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Mother's Dumplings
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
421 Spadina AveToronto, ON M5T 2A8
Neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Kensington Market, Downtown Core
(416) 217-2008
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- No
142 reviews for Mother's Dumplings
Review Highlights
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"We also had a green onion pancake which was very good." In 20 reviews -
"Beautifully executed small juicy pork buns and boiled..." In 7 reviews -
"xiao long bao aka "the soup dumpling." In 6 reviews
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142 reviews in English
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Review from Tammy Y.
Updated - 5/9/2012
2 years later and you still make my heart swoon. Delicious boiled dumplings (more bang for your buck than the steamed) and the surprisingly delicious wonton soup. What's new since my last review? Menu remains pretty consistent, but check it out! There have been sightings of western (aka, um, not Chinese) servers and yes! Even cooks! Mother don't discriminate!
You continue to be my default spot for a meal that's cheap, cheerful, and that always hits the G-spot.
And that's G for "goodness".1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/28/2010
Let me snuggle into the bosom of Mama's Dumplings.
This place is so good and quickly becoming one of… Read more »
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Review from Michael L.
Richmond Hill, ON
5/15/2012 2 Check-ins Here
After continually hearing hype surrounding Mother's, I caved in an hit them up with my gf. I found that although we were seated very quickly, there was a huge delay with taking our order and serving our order. We waited ~10 mins for the first and 20-25 mins for the latter. I understand that they are hand making their dumplings, but really 20 mins for both pan fried and steamed dumplings is excessive considering their competition at dumpling house doesn't seem to suffer this issue.
I found the food to be on the salty side and quite bland (salt used to cover up the lack of taste or did the salt cover up the subtle tastes...?) We ordered the pan fried onion pancake, pan fried vegetable dumplings, and steamed beef and greens dumplings.
Honestly I can not justify returning to mother dumplings when an alternative is located really close by which has better service and food.Listed in: Ni Hao
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Review from Mathieu B.
Roxboro, QC
4/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
I honnestly like this place a lot! It takes time, it's hand made dumpling. We took the steamed veggie dumpling and steamed shrimp one. The buns were suppringsly good! Very good! My favorite dumpling was the veggie ones. weirdly enough, I just though the texture was better than the shrimp ones. Like every good asian restaurant, there was a good assortment of dipping sauce and even though the service was dry and not very friendly, the dumpling were good. I was passing by the cooks or dumpling master, smiled, and they smiled back. I guess there was some warmt in the service and in was in the open kitchen with the cook. Quite a large place but usually packed.
J'ai adoré mon expérience a cet endroit! Même si ça prend beaucoup plus de temps qu'un dumpling normal, c'est quand même rapide. Le service est un peu froid en revenge, en passant devant les cuisiniers (qui sont dans un cusine à aire ouverte) j'ai souris et reçu un sourire chaleureux qui se reflètais dans les dumplings. J'ai mangé les dumpling à la vapeur végétariens et aux crevettes ainsi que les pains à la vapeur (ceux farcis au porcs et ceux twisted). C'est vraiment délicieux, j'ai à ma surprise, préféré ceux qui était végétarien à ceux aux crevette. Les buns aux porcs était probablement mon truc favoris. L'endroit est assez grand et très bien. -
Review from Ben S.
4/3/2012
We ended up here at 9:30 right before closing. We had the pork buns, fried pork and bok choi dumplings, a small salad (which was seaweed, kimchi and picked radish), and an eggplant dish. The dumplings were, not surprisingly, the best part. The soup dumplings burst in your mouth with a hot flavorful bite and the and the pork dumplings were fried and tasty. The rest of our order could have been left alone.
I've eaten here twice now. It is one of the more non-asian friendly restaurants in Chinatown. It is clean, service isn't fast, but it isn't terribly slow, and it tells you what the specialty is right up on the door. The real downside is that they charge you pretty steeply because of this. $7.50 or $8.00 for an order of dumplings and it would take 3 or 4 to fill up two people.
I think the food is fine, but it isn't a great value and there are so many other restaurants in the area to explore. -
Review from Paola C.
Toronto, ON
First time here.. Great steam dumplimgs.. I will be back ;)
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Review from Janelle W.
Toronto, ON
3/19/2012
Ahhhh dumplings--the perfect brunch meal. I like to start with soup, each person ordering a plate of dumplings and then adding to the meal slowly. By the time a few hours of tea have been downed and your tummy is filled, the sluggishness of the hangover is replaced with the somewhat more manageable sluggishness of dumpling dough in your stomach.
Mother's has more space than Dumpling House across the street and roughly the same quality of food (although I do prefer DH's fried dumplings). They have some good soups, their beef roll is good, the green onion cake is good as others have mentioned. I love both steamed and fried choices, and the soup inside some of the dumpling selections is pretty delicious.
