Living in an East End sublet, I should visit Chinatown East as I have only dropped by a handful of times. On Monday, I walked along Gerrard St until Broadview looking for a place to eat. Like the main Chinatown on Spadina, the area has seen better days. Gentrification has started to encroach bringing paradoxically fancier businesses but also closed storefronts. Finally I stepped inside Dumpling House.
At first, I thought they might only do take-out as a pandemic-era plastic sheet completely blocks the front area. Then I realized that there were booths available, but you had to duck down underneath the barrier to get to them. This was the narrowest Chinese place I've been to with barely an aisle dividing the booths.
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I skipped on the dumplings because although they (and the hand-pulled noodles) were likely the house specialties, they came in orders of 12 and were mostly meat-based. So I opted for chive-and-eggs pancakes ($8.95) and braised eggplants with rice ($11.95). As expected, they were the sort of stick-to-your-ribs dishes you find in these unassuming places. They were alright except for some details that bothered me. The pancakes were crispy and not oily but the stuffing was a bit too salty. Similarly, the eggplants were soft and tender. However, there was sweetness to the sauce that was off-putting after about half-way through. I would have preferred the spiciness that was promised in the "chili sauce" menu description.
Maybe I should have gone with the dumplings. So I probably won't be back unless I figure out a way to eat them all. Dumpling House had 2 other tables occupied but they did a brisk business with pick-ups and online delivery.
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