TWO OUT-OF-TOWN DUMPLING RESTAURANTS ARE OPENING IN AUSTIN

Austin’s getting two whole restaurants dedicated to dumplings this year. First, there’s Sugar Land-based Dumpling World, which opened in the Triangle neighborhood at 4616 Triangle Avenue, Suite 203 as of Saturday, April 20. And then there’s New Jersey-based chain restaurant Ugly Dumpling opening its first Texas location in the Arboretum at 10000 Research Boulevard in fall 2024.

Dumpling World’s casual Chinese menu includes all sorts of dumplings: steamed, pan-fried, boiled, pot stickers, bao, shumai, wontons, and its spicy-sour dumplings. And then there are appetizers and non-dumpling dishes like egg rolls, cheese-crab puffs, chow meins, fried rices, and desserts.

The Austin Dumpling World was originally pegged to open in late March, but that was delayed because of international equipment shipping issues. Currently, it is operating with limited service for just 40 to 50 percent of its full space capacity, per its Instagram account. Its hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

The original Sugar Land restaurant opened outside of Houston in October 2023. This Austin location is its second-ever. It is taking over a former location of Vietnamese restaurant Pho MPH.

Ugly Dumpling’s fast-casual menu leans Shanghainese, centered on the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) with an assortment of fillings like pork and truffle, chicken, and pork-shrimp-cucumbers. Other dumplings include steamed, pan-fried, shumai, pot stickers, and buns. Then there are other dishes like soy-garlic chicken wings, scallion pancakes, wonton soups, fried pork chops, wok-fried entrees like rice and noodles, and much more. Drinks include milk teas, bobas, and lattes.

Parent company Vertex Hospitality Group currently has two locations of Ugly Dumpling in New Jersey, one in Edison and the other in Holmdel. Then it has plans to open locations in New York and Maryland.

Update, April 23: This article, originally published on April 1, has been updated to include Dumpling World’s opening date and operating status.

2024-04-23T15:01:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd