Once again this year the Oregonian has organized Portland Dumpling week 2019, this year extending from February 1 – 9 2019. Featuring more then 30 restaurants all over Portland, this event offers limited time only dumplings available at each participating restaurant only for this week. Then after consuming the dumpling you can collect a dumpling sticker specifically from that establishment to add to your Dumpling Week passport.
These are dumplings to get you in the mood… not representative of Portland Dumpling Week 2019 dumplings since I haven’t had any yet… Dumpling possibilities are from around the world, both east and west!
I’ve been eating dumplings and crawling through multiple dumplings a night since the first annual dumpling week. With the 36 possible different dumplings I know I can’t visit them all, even when sharing dumplings with good friends of a dumpling crawl. I curate a list based on unique offerings of dumplings listed to use as my wishlist, making sure to get a variety of dumplings from around the world, many from restaurants and chefs I trust will offer a delicious dumpling dish, and then some that just are unique. I will update the listings with photos of dishes when I have them, and may add or remove based on what reviews I may hear during the week.
Updated 2/3/2019
Pech’s Portland Dumpling Week 2019 Restaurant Picks
This year my Portland Dumpling Week 2019 picks include:
- Boke Bowl NW or SE Szechuan style 5-spice duck dumplings. These dumplings have a lot of flavor so I suggest considering a side of rice or bao as a break for your palate, or consider their super affordable accompaniment of the Cocktail Add On for $4 of Snake in the Grass cocktail with Ginger Ale, Lime, House Infused Lemongrass Vodka
- Head a bit east and south from Boke Bowl NW from NW 23rd area to the Pearl and Tanner Creek Tavern for Smoked mushroom and potato pierogies with truffle creme fraiche and fines herbes
- The excellent food cart Mama Chow’s kitchen has always offered comforting wontons in wonton soup and works tirelessly to participare every year, though they are only open for lunch with their Fried wontons with spicy tangy dipping sauce
- If you still have room head to Afuri Ramen and Dumplings for “Sakura” wonton stuffed with pork and salted cherries, topped with edible flowers, – they are also offering the dumplings at the original Afuri Portland location in SE.
- Also downtown in SW Portland is Little Bird with Ricotta Gnocchi with a boeuf bourguignon ragu.
- Every year I stop for dumplings at the Grassa on SW Washington in downtown PDX and have never been disappointed. This year they offer Italian wedding soup dumplings. It sounds like it’s a soup with dumplings, but instead it is really a dumpling with soup inside, with black truffle, escarole, parmesan, calabrian chili vinaigrette as you can see below. I always recommend getting an order of garlic bread to help sop up all the rest of the dish and make it a full meal.
- It will be an easy walk of only a few blocks from Grassa to get to Jackrabbit and their Crispy oxtail pierogi with chili oil and by the time I had it Sunday, a creme fraiche was also part of the plate.
- Located downtown closer to the South Park blocks, head to Nel Centro to enjoy Truffled riccotta and pancetta ravioli in parmesan brodo
- Start an inner SE dumpling crawl with Produce Row Cafe and Porcini and wheat flour spaetzle, sautéed mushrooms, and finished with stone-ground mustard cream, chive and gruyere. Here is what the dish looks like- it is small, more like an appetizer for 2. It is a little hard to distinguish the mushrooms from the spaetzle because of the color and they are the same size, but the idea of a mustard cream was interesting.
- Every year I also visit Kachka for dumplings and they are always among my highly recommended stops. This year there is Kachinka with Parmesan vareniki with Caesar smetana, shredded romaine and butter toasted rye breadcrumbs, aka a Caeser Salad Dumpling dish.
Meanwhile the new larger Kachka location also in inner SE has a separate offering of Chicken soup pelmeni in broth, braised celery, pickled carrots, black pepper, smetana. - I had the Danwei Canting in inner SE’s wontons filled with Tails & Trotters ground pork, Oregon black truffles, ginger and scallions. Here is what it looks like. These definitely depend a lot on the black vinegar for flavor, so something to think about when choosing if you’d enjoy this dumpling – that said it is very traditional and just what you would expect from a homey Chinese kitchen.
- Check out the newly opened Delores and their Polish Potato and cheese pierogi, onions and bacon on SE Morrison
- Country Cat at 7937 SE Stark is far, but offering a super tasty sounding Smoked gouda and pork sausage cabbage dumpling in brandied pork sauce
- Chin’s Kitchen (NE Broadway) Chinese dumplings
- If heading to North Portland stop at the criminally underrated Quaintrelle for a beautiful drink and a play on chicken and dumplings: Smoked and braised Marion Acres chicken, charred green onion and cheddar biscuit dumpling, sweet jalapeño relish.
- Then go further on to always impressive Urdaneta this year offering Squid ink dumpling, filled with salt cod and potato, fermented cabbage, sopa de ajo (garlic jamon broth)
- Get dessert down the street at one of the multiple participating locations of Salt and Straw who this year is serving up Woodblock Chocolate Mochi with Coconut Jam: Freckled Woodblock chocolate ice cream wrapped in a delicate shiratamako rice flour shell, dolled up with a schmear of silky Hey Boo coconut curd plus dark-chocolate shavings
You can see the alphabetical listing of all the participating restaurants of Portland Dumpling Week 2019 here at the Oregonian.
All the dumpling specials are very affordable at $10 or less, and keep in mind the kitchen and waitstaff are working hard to prep and cook those dumplings and serve the dumpling eating crowds. Please tip generously and if sharing dumplings with food friends consider ordering some beverages to help the restaurant, our local businesses, and local economy.
A few guidelines and tips about dumpling week
- I recommend looking up on Instagram to get a look at the dumplings others have enjoyed to get an idea of size. I’ve found some specials are enough to be a whole meal, others are more appetizer sized, depending on the cost of ingredients and amount of labor involved, so this needs to be appreciated and carefully considered.
- Go early if possible as sometimes they may run out of dumplings for the day.
- Go hungry if you are doing a crawl, but not hangry as there may be a wait. Remember they are often turning over quite a lot of people with everyone participating, so practice patience
- Staff doesn’t always remember to give you the earned sticker as they are trying to remember everyone’s orders and other requests in servicing everyone, so don’t forget to ask for your sticker, don’t you forget too in the excitement of eating your dumpling!
- Please, again, tip for all the hard work they are doing to participate in providing the dumpling special offering to Portland. I usually also order something additional like a libation to wash the dumpling down at least or perhaps try another dish.
Follow along on my Instagram stories and highlights to see what dumplings I’m eating!
What’s on your dumpling crawl list for Portland Dumpling Week 2019? Dumpling on my friends!
Previous Years:
Portland Dumpling Week 2017 Recap
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