EA Dumpling celebrated its grand opening today at 201 Amsterdam Ave. (between 69th and 70th streets) in the space that formerly housed Didi Dumpling. Didi closed last March after opening less than a year before in August 2022.
EA Dumpling is a Taiwanese style eatery with two existing locations in Manhattan – 924 Third Ave. (at 55th St.) and 34 Lexington Ave. (at 24th St.) near Baruch College. Menu offerings include potstickers, dumplings (soup and boiled), noodles, wontons, soups and traditional Taiwanese appetizers like pickled cucumber salad and more. They also offer Taiwanese soy milk and Taiwanese black tea, or a combination of the two.
The brand is owned by Sam Lin, who has been in the food industry since 2008 and also owns Coco Fresh Tea & Juice at 124 W. 72nd St. (between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues). When we visited, Lin’s head of marketing, Jeffery Lin (no relation to Sam), was graciously teaching two young customers who had ordered soup dumplings how to use chopsticks.
The space on the east side of Amsterdam is small but inviting and designed for quick, easy ordering. Customers are greeted by a touch screen menu meant to streamline the experience.
We took a recommendation from Jeffery Lin and ordered the pork potstickers, soup dumplings and beef noodle soup, and the wait was no more than 10 minutes. All three items were delicious. The potstickers had a crisp exterior and came with a slightly spicy garlic dipping sauce. The soup dumplings were plump and slightly sweet, while the beef noodle soup was both hearty and spicy.
EA Dumpling is open daily from 11:30am to 8:30pm and is currently available for dine-in and takeout, with delivery coming soon. The name EA is an abbreviation for a Chinese phrase that roughly translates to “from the ocean to the mountains to the rest of the world.” For more information or to order online, visit the website at EADumpling.com.
