In August 2023, Ugly Dumpling opened its first location in Edison, New Jersey. Its Morris Plains location opened up this past February, and it has taken over local social media pages by storm. Specializing in Shanghai-style soup dumplings, wontons, and dim sum, Ugly Dumpling has been a hot topic among Morris County citizens. After hearing my friends and people online raving about the food, I knew I had to try it.
We walked into Ugly Dumpling around 6:00 PM on a Saturday, and it was absolutely packed. The wait was over forty-five minutes for a table, but we were able to get some of the last seats at the bar. Many people, including myself, had assumed they did not take reservations, so there was a long line in front of us filled with customers who were willing to wait almost an hour for a table. Looking around the restaurant, I was able to see tables and booths filled with people enjoying their dinners, as well as a room in the corner of the kitchen that had windows on every wall, allowing diners to see what the chefs were preparing. Upon a closer look, a large sign labelled “Bao Lab” was on one of the interior walls, and the chefs were preparing fresh dumpling wrappers. Overall, the atmosphere was super sleek and modern, elevating the dining experience as a whole.
Like a typical family-style restaurant, plates, chopsticks, and soup spoons were waiting for us at the bar. We decided to order basic Chinese cuisine, as I often find that if restaurants are able to make average food incredible, their more complex dishes are also superb. Each dish came out one by one, giving us a chance to taste each component of the meal individually before combining them all once everything was out.
We started by ordering broccoli with garlic, which features crispy, warm broccoli served in garlic oil. This was a great start to the experience, as it wasn’t super heavy. We also got chicken fried rice, which was also surprisingly light. I am used to your typical American Chinese takeout restaurant, with greasy and filling rice, dumplings, and chicken dishes. Ugly Dumpling’s chicken fried rice was fluffy, filled with scrambled eggs, and had huge pieces of chicken. Although I thought it could have used a little more seasoning for added flavor, especially soy sauce or garlic, I think it was a great base for the meal. Finally, we ordered one of the customer favorites: the pork soup dumplings. These dumplings were soft, and the filling was delicious. The broth was amazing, and the pork inside was flavorful and well-seasoned.
Since there were only two of us dining, we had plenty of leftovers and were given a small to-go container, which I was excited to have for dinner one night. I would say Ugly Dumpling passed my “basic foods test,” and I am excited to come back to try some of the other dishes on the extensive menu. Specifically, the six-piece Ugly Dumpling sampler (which features each of the top soup dumplings), chicken stir-fried noodles, and the sweet and sour chicken. Overall, I would rate Ugly Dumpling a 9/10 because I thought the atmosphere, service, and food were really amazing. The only criticism I could think of was a little more seasoning on the rice, but other than that, I had a great experience and would recommend it to anyone looking for an authentic Chinese-style meal.
