Vanessa's Dumpling House — Restaurant in East Rutherford

Today we visited Vanessa’s dumplings next to the pizza we had a few days ago and I wish I had it earlier. It was one of the best restaurants I’ve been to and the service is exceptional. It is my granddaughter’s birthday and the workers from Vanessa’s dumplings made it worthwhile. We had the most popular options are in the menu, such as the dumplings, the pancakes and the noodles and everything was so flavorful the right texture and extremely mouthwatering and today we met one of the most amazing people in my life Bipan he was the one who took our orders and was extremely careful and kind. I am a veteran who is disabled and I believe he took note of that and I didn’t see him serving anyone who were able to come and get the food but we had about 3 to 4 trays of food and additional drinks, and he made sure to bring each one of those to the table since I was waiting for the order while my kids and grandkids were playing in the game room he even lend us the lighter to light my granddaughter’s birthday cake and was extremely nice and gentle to the kids as well. We took about 15 minutes just to order because there were a lot of people and his patience was absolutely amazing. He made sure the food was fresh and served with care and we absolutely loved it. The food was cheap, but delicious but due to the service and how well the workers worked. It felt like I was at a five star restaurant. I would absolutely recommend this place to everyone and we thank Vanessa‘s dumplings workers for this enjoyable and amazing memory at their restaurant I live in Pennsylvania, and I wish I could come here every time, but hope to grab these delicious dumplings and beautiful workers soon. Thank you very much. And I wish you all to these...

I'm a big dumpling lover. So when I saw a Vanessa's Dumpling House in the American Dream Mall food court, I was pretty excited. I recognized the franchise from my visits to Chinatown, the mecca of dumplings and foolishly assumed that meant good eats were to be had here.

But this was such a disappointment.

Call me a grump, but I believe the namesake food at an establishment should be the best thing on the menu. We ordered two kinds - a fried pork chive dumpling and a boiled chicken and basil. But if I were blindfolded, I don't think I could've told them apart because both wrappers were not only thick but had similarly gummy textures. The chicken and basil dumplings also had a pinkish purple hue that gave it the off-putting look of raw chicken. After a few ho-hum attempts to eat them, my husband and I ended up forgoing the wrappers entirely and simply rescued the innards with our chopsticks. On the slight plus side, these tasted great - well seasoned and meaty.

The spicy beef dan dan noodles were okay. For all the sauciness and toppings on it, I was surprised that the word that came to mind was 'boring'. As far as flavor went, there was a slightly fermented funk that made it just a little interesting, but I ended up dousing my bites with Sriracha to add the fun I felt was needed.

A bright spot of our order was the side of sweet and spicy cucumbers we randomly ordered. Doused in a vinegary chili oil, this provided just the fresh texture and acid that brightened up our otherwise...

There's almost no food so universally eaten, enjoyed, and celebrated as the dumpling. The Polish have their pierogi, the Armenians their manti, the Japanese their gyoza, the Koreans their mandu, the Russians their pelmeni, and so on.

Dumplings are important in Chinese culinary history. Guo Tie (锅贴) are one of the most common Chinese dumplings found in restaurants around the world. They are typically recognized by their English translation: pot stickers.

Started in 1999, Vanessa Weng opened a small storefront to sell dumplings on Eldridge Street in New York’s Chinatown. As the demand expanded, this establishment chose a partner in 2010 to grow the brand throughout the New York metro area.

Located inside Court A of the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, I stopped by Vanessa’s Dumpling House, known for its Beijing-style street food.

The menu, besides dumplings, features sesame pancake sandwiches, homemade noodles, and soups.

I decided on the vegetable fried dumplings to share with the vinegar soy sauce. They arrived quickly and were served warm. The pan-fried veggie dumplings were delicious and served their purpose. The filling was well seasoned with a spinach-colored wrapper charred and grilled on one side. The price was reasonable considering 6 pieces.

I can...