Rickshaw Dumpling Truck: Chicken dumplings that will warm your insides

Dumplings are one of those easy-to-love foods because they seem to be prevalent in almost every culture. Some people call them pierogis. Others call them empanadas. In Asian culture, the inspiration for my food truck outing today, they are simply the “dumpling”. That is what I was in search of as I neared the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck.

I have to admit: this is one I’ve been to before. This delicious truck is parked outside of the Time & Life building on 50th Street and 6th Avenue at least once a week, and this is an area I frequent during my lunch visits. This time, though, I was on a mission. The mission of trying new dumplings.

My typical order is their vegetarian edamame dumpling, which comes with a lemon sansho dip. It’s a good order and there’s a reason I stick by it (yes, it’s delicious) but this time I decided to try the 6 pieces of 2 kinds of dumplings set, along with a side of chilled edamame for $11.

Immediately I asked for the pork and Chinese chive dumpling (which comes with a soy sesame dip) and the chicken and Thai basil dumpling (accompanied by a creamy peanut sate dip).

The minute I bit into the peanut dip-soaked chicken dumpling, I knew that this was going to be my new favorite. Something about that tangy peanut sauce just completely warmed my insides. Was it slightly spicy? Yes. With that chicken, though, it was pure perfection.

Unfortunately, trying the pork dumpling after falling in love with this one was a little bit of a disappointment. It was good, just not as good. I wasn’t impressed by the soy sauce, but I did really enjoy being able to get two different types of dumplings. However, I found it a bit odd that they charged an extra dollar to get the two different kinds. Why is that?

In the end, the trip to the dumpling truck was absolutely delicious. The added bonus of this food truck, though, is that if you can’t find the food truck (though it should be easy since they frequently update their location on Twitter, there are also three Rickshaw Dumpling Bar locations in Manhattan. Luckily, though, if you can’t make it to a storefront location, the truck is pretty active — and ALWAYS a great treat.