I didn't find the place overpriced as other reviewers have. The service is indifferent but sort of standard for Chinatown--you have to hail servers over but in the times that I've been there I've experienced no major mistakes.
All in all, it's a cheap, satisfying meal, and I think I'm addicted to the dipping vinegar. -
Review from En L.
3/11/2012
I don't understand why this place is so popular. Am I missing something?!?! Maybe we ordered the wrong items....
After readings all the great reviews on this place,I was excited to try this place . It was quite busy when we got there. We waited for 20 min, which is fine. Service was ok. Not great but not bad.
Once the food arrived, my husband and I stared at each other....thinking "really? this is it?" Dumplings were bland. Soup was bland. It even looked bland!
I don't foresee myself going back... -
Review from Tara Z.
2/1/2012
Trust any restaurant that's got a line-up on a Tuesday night! The host warned me it would be 20 minutes before we got a table, but I was seated in ten--my friends hadn't even gotten there before I sat down.
Service was slow because the place was so crowded, but the dumplings were fabulous. I wouldn't order anything that wasn't on the dumpling menu, though--we also tried the steamed buns and the sesame balls, and both were disappointing (the ratio of filling to dough in the beef buns was way off--too much tasteless bun, not enough meat, and the sesame balls were chewy and kind of gross).
Still, the dumplings were delicious and totally hit the spot--I'd go back! -
Review from Flouny S.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 3/7/2012
Went and got the juicy pork steamed buns. These buns are soup steamed buns. It's a small dumpling with a small amount of soup inside. It's great when it's fresh. My problem is that when I got home several of the dumplings had burst (no doubt, the skin was broken when it was removed from the steamer) and all the soup came out.
Which kind of defeats the purpose when you are eating a steamed soup dumpling and there isn't any soup.
I've gotta say, pricewise it's not that great. For $7.29 you only get 8 and they are pretty small. If these were perfect dumplings with soup inside I would have overlooked the price but it wasn't the case.
Oh yeah, one of the few places in chinatown that mandatory charges you $.05 a bag. At such high prices you need to BYOB (bring your own bag).1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/23/2012
The service here can be slow but it's kind of hard to determine if it's with the kitchen staff or… Read more »
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Review from Joanne W.
I'm sorry. But I was so disappointed by the service that I had today. My friend and I went for lunch at 12 - we were actually a bit earlier than that so we got a seat quickly and ordered quickly.
However, none of our food came until 12:30 (beef noodles came around then). We had to check up on them TWICE on our food. The first time the waitress came around, she said that our food was coming soon -- the noodles came about 5 minutes later. When we were done the noodles, we waited another 10 minutes. I know dumplings dont' take THAT long to steam. We then find out that they had forgotten our order and that they were going to steam it then.
Disappointed? Yeah. Very much so.Listed in: OMNOMNOM dumplings
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/24/2010
I actually never had the opportunity to try out Mother's Dumplings at its original location. It… Read more »
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Review from Adam G.
Hamilton, ON
3/5/2012
I would go there every day to eat. Most restaurants I visit a few times, I find out what I like (because while I'm not a picky eater at ALL, I do have preferences, PLUS I'm vegetarian) and order it every time.
I've only gone to Mother's Dumplings 3 times, and I have tried something new every single visit. The hot and sour soup is delicious, the green onion pancake is fantastic, the mushroom and kale steamed dumpling is perfect, and the vegetarian bun is incredibly satisfying.
The portions are fair, the price is almost ideal, the location is great, the service is friendly, and I've never had to wait to sit down, although it has always been pretty full. I would recommend this place to anyone: definitely on my top five list for favourite places to dine! -
Review from Fern H.
2/1/2012
It's taken a long time to get this image out of my mind whenever someone mentions dumplings in Toronto:
http://www.blogto.com/...
It's been a couple of years now so I'm almost over it. We checked out Mother's Dumplings (not the place where the rats were) for brunch on a Sunday.
I was impressed at how big the restaurant was. We were given a table at the very back where the area was lit by a skylight.
We placed our order - steamed ($5.50), pan fried ($5.95) and boiled ($6.25) pork dumplings, juicy pork ($6.10), green onion pancake ($3.55) and garlic baby bak choi ($8.99).
Two orders of dumplings and the pancake arrived first. We were off to a good start but then there was a huge wait (about 30 min) for the next couple of items.
The garlic baby bak choi arrived cold after being delivered to the wrong table. They tasted quite bland and I think it was more boiled than stir fried.
Then another long wait for the next order of dumplings. The juicy pork dumplings were the very last to arrive. At least they were hot.
After this huge wait, we should have known better than to order dumplings to go but I did anyway. Another long wait for two orders of dumplings and the bill.
