Lucky Dumplings opens in Great Neck

Great Neck may just be the dumpling capital of Long Island, with destination spots for Chinese wontons, Korean mandu, Thai kanom jeeb and Jewish matzo balls. Now we welcome another dumpling newcomer, Lucky Dumplings, which recently opened on Northern Boulevard just east of the Queens border. 

Not to be confused with Little Dumpling down the street, Lucky Dumplings has gone into the space that previously held Long Island's first Yunnan restaurant Coco Palace, (before it was a Mochinut doughnut shop). You can still see the word Coco frosted onto the glass where the chefs are now filling and crimping dumplings by hand. Lucky Dumpling's interior may be minimalist chic, but the menu brings the energy with its selection of Northern Chinese dishes, for way less money than you'd expect. 

One highlight is the Northeastern style zhajiang noodle ($12.98), which features a dark brown, porky sauce made from fermented soybean paste. It's a signature dish from Beijing, but is hard to find on Long Island compared with its Korean counterpart, jajangmyeon, which has a darker sauce and meat that's often cubed rather than crumbled.

I'm a lover of both the Chinese and Korean versions, but this is definitely the best I've had in recent memory. The thick, curly wheat noodles are house-made and have a chewiness you just don't get from the dried noodles. They really cling to the savory, sweet brew of the sauce, which is surprisingly delicate, topped with a garden of fresh cucumber sticks. Bang-up job.

Lucky Dumplings has a decent selection of stir fries and other dough-less dishes from the Northern Chinese, Sichuan and Cantonese-American playbooks. Served in a stoneware casserole dish, the braised beef brisket with dry tofu ($19.98) was absolutely stunning, with juicy nobs of beef and tofu skins enriched in a gently sweet sauce. 

Dumplings come in seven varieties and can be ordered pan-fried, boiled, drenched in chili oil or submerged in a soup. Based on our initial visit, we preferred the boiled dumplings to the soup, which had a little bit of a thin broth. The pork, shrimp and chive dumplings were great when boiled, as they had a thinner more supple skin than you usually expect from Northern Chinese dumplings. And the best part about it: We ordered way too much food for two people and when the bill came, it was only $66. 

Lucky Dumplings, 19 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, 516-321-9048. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.