Fitting that the first and latest dumpling columns would come full circle to both feature a perennial favorite — the classic har gow. Who doesn’t love juicy, sweet shrimp? Chase Luck, a dim sum and steam tray takeout spot on Ocean Avenue in the Ingleside District, is unassuming and affordable, run by humble owner Wei Sen Lei. 

Customers line up to order at Chase Luck Bakery, in San Francisco, on Thursday May 26, 2022.

Samson Lee takes a bite of a har gow dumpling from Chase Luck Bakery, in San Francisco, on Thursday May 26, 2022.

The menu is tasty across the board, but the large size of its har gow, coupled with the fact that the filling is almost all pure shrimp, is impressive at only $3.25 for an order of three. I still stand by the giant, gingery potstickers, but I needed to mention the har gow as challengers (or friends!) to the ones at Good Luck Dim Sum in the Inner Richmond — another casual dim sum takeout spot.

I technically ate at Good Luck Dim Sum with James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Kristina Cho in 2023, but it was before Lunar New Year, so I can still say it was part of last year’s eats. Cho said, “These are the best har gow I’ve had in my entire life.” Weighty words from an exacting food blogger who also makes her own har gow. Good Luck’s are smaller than Chase Luck’s but still have a majority-shrimp filling that is plump and succulent. The crystal dough is expertly flattened and pleated by hand, resulting in a delicate bite that is difficult to achieve so consistently.

Chase Luck Bakery, 1325 Ocean Ave., San Francisco. Open daily, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. $15 credit card minimum. Good Luck Dim Sum, 736 Clement St., San Francisco. Open daily, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Cash only. 

Visit the 103-year-old Hang Ah Tea Room for a heaping serving of nostalgia and history. Stay for wontons, two ways. Although Hang Ah makes all of its dumplings by hand, the alleyway restaurant isn’t particularly known for wontons. Surprising me as the sleeper hits during my visit, the spicy shrimp and pork wontons in a pleasantly tingly house-made chili oil kept me alert with the added punch of chopped garlic and scallions. The deep-fried wontons were bite-sized pieces of fun, with thin dough wrappers of steaming-hot, freshly fried morsels shattering into tiny pieces with each bite, tempered by a cooling sweet chili sauce.

A spread of various dumplings and other fare at Hang Ah Tea Room, in San Francisco's Chinatown, on Wednesday July 20, 2022.

Not to be missed is also the signature XO sauce pan-fried turnip cake. Coated in a sweet umami seafood sauce, thanks to dried scallops, cubes of soft turnip cake are dotted with chewy lap cheung that get crispy and slightly caramelized in a hot pan. All of these details make for a satisfying symphony of flavors and textures. You’re also lucky if owner Frank Chui is around to tell you decades-old stories of the place.

Hang Ah Tea Room, 1 Pagoda Place, San Francisco. Open daily, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Corn and cheese just belong together. Whether it’s a scoop of gooey, oven-blistered Korean American corn cheese (it really is just called corn cheese), Mexican cotija-rubbed elote on a stick, or corn kernels sprinkled atop a Japanese pizza, this ingredient combo doesn't nearly get enough love in most U.S. restaurants.

(Left to right) Co-owners Sandy Zheng and Julia Zhu at United Dumplings in San Francisco, Calif. on Aug. 29, 2022.

Sandy Zheng pours some sauce on Grandma's Pork Pot Stickers at United Dumplings in San Francisco, Calif. on Aug. 29, 2022.

Biting into a sweet corn crunch enveloped in a salty cheese pull is its own kind of satisfaction. As owners of United Dumplings in Bernal Heights, Julia Zhu and Sandy Zheng leaned into San Francisco’s cultural influences when creating their modern take on dumplings. Together, they developed unique varieties inspired by some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, such as the Mission’s strong Mexican and Latino communities. So it’s no surprise that the lovely Mission chicken potstickers with hand-ground chicken, sweet corn and ooey gooey mozzarella are one of United Dumplings' bestsellers. Plus, the crispy frico that forms on the bottom of each dumpling from extra cheese melted and fried in the pan is the chef's kiss. Each order comes with a rich, mayo-based dipping sauce that adds to the party. You can taste these popular dumplings at United Dumplings’ newest locations in the Marina and Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood.

Zheng spent time learning the secrets of making a perfect xiao long bao (XLB) in China, so you’ll also be happy with an order of those, or any of the classic Northern Chinese dumplings.

United Dumplings, 525 Cortland Ave., San Francisco. Open Wednesday through Monday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Closed Tuesday. Second location: 2015 Chestnut St., San Francisco. Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m.; Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-10 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; closed Tuesday. Third location: 6247 College Ave., Oakland. Open Wednesday through Monday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m., closed Tuesday. 

