Wonton and On (and On) | How Hong Kong-Style Dumplings Are Booming in London
Dumplings exist in many food cultures around the world but in terms of variety, China comes out on top. London is blessed when it comes to Chinese restaurants, meaning we are rich in Chinese dumplings. There’s the chewy and translucent prawn-filled har gau and the steamed, flower-like siu mai at My Neighbours the Dumplings, Tao Tao Ju and Royal China Club, and the delicately wrapped, soup-filled xiao long bao at Beijing Dumpling, Din Tai Fung, Dumplings’ Legend, and Dim Sum & Duck. Xi Home Dumplings Bay specialises in shui jiao, Northern-style boiled dumplings, while Dumpling Shack brings us sheng jian bao, the pan-fried soup dumplings of Shanghai.New Hackney dim sum and cocktail bar Paper Tiger’s dumpling offering includes pork & Chinese cabbage, chicken & courgette, and egg & Chinese chive, which are all based on family recipes from Beijing. Summer Dumpling, a recent addition to Angel, is doing handmade boiled and pan-fried dumplings, with a few non-traditional touches, like a golden cheese, corn and chicken combo and prawn dumplings topped with crisps and caviar. Dim Sum Library, sister to Aqua Restaurant Group’s Hong Kong spot, is also creating modern twists on classic dumplings, with the likes of dan dan xiao long bao and black garlic siu mai on the menu. Dim Sum LibrarySummer DumplingAnd that’s not the only Cantonese import that’s hit the capital recently, with wonton noodle soup also in the spotlight. Wontons, the dumplings (made with a thinner, usually square wrapper and usually filled with prawn and pork), are a common sight on many Chinese menus in London, from Cafe TPT to Poon’s to Ling Ling’s at Godet. Wonton noodle soup, where the wontons are served in a flavourful broth with thin egg noodles, is now cropping up more and more. Joining bowls at the likes of Reindeer Cafe, Happy Dim Sum, Wong Kei, Plum Valley and Bun House Disco (where you can also get saucy wontons and crispy wontons), is Wonton Charlie’s, the new London Fields spot from the group behind Mr Bao. The restaurant does three types of hand-wrapped wontons – pork-filled fish skin (a HK specialty where fish is used in the wrapper dough), prawn, and classic pork – with handmade noodles and chicken and fish broths. Falling in love with the single-dish restaurants in Hong Kong “that just focus on serving up wonton noodle soup and executing every element really well” was the inspiration behind Wonton Charlie’s, with the team also keen to showcase the fish skin wontons “that are increasingly hard to find in Hong Kong.” These are made from pollock, minced in-house, seasoned and thrown to develop the proteins, before being rolled out and cut into square wrappers. At the end of January, HOKO Wonton Noodles, from the team behind HOKO Cafe, the cha chaan teng on Brick Lane, will be part of the crew. After running a wonton pop-up in 2024, HOKO’s Managing Director decided to return to the concept because “our vision is to celebrate Hong Kong food culture beyond the cha chaan teng, and a wonton-focused concept lets us spotlight that heritage with real depth.” Wonton Charlie’sHOKO Wonton NoodlesOne of its most iconic dishes, “wonton noodle shops used to be found on nearly every corner in Hong Kong, but they’re gradually disappearing as the city changes” and though London’s dumpling scene is home to different regional styles, Nicole believes that “truly Hong Kong-style wontons, where the focus is the clarity of the broth, the high quality prawn, and that clean, nostalgic finish, are still relatively rare.”Fans of Hong Kong food have even more to look forward to as Cafe Kowloon is opening behind Wonton Charlie’s in February – we’ll see you there for grilled curry fish ball skewers, Iberico secreto char siu and Hong Kong French toast with peanut butter crème pâtissière.
