(This venue is closed.) When I think of the lines outside Yang's Fry-Dumpling in Shanghai, it's a wonder that shengjian mantou haven't made it big in New York.
What this tiny East Village eatery calls pan-seared Shanghai buns (three for $4.50, or five for $6.95) aren't as brown-bottomed or as juicy as their Chinese counterparts. Their skins may be thicker, too, though it's hard to compare dumplings two years apart, especially when that earlier impression was colored by the glow of my first day in a foreign city.
The nice folks at Marco Polo Fusion Café may never get into the same rhythm as the crew at Yang's, where (as I recall) fry-dumplings were the only item on the menu; perhaps Marco Polo's steamed buns (BBQ pork and peanut-sesame, to name two) will be bigger hits. As for their signature fusion item, if only for the name, I may have to return simply to say that I've tried the moo goo gai panini.
Marco Polo Fusion Café
102 St. Mark's Pl. (First Ave.-Ave. A), Manhattan
212-228-8456
