Dumpling Dojo (formerly Big Bowls/Little Plates)
16 Glen Road
Rutherford, NJ 07070
(201) 514-4163/4162
Open: Sunday-Monday Closed/Tuesday-Saturday 11:00am-9:00pm
My review on TripAdvisor:
Big Bowls/Little Plates reviews:
Dumpling Dojo reviews:
*(the restaurant changed names in April 2022 and the prices have gone up one or two dollars for the dishes. They still are reasonable).
The inside of Dumpling Dojo after the restaurant renovation.
There are times that I just stumble upon a really good restaurant by accident. I found Dumpling Dojo (formerly Big Bowls/Little Plates) on my Dining program with Mileage Plus and once I tried it I have been coming back ever since. The food and service are just excellent and the atmosphere is downtown ‘hip’.
The inside of Dumpling Dojo
For a small restaurant in downtown Rutherford, NJ it is so interesting in it’s décor. The use of the exposed brick walls, the Christmas lights on the ceiling and the wooden tables gives it a ‘City Vibe’ with a contemporary twist. The tables are larger made to share the space but in the era of COVID we are kept apart. When the restaurant reopened for dining, the tables were back to normal by 2022.
While most of the orders when I was there both times were take out, it is more fun to eat in when you have the chance. With excellent, friendly service and engaging jazz music in the background it makes for a wonderful place to dine in.
The urban vibe of Dumpling Dojo
The best part of Dumpling Dojo is the food. Everything I have had here is excellent. My trip to the restaurant I decided to try a combination of small plates. The first dish I had was the Szechuan Raviolis ($7.95), which were a type of dumpling that I had steamed which came with a spicy Szechuan Vinaigrette. The dumplings were excellent, perfectly steamed and filled with a well spiced pork mixture. The only problem that I had with them is that the sauce overpowered them. It is best to have served on the side.
The Szechuan Ravioli were perfectly cooked.
The next dish I ordered was the Roasted Pork buns ($6.95), which were a type of opened face bun filled with crispy roasted duck sliced thin and tucked into the bun with a side of scallions and plum sauce to dip into. These were heaven as the combination of soft buns with crispy duck had a nice crunch to it and the plum sauce added a zing to it.
The Roast Pork Buns, Duck Buns and Shrimp Buns are excellent.
Another dish I enjoyed Pork Dumplings ($7.95), which had another spicy mix tucked into a light wrapper. I had them steamed but again remember to ask for the scallion and butter sauce to the side for dipping.
The Pan-fried Pork Dumplings are crisp and delicious
I tried the Vegetable Dumplings ($7.95) but I had them pan-fried. I thought this added to flavor with that extra crispness to them. The chopped vegetables inside were fresh and sweet and the soy sauce served on the side added to their flavor.
The Scallion Pie ($5.50) is a version of a Scallion Pancake that is fried out crisp and served with the plum sauce on the side topped with more scallions. Each bite revealed finely chopped scallions accented by the sauce that gave them a savory flavor.
The Scallion Cakes have freshly chopped scallions in each bite
On my second trip I finished my Good Friday meal with a nice sized bowl of Fried Rice ($7.95). Being a religious holiday, I had to avoid meat. That was no worry the waiter informed me. This sticky rice combination has scrambled eggs, chopped scallions and bean sprouts. This has a nice combination of flavors and textures and flavor is fantastic. Light with an accent of chicken stock.
The Fried Rice here is light and flavorful
On my third trip to Big Bowls for dinner with my aunt, we shared a order of the General Taos Chicken Little Plate ($6.95), which was wonderful. These were small pieces of fried chicken in a honey, Hoisin hot sauce and topped with sesame seeds. Each piece burst in your mouth with the hint of hot chili.
The General Tso’s Chicken Little Plate
We shared a order of the Scallion Pie ($5.50), which are the scallion pancakes which were pan-fried to a crisp perfection served with an extra order of the plum sauce. I had enjoyed the Pork Belly Buns so much the last time that I ordered a order of the Peking Duck Buns ($7.95), which were delicious.
The Scallion Pies are perfectly pan-fried
There were two soft rice buns split with crisp Peking Duck, thinly sliced with plum sauce and sliced scallions tucked inside and these also had a nice bite to them. The duck was juicy and flavorful.
The Peking Duck Buns
The Duck Buns are crisp and juicy
I never intended to order dessert but I had seen the dessert wontons on the back of the menu and decided that we would share the Strawberry Nutella Wontons ($7.50). These were six fried wontons filled with rich Chocolate Nutella and then topped with whipped cream and lined with fresh fruit. The plate was studded with sliced strawberries and blueberries. These were mind-blowing as they burst in your mouth with rich gooey chocolate and had the crunch of the wonton wrapper.
The Strawberry Nutella Wontons
On my forth trip to Dumpling Dojo, I just went in for a snack knowing that I had a lot of work to do that evening. I tried the Tangerine Beef ($8.95) and the Pan fried General Taos Chicken Dumplings ($7.95). The Tangerine Beef was small slices of tender beef that were battered and deep fried until crisp with a tangy and spicy tangerine chili sauce. Each bite was sweet and crunchy at the same time. The portion size could have fed two people.
The Pan fried General Taos Chicken Dumplings were pan fried in hot oil to a light crispy consistency and served with a ginger soy sauce. The chicken inside the dumpling had been marinated in a spicy Hunan sauce that gave the dish an extra zing with the side of soy sauce. A wonderful combination of flavors.
The General Tso’s Dumplings were excellent
On another recent trip, I tried the Crispy Crème Shrimp ($8.95), which was a deep fried large shrimps with a sugary glaze that had both a sweet and tart taste to them. They were crisp on the outside and the sweet moist shrimp were tender on the inside.
I also had the Steam Soup Dumplings ($9.95) which were moist juicy pockets of seasoned pork in a tender dumpling wrapping. They are juicy when you bite into them served with a soy sauce. The Pan Fried Shrimp Dumplings ($8.95) were crisp on the outside and moist on the inside served with a soy ginger sauce.
The Steamed Soup Dumplings
My brother and I came here for dinner when he was in town and we ordered many of things I had had in the past like the Steamed Soup Dumplings, Peking Duck Buns, the Scallion Pie (Pancakes) and the Peking Szechuan Ravioli. Everything was delicious.
Our Dumpling Dojo dinner
We tried a couple of new things this time as well. We had the Spicy Shrimp Buns, which were shrimps that were batter fried and had a tangy spicy sauce with fresh scallions between the steamed buns.
The Spicy Shrimp Buns were delicious
Another dish we ordered was the Tangy Chicken, which was a batter fried Chicken dish in tart citrus sauce. The dish was like a version of General Tso’s Chicken with a slight adjustment to the sauce. It tasted like a combination of lemon, orange and honey.
The Tangy Chicken was excellent.
For dessert, we shared an order of the delicious Strawberry Nutella Wontons for dessert. They are an unusual dessert and are delicious.
The Strawberry Nutella Wontons are wonderful
The service here is very helpful in making the many choices that you have and could not be nicer. The food comes out very quickly so that you can enjoy your meal in a timely manner.
Dumpling Dojo is the whole package.
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