Dumpling Week is Alive in 2021

Dumplings from Danwei Canting during 2020’s Dumpling Week

Although we are still in the midst of a pandemic, The Oregonian’s Dumpling Week is well and alive, and it starts today. This year, not surprisingly, it’s all about takeout. The real bonus for this kind of setup is that you can order dumplings from a bunch of places and eat them at home, all together. Makes for a fun way to conveniently compare and contrast Portland’s dumpling goodness.

Nice to see some newcomers this year—Cooperativa, Beijing Hot Pot, and Langbaan, just to name a few. The range of dumplings skews toward East Asian traditions, but there are also dumplings from Italian, Mexican, and Himalayan traditions, too.

The website for Dumpling Week has some missing descriptions, but here’s what has caught my eye from what I can see right now:

Arden. Goat cheese gnocchi with smoked soy + sage brown butter, squash, spigarello, walnuts and parmesan.

Boke Bowl (East). Sichuan Crunch Duck Dumplings.

Ecliptic Brewing. Parsnip gnocchi, miso beurre blanc, scallion, sesame seed.

Grassa. Landsdowne Street Sausage & Peppers Dumpling with Tomato Butter Chile Crunch.

Kachka. Georgian Nacho Vareniki: Refried beans, khmeli suneli and sulguni cheese filled dumplings. Druzhba nacho sauce. Avocado salsa. Smetana. Cilantro, sweet onion, olives, pickled jalapeños and shredded lettuce.

Mama Chow’s Kitchen. Chili Oil Wontons on Bok Choy.

Urdaneta. Galician Tuna Empanadilla: Albacore tuna, sofrito, urfa pepper, green olives, hard boiled egg, date alioli.

I can also attest to the excellent northern Chinese dumplings at Chin’s Kitchen; I’m partial to the vegetarian ones filled with egg and leek, though the pork ones are delicious, too.

For details on how to access these dumplings—pickup or delivery—head to the Dumpling Week website, which has all that info. Don’t forget to download your 2021 Dumpling Week Passport, too. And here’s a map:

Dumpling Week 2021
February 1-7, Monday-Sunday
Various locations in Portland
dumplingweek.com