We had now been in the restaurant for 2.5 hrs which is beyond me. The beauty of Asian food is that it's generally done fast and eaten furiously.
Dumplings were good, especially the fried ones. The slow service completely deters me from coming back. Definitely not for the impatient (like me). Thank god for my good brunch companions. -
Review from Malini D.
Toronto, ON
1/16/2012
Overpriced everything.
I had the juicy pork dumplings, beef buns and some wonton soup (it was cold outside!). The juicy pork dumplings were good, but not anything outstanding. Granted, I was spoiled by actually going to Taiwan and having really excellent soup/juicy dumplings, but I don't think that experience would mar my palate so much as to think any less of their quality. It just wasn't that good, and definitely not something I'd trek out into the cold for.
The beef buns were understuffed and not that tasty. The wonton soup was really underseasoned, but had way too many chives and fried onions in it, but the dumplings in the soup were good.
DEFINITELY NOT worth the price. You can buy a few meals in Chinatown for what they charge here. It just isn't justifiable. Go down to Dumpling House (get the fried dumplings, preferably lamb) or like, anywhere else if you can, and don't bother with this place. -
Review from Amber B.
Toronto, ON
2/15/2012
I love Mother's Dumpling!
I have been here a number of times with different people. I like dim sum in general, and the concept of trying all different kinds of things. What makes Mother's Dumplings perfect is how you can do it so deliciously, and for so cheap!
I have shared a number of dishes with others- my favourites are the chicken mushroom boiled dumplings. Also notable are the pan fried pork and bok choi, and the green onion pancake. The wonton soup was good as well. The only thing I didn't like was the boiled egg- the sauce that it was in didn't appeal to me, but I feel like the whole point of dim sum is trying new things every time!
I will go here again for sure, and would recommend it to anyone looking for dim sum! (We have always gotten decent service as well, but it does get VERY busy- it's not a very well kept secret!) -
Review from Susan G.
1/6/2012
I always walk past Mother's Dumplings and see a full restaurant - finally went in and tried it myself, and it was great!!
The decor and atmosphere are pretty similar to most restaurants in Chinatown, with one exception - the open concept "kitchen" ("kitchen" because it was more like a dumpling making area... but kitchen-y enough). It was really nice to be able to see them making the mountains of dumplings.
The service is pretty much what I expected it would be - there aren't a lot of servers, and the place is packed so it can be hard to get their attention. It wasn't a deal breaker though, as we had lots of time.
The dumplings were all delicious - we had the pork and chives, pork chives and shrimp (note: exactly the same as the first but with shrimp), the pork and dill, and a pan fried pork and bok choi dumpling, which was my favorite. We also had the dessert platter - as there were 4 of us, they gave us 8 pieces instead of the 6 listed, which was really nice and let us try them all! The dessert buns were quite good, and also really visually appealing!
I will definitely be back - I would even consider stopping by to get a big platter of dumplings for the office, or to bring to party!
Note: they don't accept credit card payments - debit and cash only! -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
11/20/2011
Maybe I'm not the biggest fan of boiled dumplings... I'm more of a wonton wrapper sand XLB kind of gal, but what the heck, these boiled dumpling with pork and bak Chou could change my life.
Unfortunately it didn't. For 5.99 you got 12 dumplings, which I think we ended up getting a more generous portion of 15. You could not really identify the bak Chou, although the pork tasted fresh. The dough did not taste much different from the one I buy from a package, although the more I ate, the better it tasted. I liked loading up on the vinegar, and as I bit into each dumpling, it reminded me a little of a XLB because there was a little bit of soup contained inside.
I love watching the cooks in the kitchen and seeing all the other dishes being ordered. I would definitely want to try some of the other buns.. Including pan fried red bean and dessert ones.
Each order is prepared upon ordering so be prepared to wait for those dumplings to cook. It gets pretty at night so if it's prime time, then you will probably have to wait for a table. You can also buy dozen packaged dumplings for your enjoyment at home. How good is that.
So I can't say that this was the best dumplings ever, but I'll be back.. Hopefully my two stars isn't too discouraging... -
Review from Anabel L.
Toronto, ON
11/21/2011
momma knows child, momma knows
I LOVE DUMPLINGS! Of course, my mother's dumplings are infinitely better. But that is because my mother is the best. There is no one like my mother and thus, there is nothing like her dumplings. You would love my mother too. She creates happiness in the kitchen.
But this is not about my mother. This about Zhen's mother, and I like her dumplings. They're homemade pockets of comfort. Greasy, but very tasty.
They moved locations a while back to a shiny and new place right on Spadina, south of College. Normally I like shiny, but would it be so wrong if I preferred the dingy basement on Huron? Because I did.
In any event, they still serve a long list of different dumplings - steamed, boiled, and fried.
