plain is good too.
They have and will always be one of my favorite dumpling spots, no matter what competition comes along the way. It definitely doesn’t help that its 1 stop away from my work too. Vanessa, I thank you and your delicious dumplings.

Cash-​only places are either great, or shitty. Two tales of the food porn world
Location: CHINATOWN, CHINATOWN. This place is in chinatown. Look at all those signs that you guys cannot read, or pronounce or understand at all, yeah, you are probably at the right place for a dumpling indulge time. The place is definitely bigger than ever. they separate different areas for different functions — finally! So it would be less waiting time and crowded if you are craving for am emergent chinese food.
The indoor is just. dirty. Yeah, like typical asian food place .
food: got pancake, got dumplings. VERY GOOD AND REMINDS ME OF OLD-​SCHOOL CHINESE DUMPLINGS.
very delicious and authentic
price: cheap, cheap, cheap — LES is cheap for now but people gonna be priced out soon!
Overall: they probably gonna be the nyc dumpling king place for a while and I will continue to come back for those homesick food
4.5 dollars — pretty bias but do try.

This place is decent. As everyone says, you can come here for cheap dumplings. I don’t think any of the food is stellar, but it isn’t bad either. The dumpling skins are too thick for my liking, but I get why they have it thick — it’s easier for them to cook them quickly without worrying about tearing the skin. I wasn’t a huge fan of their sesame pancake sandwiches — the bread is way too tough.
Warning — if you come during meal times this place gets really crowded! Expect to pull up a chair and share tables with other people. Everyone is here for the affordable grub. Enjoy!

Si estás por la zona, no dudes de pasar por lo de Vanessa.
Gran variedad de platos, podes pedir para llevar o para comer en el local.
Los dumplings de cerdo y cebolla de verdeo son un espectáculo.
Cabe destacar que los precios son muy bajos y de buena calidad los productos.
8 dumplings por 3,5 dólares, toda una ganga!
Pedís, lo preparan en la barra, te llaman por número y a disfrutarlo!

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of my college years but this place affordability and quality of food is the best. Came back with my mrs several years later and paid five bucks for a giant sesame pancake with Peking duck and four fried cabbage and pork dumplings.
The skin on the dumpling was a little crispy for my taste but the cabbage and pork filling was amazing. The sesame pancake was delicious and duck was nicely marinated.
Customer service is lacking but what can you expect from a chinatown spot, quick in and out!

I used to live across the street from Vanessa’s dumpling House on Eldridge Street right in the middle of Chinatown & the lower East side. It was my second apartment in New York City, my first downtown, and had no space but all the charm your 1^st/​2^nd apartment should have.
That said, I’m familiar with Vanessa’s — it is actually pretty famous here in New York and whenever my friend comes into town she always wants to go there and grab their bag of 50 frozen dumplings to take home with her back to Philly, to use throughout the next couple months until she comes up again. ;)
This weekend’s experience was especially fantastic. The crowd was a sight to see (I mean there was a man in a cape) and we had brought two young girls in their 20s who had never been, and so I got to see it through their eyes as well, and we just were people watching like there was no tomorrow. In the warmer weather people wind up eating outside, because there is a shortage of seating in this location, the original location. So you do have to have someone hovering over the patrons while they eat to keep an eye out for the next good seat. I have never had an issue but it sometimes Is a little anxiety causing. Then again it’s also part of the experience. As is the graffitied bathroom! After grabbing a seat for two luckily by the time our food was ready, 10 minutes later, the two people to our right were leaving and we Scooch over and made it a table for four — perfect!
So when my girlfriend and I went up to order, we always know what we want and we always order a mixture of items: we get the pork and chive dumplings two different ways one more like a wonton one more like a dumpling, we always get dumpling soup which is my ‘go to’ especially in the winter– it has four large dumplings some bok choy and is not salty, which is one of my biggest pet peeve’s regarding Chinese soup. My girlfriend loves their sesame bread pancake sandwiches that are either filled with pork or duck and some veggies. Not particularly my favorite item but she likes them, so we got a variety of everything.
There were four of us and we basically cleaned our plates as per usual at Vanessa’s. One of the best parts was while my friend and I were ordering we ordered soup, two sandwiches, dumplings this way dumplings that way… The lady behind the counter said «OK $ 12 please.» We looked at each other and our mouths dropped open — that was enough food for six people and we had just spent over $ 300 at breakfast that morning! We knew it was inexpensive but just forgot how much so. When I lived on Eldridge about six years ago it was a dollar for four dumplings. You can’t get anything for a dollar anymore anywhere.
As per usual the food was fantastic the girls that had never been there had an awesome time, like I said the people watching was great — it takes all kinds. The experience was memorable, much more so then our excursion over to Soho to check out some shops… This was a real New York City experience for them and we loved it just as much as always!

I am a native New Yorker and I am so sad I didn’t know of this place earlier! Vanessa’s dumpling house is located in the LES near the B/​D grand street train station. Don’t be fooled by the name of the restaurant; they do serve dumplings but they also serve a lotttt of other different kinds of Chinese «fast food».
I had a huge craving for wontons in spicy sauce so I decided to give it a try to see if it would match up to Flushing’s famous white bear wontons. Of course it wasn’t as amazing but it was still decent! You get 8 wontons for $ 5. You really cannot beat that price. It comes straight out of their kitchen so be careful! It’s probably going to burn your tongue but it’s so worth it lol. My cousin ordered the scallion pancake with roast pork. At first I wasn’t too impressed by it considering how plain it seemed but once I tried it, I was surprised at how flavorful it was. And it’s a huge portion for only $ 2.50.
The restaurant itself is probably not the cleanest and there’s also limited seating available. There’s a lot of foot traffic since this place gets so much business. It was packed even on a Thursday at 4 pm. It’s good if you just feel like getting a quick snack but not ideal for a place to sit down and have a long conversation.

