Pulmuone Vegetable Dumpling

These were in the giant frozen dumpling section at H Mart. The brand, Pulmuone, is one I haven't had before, but there are a lot of unfamiliar brands in there! These jumped out at me for their triangular shape. The filling is finely chopped, and includes noodle bits along with the vegetables. Pretty standard, but a good base for a variety of sauces. Ultimately, these are pretty similar to these Samlip Vegetable Dumplings in terms of flavor profile. I had mine pan-fried, and the triangle shape really facilitates frying. I would definitely buy these again, although there are many varieties to sample still!

Score: 4/5 - Good basic dumping, and perhaps easier to cook than most due to the flat shape.

Chef One Vegetable Egg Roll (Redux)

I've reviewed these Chef One Vegetable Egg Rolls before, and wasn't super impressed then. Ross saw them at H Mart and thought that we should give them a try. I wasn't sure if they were identical to the previous samples, since they were in a different package, so I fell for it. I toasted these in the toaster oven, one of the recommended cooking methods. The shell didn't cook fully after the suggested period of time, so I put them in for another 10 minutes. Still not great. The shell is brittle and tastes doughy, and the cabbage heavy-filling is just too plain to be good. There's tons of it in there, your mouth is just filled with bland cabbage shreds. Even slathering these with chili sauce was not enough to make me want to eat them. I will not fall for these again.

Score: 2/5 - I liked these even less than last time...

Chinatown RotiPrata Onion

These Chinatown RotiPrata in Onion flavor were good! They were next to the scallion pancakes in the freezer at H Mart, although I'm not sure we can properly count them as dim sum. I made them to go with a curry. I had the idea to put them on my pizza stone in the oven, and I was pretty impressed at how fluffy and flaky they came out. I think they would have been slightly soggier if pan fried. They did stick to the stone some, I think this could be avoided with just a touch of flour. In terms of taste, these came out sort of halfway between paratha and a scallion pancake. They had a little bit of onion flavor, and a little bit of butter flavor. They did work for their intended purpose as bread with the curry. I would definitely buy them again.

Score: 4/5 - Flaky and crispy, these could use a little more onion flavor but were very very pleasant.

Chef Hon Steamed Green Vegatable Buns

These Chef Hon buns are misspelled on the package, but they are green vegetable buns. The actual filling is bok choy with egg bits and noodle bits. I would call it OK overall, but I prefer that type of filling in a dumpling. With a bun, I'd rather have something a little more flavorful, less filler. These came frozen from H Mart, and I steamed them and that worked just fine. The filling to dough ratio is good, and the dough is fluffy. However, with all the other choices out there, they don't make a mark. I might buy them again.

Score: 3/5 - Eh, these are fine, but in the crowded field of greens buns I prefer these ones with a little Shiitake.

Choripdong Frozen Dumplings

These Choripdong frozen dumplings are generically named, but not generically flavored. The filling is a little bit of green stuff, very small noodle bits, and finely minced mushroom, and has a distinctly mushroomy but not too strong flavor. They are a sort of odd shape, like a flattened gyoza shape. They're sort of floppy when cooked. The dumpling skin is on the thicker side, and the dumplings are not stuffed full, but that's reasonable considering the good flavor of the filling. These were good steamed, but I think they would also be great lightly fried!

Score: 4.5/5 - These were good. The mushroom flavor of the filling stands out and the wrapper is chewy. Maybe my we favorite dumplings from H Mart.

Gong De Lin Steamed Bun with Shiitake Mushrooms

These Gong De Lin mushroom buns are pretty good! They are on the large side, with fluffy dough. The filling proportion is reasonable, and the filling does escape a bit but it's not bad considering that the filling is chopped veggies. The title is a little misleading, as the dominant part of the filling is greens, spinach-y cabbage-y greens, with a little bit of mushroom thrown in. It's all cooked relatively evenly with no hard weird bits, unlike some of the other greens buns. The flavor is good overall, but it's simple. I cooked these in the steamer, but they are big enough that they touch the bottom of the lid!

Score: 4/5 - These are a great example of the typical "greens" dumplings, which is not a super exciting thing, but a tasty solid choice none the less.

Ponto Crepe de Herbe Italian Herbs Pancake

These Ponto Crepe de Herbe Italian Herbs Pancake have been in my freezer for a while. It's not that they're not good, it's just that they seemed an odd choice for dim sum. Would you put chili sauce or mushroom sauce on it, you know? I think we bought them at Kam Man, on our last trip close to a year ago, and haven't managed to work them in. The Italian Herbs part is a standard Italian blend, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, basil. The herb flavor is noticeable but not overwhelming. The pancake itself is a pretty standard flaky and chewy pancake, but that's a good thing. We've been having them pan fried as a side with our last batch of split pea soup, and they work really well in that context so that's how I will likely use the rest of the package. A note on the pan frying, I did use just the smallest dash of oil, and the layers did puff up during cooking, which is always a good sign to me. Past Ponto pancakes had the same flaky quality, so I think I like the brand for their pancake offerings.

Score: 4.5/5 - While these Italian herb pancakes don't quite match up with dim sum, they are flaky and well flavored. Using them as a side worked out great.