My personal favourites are these babies: Fried - Pork & Bok Choy - $6.95
My sister LOVED this: Pancake - Chives & Egg - $5.49
And we all enjoyed these: Steamed - Juicy Pork Bun - $6.10
If you have a fried dumpling fix. Go to Mother's Dumplings to squash it. -
Review from Desmond W.
3/13/2012
Decent dumplings, decent price, $2.75 Chinese beers during happy hour, what are you complaining about?
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Review from Joe H.
11/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
So after hearing of another place for dumplings I had to try it. It's right on spadina on the north side of china town, so I figure it can't be too off right?
I immediately ordered 2 orders of the pork and chive dumplings and then an order of the fried pork and bok choy dumplings. The surpassing thing for me is that they had a decent beer selection. Everything from Mill St. beers to Sapporo to Yang Jing (which I found out is surpassingly good).
It kinda took forever for all the food to come out. I guess it may be because they make everything right away... I would probably have a tiny stockpile ready to go, but I guess I came at a bad time? Either way, it's china town... I wasn't really expecting good service anyways.
The dough for the steamed dumplings was pretty good. Really thin, however it broke and wasn't sealed in certain places (rush job =/). The pork filling was really rough and seemed like it was all lean pork (you really need the fat in this case). Overall it wasn't exactly the best dumpling I've had.
The fried dumplings were a completely different ball park. I actually kinda enjoyed them. They aren't the big long ones that you get everywhere else, but rather the same dumpling shape that they make, just fried. The filling was a bit more pleasant because the bok choy really made the filling more moist and smooth.
Another thing that bugged me was the prices of the dumplings. I'm judging by the fact that I can get 16 really good dumplings for 4.99 uptown... These were 6.99 for 10... GAH!!!
Ya, I'm not making this trip down here again. Check out the rest of my dumpling list for the hit list.Listed in: Best places for Dumplings
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Review from Nao C.
North York, ON
1/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
The "mother" in "Mother's Dumplings" is truly reflective of the homey feel of their food, for which I was grateful. Coming from the North York-Markham area leaves me really disappointed in the Chinese options downtown sometimes, despite living near a so-called "Chinatown", whose variety seems to consist of Vietnamese food and Southern Chinese cuisine in shades varying from gross to mediocre to okay.
So of course I was pretty excited when I found out about Mother's Dumplings, with advertised Northern Chinese fare and specialising in dumplings! I love my Cantonese dim sum as much as the next person but yay! finally some taste of home.
I wasn't disappointed. The interior and food actually reminds me of some restaurants I've eaten at in China. The food is also comparable -- not the best I've ever had, but a good an option as any in Toronto. You can taste the homemade-ness in these dumplings (in a good way). The skins are thick but not too thick and come in piles of 20 or something just like at my mom's dinner parties. The flavours they come in are also standard Northern Chinese fare, including my favourite (pork & chives) and my least favourite (dill). Their zhajiangmian is not bad and the scallion pancakes OK too, but the dumplings are definitely best.
The atmosphere is actually better than most Chinatown restaurants (not including the shiny new young people teashops of course). I mean, don't have crazy expectations or anything but there's space and a bit of decoration and colour. Service is OK -- what you'd expect from most Chinese restaurants. Nothing to write home about but nothing to complain about either. I once went their with some friends just when they were supposed to be closing (we didn't realise this since there were still people inside finishing up their food) and they took us in anyway and let us get in the last order.
So yeah, whether they compare to your own mother's dumplings (if she makes any) is probably dependent on your mother, but overall this place is relatively great! -
Review from Emily H.
11/6/2011
*3.5*
Ever since I can remember I been eating my dumpringz, I been eating my dumpringz, I been eating my dumpringz
My grandfather is an excellent cook, as is my mother, so my childhood was filled with warm fuzzy memories of folding dumplings and feasting on them. Like every good Chinese kid knows, dumplings are a craft and each family passes along different flavours, ingredients, and secrets down the family tree. A dumpling dinner at a friend's house will always be different than a dumpling dinner at your parents'.
Mother does a good job of bringing back those joyful emotions with her Mandarin speaking servers and cooks, dark vinegar - which I am so SO fond of, and selection of comfort dishes which are traditional to the Chinese family (read: not the standard Westernized Chinese food). Her new location is great, really spacious and clean; and while you won't get your 5-star service and they struggle with bringing out food in a timely succession, the servers are present throughout the restaurant and will respond to your requests pretty quickly.
I've been here several times and I've been a fan of most of her dumplings. Her Pan-fried Bean Sauce Noodles (Zha Jiang Mian) is really excellent and I always order a plate of Watercress. I would advise to STAY AWAY from most of her side/cold dishes, they aren't very good. Neither is the Green Onion Pancake.
For those interested in having dumplings catered, we used to order from them to feed parties of 20 and she's always done a good job... and this is when she was in that little hole-in-the-wall location on Huron.
