MIAGuide
The Best Dumplings In Miami
photo credit: Cleveland Jennings
Dumplings. Isn’t it just fun to say? These neatly wrapped little packages of delicious things also happen to be very fun to eat—especially the ones on this guide. These places make our favorite dumplings in Miami, and they range from classic Chinese spots to new and exciting pop-ups and even an entirely vegan dim sum restaurant.
THE SPOTS
Everything at this Gables restaurant is phenomenal, and you should come here as hungry as possible and do your best to order the entire menu. If you can't do that, at least order all the dumplings. The pork postickers come sitting on a pile of numbing Calabrian chili and crunchy garlic, which hurts good, like a deep tissue massage or a much-needed cry. The chicken wonton in phrodo (a pho broth) is also incredible, thanks to both the excellent wontons and the citrusy broth.
Kon Chau is a very good Chinese restaurant just off Bird Road, right near Tropical Park. They serve dim sum all day, with a handful of classic and tasty dumpling options—like plump shrimp and pork shumai and green tea mushroom dumplings. Also, we know they’re not dumplings but the steamed roast pork buns are worth ordering too. This place is only open for takeout at the moment and is located in the same shopping complex as Lucky Oriental Mart, a little Chinese grocery store where you can buy frozen dumplings to store in your own freezer.
When Miami hears “tiene tremendo,” they think, “Culo!” And when we hear “dim sum,” we think “Tropical Chinese.” The classic Bird Road spot has been the city’s favorite dim sum restaurant for a while, and for good reason. The daily dim sum (served until 3:30pm) is a beautiful traffic jam of pushcarts carrying an array of steamed and fried dumplings, shumai, and other great things like pork buns and shrimp rice rolls. And all of the above will live in your head like a great Pitbull lyric.
A couple of miles north of Kon Chau, you’ll find Canton Palace. There are a whole bunch of tasty Chinese dishes on the menu here, but if you’re on a hunt for dumplings (which sounds like a movie we’d watch) then go straight for the dim sum platter. It comes with shrimp shumai, crispy fried shrimp balls, steamed shrimp dumplings, thick pan-fried pork dumplings, and a couple egg rolls. It feeds two, even though we finished one ourselves and had to lay on the floor in silence for 30 minutes afterward. It was worth it.
Dumpling King, also in North Miami, is one of those places where you can get a whole bunch of very solid dumplings for less than $10. You won’t have to worry about still being hungry afterward; the pan-fried dumplings are huge and stuffed generously with chicken, pork, beef, or vegetables. We like the soup dumplings a lot too, which are also the size of small water balloons and filled with lava-hot deliciousness. It’s casual and works for easy weeknight takeout or a dine-in dumpling feast.
163rd is a street known for having Miami’s best Chinese food, and one of the street’s best options is Sang’s. They offer dim sum every day from 11am-4pm, and it’s casual enough for a solo lunch but there are also round tables perfect for big groups who want to split the entire menu. The siu mai are a must—plump and meaty with paper-thin skins and topped with little dollops of crab roe. If you’re bringing along someone who’s not in the mood for dumplings, Sang’s also does great Cantonese and Chinese-American dishes, and their version of General Tso’s chicken (which they call General Cheng’s) is a sticky, sweet, crunchy masterpiece.
