Don’t ask me how, but I came across this restaurant write-up in New York Metro.com:
Mandoo Bar
2 W. 32nd St. (Midtown West)
At Fifth Ave.
212-279-3075
Mandoo are Korean dumplings, the chief attraction at 32nd Street’s Mandoo Bar, where they’re hand-formed in the window by a pair of nimble-fingered women who stop traffic with their engaging labors. We’re partial to the steamed kimchi mandoo, in which the typical pork-and-vegetable stuffing is fortified with tofu and a smidgen of the cuisine-defining pickled cabbage ($7.99 for ten).
$7.99 for steamed kimchi mandoo? Now, I don’t know about in New York, but right here in Kwangju Metro, ten of those babies go for 2000 won - $1.70 in real money. I mean, for eight bucks, do one of those “nimble-fingered women” take you out back and blow you as you wait for the other one to prepare your food?
3 Comments
$7.99 for steamed kimchi mandoo? Now, I don’t know about in New York, but right here in Kwangju Metro, ten of those babies go for 2000 won - $1.70 in real money.
That’s a great deal. The only problem is the roundtrip airfare to Korea, which adds something to the cost of the meal.
My wife still dosen’t believe me when I tell her we willingly paid 8-10 USD for JaJong Myon and Jambok in the middle of Texas. Restaruant prices here in Korea still freak me out. Guess paying 20.00 USD for Gongchi Gu-ui is too much…
Charlie,
The KimcheeGI
I still can’t believe I paid that much for dumplings in Seoul. Back here in Sihjiazhuang, China. 10 mandoo/jiaozi/gyoza/dumplings go for about 12 UScents. (What is the convention for abbreviating cents from America anyway?)