I will always turn to them for some authentic homemade dumpling happiness.
Atmosphere 2.5/5
Service 3/5
Food 4/5
Price 4/5 -
Review from waeza s.
Toronto, ON
11/15/2011
I really like Mother's Dumplings. The 'egg and chives' pancakes, the 'beef and celery' boiled dumplings and the 'shrimp and egg' steamed dumplings are my favorites.
The pancakes come in a serving of four and for the dumplings you have an option of choosing to order a serving of 12 or 24 dumplings. I normally order the smaller portion of 12, and this is more than enough food to satisfy a meal for two average sized people.
I just wished they offered pan fried dumplings with something other than pork filling, as I don't eat pork : / ... one star off for this.
Mother's dumpling is a yummy, very reasonable and clean dumpling house that I will always go to to get my dumpling fix. -
Review from Tara E.
Mother's dumplings is a good low key place to grab a quick dinner or lunch. What it lacks in romance (and decor) it makes up in the ability to people watch hipsters. The dumplings are good. Not blow you away good, but consistently good. I do wish they had a vegetarian pan fried dumpling option however, as I often visit here with my veggie friends, and they only offer steamed and boiled vegetarian options. The dessert tray is visually delightful (but was slightly chewy the one time I ordered it.) I'd order it again though.
A double order of vegetarian dumplings (20) plus a green onion pancake was decent for lunch for two. Cost (with complimentary tea) was just over $23 with tax and tip.Listed in: Eating Near U of T
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Review from Louis T.
12/4/2011
Come here for the soup dumplings, which aren't the best ones I've had, but are solid. And you can get them at all in Toronto, whereas they seem to be missing here in Berlin.
Anyway, the bottom line is. Soup dumplings: YAY! Other dumplings: Yay! Scallion pancakes: ok. Speed at lunch: reasonable. So maybe it's all nostalgia, but 4 stars. -
Review from Ian P.
11/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner (no that's not right)
Winner Winner Dumpling Dinner (aha much better)
This place really has some quite good dumplings. My host took me here for a very tasty lunch. We had a huge assortment of dumplings. The clear winners were the pan fried pork dumplings, but all of the assortment we had were quite good. The shrimp, egg, and chive ones were also tasty. Careful, many of the dumplings are very hot! A few of the steamed ones had some "structural integrity" problems...meaning they were pretty hard to extract intact from their neighbors.
The food was prepared fresh...we even had to wait a few minutes for one because they assembled the dumplings from scratch. All of them ranged from good to excellent. Service was prompt and friendly. The atmosphere is pleasant as well. And best of all, for more food than I even came close to needing, it was about $10.
Definitely a place to come back to. -
Review from Tricia Z.
Toronto, ON
4/19/2012
This is truly Mother's dumplings cos it tastes very similar to what my mom makes! So authenticity check passed. My bf and I used to come here quite often since he has a regular craving for dumplings and we always order one boiled dumpling dish, one pan fried dumpling dish and the juicy pork buns. Delish! However, they raised the prices quite a bit and while it's good, we've found somewhere else just as good, cheaper and has a lot more selections! ;)
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Review from Sarah O.
Toronto, ON
12/3/2011
I've visited this place a few times now but I just wanted to put a warning out to vegetarians: be careful they don't fuck up your order and feed you meat dumplings!!
I like this place because the dumplings are made onsite and it's cheap but today was a bit off putting. 20 years of being a vegetarian only to have a bite of a meat dumpling was a little gross.
The service was pretty crappy. The guy seemed pretty inept and got overwhelmed when we ordered tea. They could've not charged me for that dish for fucking up. It's a little disconcerting because what if I had a seafood allergy and they accidentally served me a seafood-filled dumpling?
So vegetarians and people with allergies, be careful! Maybe cut that little packet open before you dig in! -
Review from Annie K.
11/1/2011
Atmosphere - I really like how it was designed. From the table and chairs to the ceiling decor, I felt like I was in China enjoying a cup of tea.
Service - I'm use to service with a smile. Not happy to see us at Mother's Dumpling, but most servers were always ready to assist and take our orders. Truthfully, that's all that matters when it comes down to dining in the restaurant.
Dumplings - I really thought this would be the place that I would have the BEST and most memorable dumplings in my lifetime. That was not the case. It was nothing special. Just like any dumplings that I've tasted. The biggest disappointment was their soup dumplings (xia long bao) was empty. There was no soup in there at all. What is that?!!!
Audience - yes, we had an audience. It was pretty cool that we got to see the cooks making the dumplings. It was NOT so cool when they continued to stare at us and smiling throughout the entire time. *Yes, yes, we are out of towners. Now stop staring and make your dumplings.* -
Review from Vincci L.
