The Thousands

As a fierce advocate of Dumpling King, it is with a lump in my throat that I announce the arrival of a place that might, just might, be even better than the Chinatown snacking joint. It’s called Mandoo. Tucked down off Hindley, this newly opened Korean dumpling restaurant is very cosy, delicious, and cheap.

The first thing you’ll notice when you walk in is how amazing the floor is. It’s been covered with wallpaper that mimics dried flowers pressed into the cracks, very cute. You will at some point bend over and touch them, just to see if they’re real. The dining room and open kitchen are situated in the same weeny area, so you can see the chef making up the dumplings on the spot. They keep the place so warm in there that the windows fog up!

The place is adorable, but then there’s the food. Their simplistic A4 menu is perfectly accommodating for those who don’t want to read through a novella of meal options, offering vegetarian and meat dumplings either fried or steamed. There is bibimbap too, and a dumpling soup.

I loved you once Dumpling King. But now that I’ve found your younger and tastier cousin, I’m never going back.