The Receipt

4 Fried Dumplings (Pork & Chive): $2.00

Sesame Pancake (w/ Roasted Beef): $3.75

3 Pork Fried Buns: $3.00

Total: $8.75

The Review

Among the many bustling neighborhoods of Manhattan, Chinatown is arguably the most hectic. Within Chinatown, there are many lively restaurants worth visiting. With the largest ethnic Chinese population outside of Asia, it makes sense that New York City has the most authentic Chinese food in the western hemisphere.

While I could probably write a cheap eats column exclusively on Chinatown, I’ll recommend instead that you find your own favorite restaurant, as you really can’t go wrong. If you’re looking for a place to start, Vanessa’s Dumpling House is as good a place as any.

Opened on Eldridge Street in Chinatown in 1999 by Vanessa herself, who is originally from Beijing, Vanessa’s Dumpling House has since expanded to three more locations in FiDi, Williamsburg and Long Island City (its website says there are five total locations, but only four are listed).

Since I was in the area, I visited the original in Chinatown, and I will say, with as much authority as a native Long Islander is granted, that the expansions were warranted.

I visited Vanessa’s on a Wednesday afternoon at about 1:30 p.m. The small space was nearly overflowing with what seemed to be a healthy mix of local residents, students and tourists. Suprisingly, the line moved rather quickly.

In other words, take a look at the menu outside to get an idea of what you want. Upon entering, you’ll see a few tables on the left and the counter on the right, just behind which you’ll see the mouth-watering creation of dumplings, noodles, sesame pancakes and more. All of this is promptly packaged and given to hungry customers.

Vanessa’s is cash-only, Apple Pay fans, beware.

After ordering and braving a brief wait at the counter, I returned to the crowded table where my friend sat — be prepared to make friends, as there’s a fair chance you’ll be sitting with others — with a heaping tray of dumplings, buns and sandwiches.

Like most of the dumpling shops throughout Chinatown, the dumplings themselves can be acquired for a reasonable price. Two dollars gets you four fried dumplings (boiled dumplings come in increments of eight, and are generally between $4.00 and $5.00, depending on the filling.

The dumplings, while I don’t claim to be a connoisseur, are among the best I’ve had, with the dough crispy on the outside and not too thick or thin, and the pork and chive filling (a good starting point) flavorful and delicious. Therefore, as far as being a dumpling house, Vanessa’s certainly lives up to its name.

Despite the restaurant’s name, though, the dumplings were not the MVP of the meal. Instead, it was the sesame pancake sandwich that stole the show. Sesame pancakes are thin, round breads common in northern Chinese cuisine, and are delicious on their own (you can try a plain one for $1.75).

However, Vanessa’s stuffs a wedge of sesame pancake with a filling of your choice — there are seven options; I went with roasted beef. This creates a sandwich that, for under $4.00, is hard to beat anywhere in Chinatown or New York City as a whole.

The thin, yet fluffy sesame pancake combined with the beef, cilantro, carrot and cucumber filling constitutes what must be among the most filling (and delicious) $3.75 you can spend (and, for what it’s worth, really puts into perspective the $5.00 water bottle 12 miles north at Yankee Stadium).

Vanessa’s Dumpling House is one of many authentic Chinese spots in what is one of the most authentically Chinese areas of the world outside of China. While its dumplings are great, and undoubtedly worth getting four for $2.00, the sesame pancake sandwiches are the true gem at Vanessa’s.

Though I’m not advocating for a name change to Vanessa’s Sesame Pancake Sandwich House (it definitely doesn’t have the same ring), I nonetheless believe that they are what sets Vanessa’s apart from the many bustling restaurants in the bustling neighborhood of Chinatown.