How does this compare to my own mother's dumplings? It can't compare. But it was still worth a try to see what this place was about.
We arrived just before the dinner rush, and were able to be seated immediately. The decor is tacky Chinese-with red lanterns hanging throughout the restaurant.
Just wanting to grab a snack, we shared 12 of the bok choy and pork boiled dumplings. I'm assuming that the dumplings are made to order so we had to wait a bit before the food arrived.
Then, a heaping plate of freshly boiled dumplings arrived. I was pretty excited to try it out, getting myself prepared with the soy, vinegar, and the sriracha. Dipping the dumpling into the sauces, I took a bite.
The skin wasn't too thick, the filling was flavorful, and there was also a bit of soup within. The pork wasn't too fatty, but there was a lack of bok choy, which I would have preferred to have more of. These weren't the best dumplings I've ever had, but they were good.
So, whenever you're craving dumplings, it's surely the perfect comfort food on a cold winter day. -
Review from Howard H.
8/18/2011
Who you callin' a mutha? Oh - sorry. I was born in Brooklyn.
The dumplings here are fresh and plentiful...but I just didn't find them as rave-worthy as other reviewers have. They're tasty, reasonably authentic and whenever anyone asks to catch up here I don't automatically steer them to another place. They are not the dumplings of legend. Not the dumplings that make you order a few dozen to go after you've snarfed the third one. Not the dumplings you crave in the soup you wish you'd made the night before on a caustically cold Toronto night. Sorry fans - These are not THOSE dumplings.
The boiled dumplings have an overly water sloshy quality to them - in my opinion in excess of the generally accepted parameters established by the IDDI (International Dumpling and Dim Sum Institute).
The veggie dumplings are really good, but every time I've been there they only have one type available.
The steamed pork and chive are very nice - the juicy pork bun was excellent.
There are some decent picks on the menu; I've found flashes of flair in some of the other food items. The sweet apple salad is tasty - my dining companions have loved it - although i felt it could benefit from a bit of heat (easily fixed table side) and that it got a bit cloying at the halfway mark. I liked the green onion pancake, but others were put off by the fact that it was a bit crunchier than they were used to. Everyone agreed that they hit a winner with the cold tofu noodle salad - just the right notes of sesame oil and the perfect sense of chewiness - actually, we ALL took one of those to go...
Worth a shot? Yes. Worth your undying loyalty? Not at this time. -
Review from Olivia S.
North York, ON
9/24/2011 1 photo
Ate at Mother's Dumplings one rainy day last week and it was the perfect place to dry off, warm up and enjoy some casual food.
First impression: smells great in there! Even though their 'specialty' is porc and dill dumplings I wasn't a huge fan. They were good, but too dill flavored and just reminded me of a dill pickle. I really really liked the porc and bok choy dumplings though! -
Review from Anthony K.
Toronto, ON
11/23/2011
EXCELLENT!!!
This is one of those hidden gems in Chinatown. I have been to this place on several occasions and have not been disappointed. It is a bit far from the core Chinatown area, so don't think you are walking the wrong direction, when in fact you are almost there.
To me, the dumplings are very authentic. You can see the staffs making the dumplings behind the counter, it is fresh. Most dumplings come either pan fried, steamed or boiled. I have tried all of them and can tell you the steamed ones are my favorite, especially if you are trying to watch what you eat.
There are lots of choices in terms of filling, ranges from pork to seafood to vegetarian. I have tried the seafood and vegetarian variety and can tell you they are delicious. The fillings are fresh and moist, when in your mouth, it's like a taste explosion. Of course the place offer other things aside from dumplings but most people come here for the dumplings.
It is a pretty busy spot, if you are preparing to come during peek hours, keep in mind you may have to wait. -
Review from Justine H.
Toronto, ON
10/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
Restaurant: Mother's Dumplings
Cuisine: Chinese
Location: Chinatown
Address: 421 Spadina Ave
Price Range: ~$10
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very Good 5: Excellent
Food: 2
Service: 1
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 2
Extra information:
*Specialize in Dumplings
*Open for lunch at 11:30AM
*Make their own dumplings
Mother's Dumpling is known for their dumplings in Chinatown. My family had already visited this place without me couple weeks back, and told me it was pretty decent so I decided to give it a try.
The restaurant is very big with random lounge looking sofas at the backside of the seating area.