Bini’s Kitchen bills itself as “Nepalese cuisine from the soul,” and it’s clear from the first juicy bite of a deeply pleated momo that owner Bini Pradhan and her staff pour themselves into making Pradhan’s Nepalese soul food. 

While similar in appearance to some Chinese dumplings, a signature momo spice combo of cumin and ground coriander gives them a pleasantly distinct flavor that's both comforting and curious for the uninitiated. All the momos are great (though I prefer the meat ones to the veggie ones), but the turkey momos absorb the spices well and are a good "anytime dumpling" if you’re not in the mood for gamey lamb. 

(Clockwise from bottom right) Momos served with a tangy roasted tomato and cilantro sauce and sides of stews, Nepali roti, and Gurkha chicken and lamb momos at Bini's Kitchen in San Francisco on Sept. 23, 2022.

While Bini’s momos are flavorful enough to stand on their own, the requisite tomato-cilantro sauce made with a Nepalese pepper called timur adds brightness and acidity to the richer meat momo fillings. Your best bet is to order a combo Khana plate, which comes with momos but also lets you sample Bini’s comforting stews like Gurkha chicken in a tomato-yogurt sauce or a nine-bean Nepalese-style chili called kwati. You’ll also want to request an additional order of momos (trust me, you’ll want them later).

Bini’s Kitchen, 1001 Howard St., San Francisco. Open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Also found at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday, 8 a.m.- 2 p.m.; Stonestown Galleria farmers market on Sunday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; La Cocina Municipal Marketplace, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Follow Bini’s Kitchen on Instagram for updates on its Post Street store.

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The Night Market in South San Francisco, with its variety of food stalls serving up Hong Kong-inspired street food staples, really satisfied my yearnings for the late-night eats I enjoyed often during my study-abroad days. 

That was also owner Kevin Lee’s goal when he set out to create the open-air restaurant experience. Among the comforting smorgasbord of Hong Kong-style street food made to order, TNM’s wontons still linger in my mind. Since my visit to TNM last November, whenever I come across a recipe for wontons to make at home, I scour the ingredient list. Rarely do I see the signature elements that give The Night Market’s wontons their special flavor. 

Lee’s head chef, who goes by the respectful title of Chef Fung, grinds dried flounder fillets and white sesame seeds in-house. He then adds a secret amount to each batch of pork-and-shrimp-based wonton filling. While many wonton recipes call for sesame oil and some kind of fish stock in broth (but not necessarily inside the wonton), TNM’s ground flounder connects the seafood base of the wonton to the broth more assertively. The ground sesame seeds don’t leave an oily residue in your mouth, but the sesame taste is stronger. Plus, the hearty oblong wontons are big enough that three or four in a bowl of egg noodles with a bit of bok choy make for a satisfying meal.

The Night Market, 230B South Spruce Ave., South San Francisco. Open Wednesday through Monday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Closed Tuesday.

For Christmas 2022, I wanted to focus on a holiday-specific dumpling. Popular Ukrainian cookbook author, blogger and advocate Anna Voloshyna excitedly agreed to share one of her favorite Ukrainian Orthodox Christmas recipes with the Dumpling Report. From inside her light-filled Design District apartment, Voloshyna prepared a feast, which included her mushroom dumplings in borscht, or borshch z vushkamy (vushka are ear-shaped dumplings). It’s a recipe of hers that was not yet published until the Dumpling Report shared it with readers. I’m admittedly not a huge mushroom fan, so I entered the situation with no expectations. 

Anna Voloshnya's borscht with mushroom dumplings.

With Voloshyna’s instinctual cooking skills, how could I be surprised that I ended up loving this dish? With a combination of dried porcini and fresh cremini mushrooms (no gross white button mushrooms to be found here), plus the porcini reconstitution water used in the beet juice-based broth, multiple dimensions of fungi were complementary but subtle. The flavors were balanced with the sweet caramelized onions in the filling, earthy beet juice broth and a dollop of viscous sour cream. The spoon-size dumplings were simultaneously satisfying yet light. A holiday present from Voloshyna turned out to be a new favorite dumpling dish.

For more information on chef Anna Voloshyna’s upcoming cooking classes and Ukrainian relief fundraisers, visit her website. Follow her on Instagram to see cooking demos and more.

— The Bay Area night market where Hong Kong-style street food comes to life

— San Francisco chef supports Ukraine with homemade dumplings

— How San Francisco's 'queen of momos' made dumplings go viral

— Giant, gingery potstickers: Chase Luck Bakery in SF lovingly stuffs its dumplings with unique flavors

— SF's Hang Ah Tea Room is America’s first dim sum restaurant, with 102 years of stories to tell

— SF's new dumpling darling uses mac 'n' cheese, bulgogi fillings