Vanessa's Dumplings

What: Sesame pancake with stewed pork belly (My TV dinner).
Where: Vanessa's Dumplings
How much: $2

Yup, no need to rub your eyes, you read it correctly. $2 dinner, that's the "luxury" I enjoy. Vanessa's Dumplings has a cult following, this restaurant is very bare, slightly dingy but consistently busy. 4-5 Chinese ladies run around trying to take your order and prepare your food in the open kitchen. The menu is pretty extensive, from various dumplings to noodle soups, but the favorite here seems to be the sesame pancake. You can choose either pork/vegetables/beef/fish in your pancake sandwich. I went with pork for my TV dinner. The pancake was just freshly made so it was warm and slightly crispy on the outside (love it!). The pork was stewed in the rice cooker with black soy sauce so it's flavorful and it's definitely the fatty pork belly type, the sandwich also came with cucumber, pickled carrots & cilantro. I'll try the other variations next time and report back!



Address: 118 Eldridge Street, New York NY 10002 (between Grand Street and Broome Street).