Ordered: Smashed Cucumber 2/5
*plate of cold cucumber pieces with soy sauce for $3.79
*This is premade and very cold
*It's good size for the price you are playing
*They use regular cucumbers (not the Chinese kind, where it's smaller and thinner)
*Because they use regular cucumber, soy sauce doesn't soak in entirely
*Has strong cilantro, garlic and soy sauce but it just wasn't enough
*Really good smashed cucumbers burst with flavor but this was just refreshing
*If you are not used to chopsticks, you might have problem with this dish
*Because cucumber pieces are quite big and slippery, it might be hard to pick up
*I've used chopsticks all my life and I still found it a little difficult
Ordered: Xia Long Bao 2/5
*8 pieces of Dumplings with soup inside for $6.69
*Good Xia Long Baos have very thin skin with lots of soup inside, but it shouldn't rip when you pick it up
*This had super thin skin so it was hard to pick up
*They didn't give us spoons to eat this with
*You are suppose to make a hole on the dumpling, dump the soup out onto the spoon, drink it and then eat the dumpling
*Were they just expecting us to throw in the hot dumpling down our throat?
*Asked for spoon twice and waited 10 minutes, it was just ridiculous
*By the time we got our spoon, dumplings were cold and had already soaked up all the soup inside
*Vinegar is provided on the table but it usually comes with ginger pieces in soy sauce.
Ordered: Pork and Bok Choy Pan fried Dumpling 3/5
*10 pieces for $7.59
*It comes steaming hot
*Can't really taste the bok choy because the pork overwhelms the flavor
*There was soup inside the dumplings, this was weird because it's pan fried
*Be careful while eating them because the soup will squirt out
*Dumpling skin is thick and sticky
*For the sauce I added soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil
I only realized by the time I was leaving that it was 70% Non-Asians and 30% Asians at this place. To me that's usually a bad sign at Asian restaurants. I am not saying Non-Asians can't tell what's good/bad Asian food but it usually tells me that this specific restaurant is less likely to be authentic and caters to Non-Asians most of the time. Generally I can assume that the flavors and the recipe has been altered to be served to those who are unfamiliar with Asian food.
Overall, the food was just mediocre but the service was unacceptable. Especially when they serve the type of food where it needs to be eaten while hot, slow service and miscommunication amongst employees are one of the worst things that can happen. All my food got cold and I was so angry by the time I left. I don't think I will be going back to this place. -
Review from Glen M.
Toronto, ON
10/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
On a recommendation from a colleague we headed to Mothers Dumplings on a rainy Friday night, just managing to avoid the deluge as we reached the restaurant.
There were a few groups waiting, but fortunately as it was just me and Allerina M, we only waited for about 5 minutes before getting seated.
As with most authentic noodle and dumpling places, the process is on display and Mothers Dumpling is no different, with Mother (and Father it seemed on this day) working away making dumpling after dumpling behind a plexiglass screen.
The kids (waitstaff) were briskly moving around the restaurant bringing food to the guests. There was a little wait for the first dish, Pork and Chive Dumplings, to arrive but well worth it and not unexpected considering that the restaurant was full and it being a Friday night. Shortly after the Noodles & pan-fried bean sauce arrived. The fresh noodles were tender and tasty, taking on a coating of the pork in bean sauce after mixing. The last dish of pan fried pork and bak choi followed.
The dumplings were good, but could have done with slightly more soup. The pan fried pork and bak choi could have had a little more depth of flavour in the meat but were still tasty. Overall though, the three dishes were filling and warming on a rainy Friday night and reasonably priced.
The menu itself is not overly extensive, but I am looking forward to getting back to try out the other dumplings on offer. -
Review from Jasper C.
York, ON
2/12/2012
A trendy, sit-down restaurant that specializes in freshly handmade dumplings and noodles. Service is gracious but spotty, aided by a cheeky, Beijing vibe about the place that sets it apart from the other establishments in Chinatown.
-
Review from Chris M.
6/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
Dumplings! They're delicious. I make my own at home all the time, but with store-bought wrappers, so I was keen to taste the fresh-made variety from a real dumpling house. Enter Mother's. It looks small and grubby from the outside, but inside is a spacious dining room that looks right onto the kitchen where you can see the staff rolling and packing and crimping the dumplings right in front of you - a nice touch!
I'm most partial to steamed dumplings, and ordered some of the pork and chive variety as well as some vegetable ones. A green onion pancake and a couple of steamed red bean buns rounded out the meal. They let you mix and match dipping ingredients to suit your taste at the table, but there's no delicious pale pink vinegar (my favourite dumpling condiment!) available.
Unfortunately, as the dumplings are made fresh, the food took a while to arrive. There's little in the way of service to speak of, either: you get your teapot, you get your order card, and then you fend for yourself.
The onion pancake made for a pretty good, if salty, snack. It was piping hot and not too greasy, and nicely crisp on the outside, but noticeably mushy inside when it could have been flakier. It did come with lots of onion filling, though.