Ich bin etwas hin und her gerissen. Aber es reicht, meiner Meinung nach, nicht ganz für die 4 Sterne. Da es dort einen krassen Durchlauf gibt, war es auch recht frisch. Die Suppe war zwar reichlich aber es war alles etwas lieblos. Naja, kann man schon mal machen. Hat zumindest ein A — Rating :)

Vanessa’s is a great spot for inexpensive dumplings and other Chinese snacks.
We ordered:
Boiled Chive & Pork Boiled Dumplings (8 for $ 3)
Fried Chive & Pork Dumplings (4 for $ 1.25)
Pork Fried Buns (3 for $ 1.25)
Wonton with Spicy Sauce (8 for $ 5)
The dumplings are not bad. The skin is on the thick side. I would prefer if they used a little more filling per dumpling. Also the pork fried buns could be fried longer for the signature crispy bottom that pork fried buns are known to have. The wontons in spicy sauce are actually not that spicy. Actually they could use more flavor, since I found myself adding more soy sauce to the wontons, as well as the rest of the dumplings. The fried chive & pork dumplings were probably the best of the bunch.
Bubble Milk Tea & Green Apple Green Tea ($ 3 each)
These weren’t bad either. Both were reasonably priced for a pretty large size.
The taste of the dumplings isn’t too impressive, but the prices are. Sesame pancake is only $ 1. These pancakes are usually very low cost to make and tend to be overpriced, but for $ 1, I’ll bite.
Plus they have a few tables for dining in as well as the option to purchase frozen dumplings to cook at home. Sounds convenient. Who wants to spend their precious free time individually wrapping wontons and dumplings at home?
Overall, Vanessa’s is so affordable I definitely felt enticed to try a little bit of everything, but we all know that quickly adds up. The annoying thing is there is a $ 15 minimum to pay with card. You may or may not find difficulty reaching that minimum, so bring cash. If I were in the neighborhood, I would pick up something for a very affordable price, probably 8 fried dumplings for $ 2.50.

Un petit restaurant fast-​food.
On peut manger sur place ou emporter
Il est petit mais très bon et surtout pas cher. 4 pièces de gyoza chinois 1,25 $. Un lait de soja 1 $.
Les prix inclus taxes.
Le personnel est là pour travailler rapidement donc pas de sourire.

So many awesome dumpling spots in the city but does Vanessa’s hold up? Yes.
I much prefer the pork/​chive and pork/​cabbage from Shu Jiao right around the corner but they’re only available steamed there. The fried dumplings at Vanessa’s have a thicker skin than I like but the filling is a good size and flavor. Juicy. My favorite one here is the chicken and basil. I get them steamed, though. So different. So good! I usually have a bag or two of them frozen at home. The spicy wontons are legit as well.
They make bank on sesame pancakes here. You’ll usually see people holding one in a hand while alternating bites of dumpling with the other hand. I find it a bit too greasy but will indulge once in awhile. The fillings in these are usually very generous, too. I stick to the veggie one.
Good prices, good food. Get on line! It starts in the back.

Long overdue review.
I’ve done the taste tests. Yes, my friends and I have actually done taste tests between Vanessa’s and Prosperity Dumpling. Verdict? There really isn’t that much of a difference. Prosperity’s dumplings might be slightly bigger, but the point is currently moot, considering Prosperity won’t be re-​opening until like February. The appeal of both these places is the value, not necessarily the overall quality of the food. Oh, you’re too good for this place? That’s fine, more for me. I often get their frozen dumplings to take home. At around $ 9 for a bag of 50, not too shabby. Beware around Chinese New Year though, because they often will have limited availability of these frozen dumplings.
I prefer the sesame pancake sandwiches at Vanessa’s better than other places. The meats are just more flavorful, and while the actual pancakes are relatively similar, they just fill the sandwiches with a lot more stuff at Vanessa’s. Again, all about the value play. I have a genetic aversion to cilantro, and the people at Vanessa’s are always pretty good about taking out the cilantro, so that’s pretty cool.
In all of this, I do find Prosperity’s speed of service generally faster than Vanessa’s, although Prosperity has gotten some orders wrong sometimes, whereas Vanessa’s is usually spot on with the orders. By the way, the location in Chinatown is way more better than the one near Union Square. I wouldn’t bank on getting a seat at this Chinatown location though, so perhaps you can find another public near Eldridge street.
Should you come out of your way for these dumplings? Maybe, if you’re a little strapped for cash, or if you just want a cheap, filling meal and you’re craving some decent dumplings. The good thing is that they do take credit cards, which is a big difference, and makes the decision a lot easier.

Un déjeuner à petit prix, Vanessa’s Dumpling est là pour satisfaire à la demande. Le menu propose des assortiments de dumpings vendu par 4, 8 et 10 pour moins de cinq euros. On peut en emporter jusqu’à une trentaine chez soi comme produits surgelés et là aussi c’est grand maximum 7,50 €.
Le restaurant est peu rempli, tranquille pour faire son choix, avant l’heure de pointe du midi. Moins d’une dizaine de ravioles suffisent à caler l’appétit, ce qui fut mon cas, associé à un rafraichissant thé citronné. Attention toutefois de bien prêter l’oreille à son numéro de commande et de se rendre direct la chercher sous risqué d’entendre crier de plus en plus fort le chef de cuisine.

Très bon rapport qualité prix. Il est même possible de manger sur place du fait de l’espace de la salle.
Toutefois on trouve dans la même rue de meilleurs dumplings pour le même prix.