Saucy Dumplings

Some of best dumplings this side of Shanghai!

i encountered Michael’s Saucy Dumplings cooking when the catered a private group event and thought everything was excellent — not only the dumplings but the asparagus and mushrooms and the fresh tasting shrimp appetizers and the Chow Fun. In the Cantonese style but with more attention to healthy fresh ingredients than in the traditional Cantonese restaurant.

Some of the tastiest pork buns I’ve had in recent time.
The barbecue-​pork-​filled bun was still warm when I bit in and WOW that’s a tasty pork bun. The BBQ pork to bun ratio was spot on and the pork was juicy and flavorful. I highly recommend Saucy Dumplings if you’re looking for a quick snack to take the edge off, or try two for more of an on-​the-​go meal.
Michael (the owner?) is also quite friendly. It’s easy to eat local with vendors as friendly as him :)

Wow! What a surprise!
Last Friday I went to OTG with a friend to check out the scene down there.
Tucked away in the crowd was Suacy Dumplings.
I tried the Pumpkin Dumplings which sounded a bit out of the ordinary, but we were feeling adventurous, so we went for it.
What a surprise!
My friend tried it first and her eyebrows raised up. With her mouth full she said «this is good! this is good!»
I didn’t believe that it could be that good, so I tried it…
well whaddya know!!! It IS good!
The pumpkin flavor reminded me of my favorite pumpkin pie that we have every year for Thanksgiving. It was a good way to finish our adventure at OTG.
Saucy Dumplings! We’ll be back to try your other dumplings next time!

These are hardly your traditional Asian dumplings. Tried the chicken and the mushroom, both coated in panko flakes and smothered in pizza sauce. They were good, but «dumpling» would’ve been the last word I’d use to describe these. More like… uh…hors d’oeuvres. Wish I had a beer to go along with these.

LOCATION:
Off the Grid: Fort Mason tent last Friday\
For an accurate location, I believe you can either follow them on Twitter or Facebook
THAT DAY’S MENU ($ 5):
*Three Tikka Chicken Masala Dumplings
*Three Veggie (Cauliflower) Masala Dumplings
*Four Pork & Chive Dumplings
THINGS TO KNOW:
*Dumplings are pretty small (not worth the $ 5 in my opinion)
*Although the dumplings say they come with either a masala or vinegar and herb sauce, sauces are actually in bottles on the side for you to squirt on your own sauce.
MY ORDER:
I ordered the pork and chive dumplings. I squirted on some vinegar and herb sauce. I don’t think you can use too much sauce because I don’t think I had enough. The dumplings were pan fried and basically tasted like potstickers. But hey, I like potstickers so I thought the dumplings were good and contained a good mixture of pork and chives.
Originally, my friends and I thought the «dumplings» were going to be similar to Shanghai dumplings. Don’t think that because you will be disappointed.

Since I’ve tried Happy Dumplings at OTG, I figured it was time to give Saucy Dumplings (also at OTG: Fort Mason) a try. Saucy Dumplings features Chinese dumpling skins and Asian fusion fillings. The dumplings were cooked already and kept in metal buffet trays.
Dumplings on the menu:
* Chicken tikka masala dumplings: 2 potsticker size pan fried dumplings for $ 4. The price is ridiculous for what you get. The thick skinned dumplings are filled with tiny chopped pieces of boneless chicken, marinated in yogurt and sautéed. The chicken didn’t have much flavor but they put a lot inside the dumpling. All the masala seemed to be in the sauce (not in the dumpling). Adding the masala sauce and the crunchy onion relish helped add crunch and flavor — but shouldn’t the filling be flavorful too? The bottoms were black/​burnt.
* Cauliflower masala dumplings
* Pork & chive dumplings: I saw these, they are tiny
They had three squeeze bottles with three sauces (mild masala, spicy masala and something else). Really disappointing… most dumplings are better.
Cash only.

I love dumplings so I was curious to try this. Nothing special really. I had the chicken tikka masala and I can’t really taste the flavor.
I would have given them 2 stars but $ 5 for 3 small pieces of average-​tasting dumplings is just a ripoff.
They should seriously knock the pricing down by at least half.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA «DUMPLINGS»???
Yesterday, 4.22.11, my friends and I came to Off The Grid — Fort Mason. Among the 28 food truck/​stands, there were 2 dumpling stands: Happy Dumplings and Saucy Dumplings. Since Happy Dumplings is at the Farmer’s Market at Stonestown Mall every Sunday (restaurant location in TL has been bought over), we opted to try SD since we’ve never heard of it before.
MENU (3 Dumplings for $ 5):
1. Chicken Tikka Masala Dumplings w/​a Mildly Spicy or Spicy Masala
2. Veggie (Cauliflower) Masala Dumplings w/​a Mildly Spicy or Spicy Masala
3. Pork & Chives w/​a Rich Vinegar Herb Sauce
As soon as I saw the CTM Dumplings on the menu, I knew I had to try it since I can get Pork & Chive Dumplings anywhere (i.e. my freezer). The CTM Dumplings were an innovative concept, but terribly executed. I thought it would be «chicken tikka masala» inside the dumplings… WRONG!
Thinking that the bottles of masala sauce was there only as an accompaniment, I drizzled some of mildly spicy masala sauce on my dumplings and if I would have known that there was NO sauce inside the dumplings I would have bathed the dumplings in the sauce. The dumplings were room temperature having been sitting in a metal tray which dried out the skin making it hard and chewy. Also, the dumpling skin was torn and busted open in most areas. The dumplings were only filled with overcooked grilled chicken that was hard, dry and bland. The sauce was a saving grace as it was creamy, tangy and slightly sweet with a subtle kick, however, it missing the robust flavor of spices (e.g. cumin, cinnamon, garlic, etc.) that I’m accustomed to with authentic masala sauce.
I can be a very harsh critic at times especially with Asian Fusion fare, so I asked 3 of my other friends to try it and they all agreed that the CTM Dumplings were hard, dry, bland and were poorly executed.
It’s a known that food truck prices are inflated, but 3 small dumplings for $ 5 is excessive especially when I when I can get ~10 hai gow (shrimp) or siu mai (pork) dumplings for the same price at my local dim sum take out place, so…
1 Star for the friendly service.
1 Star since my friend said her Pork & Chive Dumplings were good

I had the Tikka Chicken dumplings at Off The Grid. Yummy. Marinated chicken wrapped in a dumpling– crispy on one side, soft on the other (perfect) — with no pesky vegetables getting in the way. I went with the spicy masala sauce. Really good. The spicy is not for the delicate– think sriracha.

Saucy Dumplings elicits senuous thoughts of of xiao long baos.
arriving at the dumplings’ table, my tastebuds unsizzled at the sight of pedestrian, oversized veggie and meat/​shrimp wontons obviously panfried not steamed.
locale: new taste marketplace (³⁄₁₂)
sampling: pork and shrimp dumplings aka wontons (4/​$ 5)
–wontons are traditionally served in chicken broth soup.
–dumplings can be boiled in a broth, (sui jiao) or pan fried ala potstickers (guo teh)
-«dumplings» were pretty large, wrapped on site in plain view.
–dumpling filling bland, no shrimp, pork or any taste whatsoever. «where’s the juice?» comes to mind.
-«hot sauce» (sriracha) and «magic dumpling sauce» (soy sauce +) available as seasoning/​sauce,
foodnotes:
–affable vendor, «dumplings» very popular.
–dumplings takes 5 – 10 minutes to cook
–save your $, nothing new here.