The dumplings were very well done, as I had hoped they would be at a place called "Mother's Dumplings." You really can taste the just-rolled freshness of the dough and there's plenty of tasty filling in each morsel - it's great, but I wish that the wrappers were a bit thinner, as when fresh like this they seem to have a slightly doughier texture and taste that's made more noticeable by the thicker wrapper. They do arrive very hot, though, and you have to be careful not to burn your mouth as you might be eager to start eating after waiting for the food to arrive. I would suggest letting them cool a bit - the flavour of the filling is more noticeable that way.
I was torn as to how to feel about the steam buns. I love red bean, and the filling was spot-on, but the bun itself was bland - it feels like there's a lot of bun and not a ton of beans. It had a wonderful pillowy texture when eaten right away, but turned flat and chewy by the time I got around to the second bun.
Give Mother's a visit if you want exactly what it says on the sign, made fresh, in clean and casual surroundings - and you don't mind waiting. They serve good food but are hampered by their inability to nail the little things, and the service doesn't do the food justice. -
Review from Tina D.
7/31/2011
I have been here 3 times. I have also been the ever famous Din Tai Fung dumpling house in Arcadia, CA. I've only been to the Arcadia one once, but thought it was the perfect dumpling. Fillings were great and the steamed rice shells were of perfect consistency. I wish I can go back and compare it some more with Mother's Dumplings. Maybe during my next California visit back home...
Anyway, not everything at Mother's Dumplings is amazing. I definitely recommend the steamed pork and chives and steamed vegetarian dumplings. Yum yum. The pork has a little bit of fat so the dumplings are a little bit juicy on the inside. And, I love chives so it can't get any better. The vegetarian dumplings have vermicelli, tofu, and mushrooms inside and it has that mushroom flavor. Very delish.
I ordered my dumplings with the dried seaweed and dried soup, which was only $1.50! I thought it was a great accommodation to the dumplings. However, I have had the tomato soup (5.99) and thought it was extremely tasty.
Others I have ordered and do not recommend:
Steamed beef and chives - not as flavorful as the
Steamed shrimp - it was not what I was expecting.
Pork buns - I definitely would not recommend this at all. I would go elsewhere.
Pancakes - good. I would order again but I would rather save room in my tummy for more dumplings. -
Review from ritchie c.
Toronto, ON
3/31/2011
Disappointment. There's no other way to describe my first and subsequent bites of what Mother's Dupmlings served us. Now you're going to have to read this review with a grain of salt, because my dumpling standards are pretty high. You don't eff with something I used to make with my grandmother.
Let's start with the basics. The wah-teep (pot stickers for the white ppl) were soggy and sad. They NEED to be crispy and nicely charred on one side and succulent on the other! Right away I knew I was in for a rough ride. Stopped eating them right away so I could take them home to re-fry.
The green onion pancake was ALL greasy dough, zero flake and required a flashlight to spot the onions. Lamb sew-mi was gamey as all hell and I usually don't mind gameiness but this was almost inedible. Had to soak it in soy and vinegar to get through most of them.
The broth for the wonton soup was actually pretty good with the combination of onions, mushrooms and random bits of veg, but the wontons themselves lacked any real flavour and personality.
Lastly the Xiao-Long-Bao's (soup dumplings). They were okay, the dough was a little too thick, almost too chewy, the meat was... ah whatever, I wasn't happy with my meal here.
I held off coming here for a while because I didn't want to be disappointed; alas my fears came true in spades. Where should I go now for dumplings? Chinatown must redeem itself. -
Review from Kent P.
2/27/2011
The problem with this place is that all those honkies like it.
Came here on Chinese New Year (how original) and it was SLAMMED. Took about an hour to be seated and two hours to finish the meal which came out in portions every 15 minutes or so. The dumplings were great though. In order to avoid the rush - make a reservation. No one makes reservations in Chinatown (that I know) - but they take them! So do that. It will be more fun for you.
Who knew you could have a whole meal of dumplings!? (Me.).
They serve other stuff, too.
ttyn,
PListed in: aZN food ^__^ kekekek
-
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
1/31/2011 6 photos
I read so much about Mother's Dumplings on Yelp! I have yet have any dumplings in Chinatown as there are tons up at Scarborough/Richmond Hill area. Both me and my friend were pleasantly surprise how good the food they served here!!
The deco here is nice! Way too nice for a Chinese restaurant.. dare I say it is decorated more for the non Chinese crowds..... Even the washroom here is nice and clean... Am I in Chinatown???
Beef Noodle is great!! The soup base has this great aroma of beef and hmmm and nicely flavoured!! The noodle was chewy with a lot of bite but cooked perfectly without the taste of flour...
Boiled Vegetable and Pork dumplings!! The skin was so thin... not doughy at all!! I just kept popping them in my mouth and my friend just couldn't keep up with me and I ended up ate 2/3 of the order!! and I can still have more!! They are that good!!
Services here is fast and efficient... typical Chinese restaurants services...
Now I want to try their steamed dumplings and hopefully that will be real soon!
