House of Dumplings - Nepalese Free-Range Spiced Lamb Dumplings product reviews

I enjoy dumplings as a nice change of pace in the menu now and then, but I am also very wary after some bad experiences at a Dim Sum restaurant I visited in Sydney some years ago - it made me very aware of what makes for a 'good' dumpling and what bad ones, filled with rubbish fillings, looks and tastes like. My first glance at the box told me that the maker of these dumplings has absolute faith in the quality - having an open window on the front of the box and the dumplings in a clear bag show you exactly what you are buying - no fancy illustrations or dodgy McPhotos to mislead you.

Seeing on the box that these can be cooked from frozen or thawed, and that the box contained two portions, I decided to try them each way. I put five of the dumplings into an airtight container in the fridge to thaw gently, and the remaining five went onto the bench for lunch. I first started to whip up a batch of stir-fry veges with a hint of ginger, garlic and soy sauce for flavour, then when they were about half-done, I popped in the dumplings and just kept shoving things around until everything was cooked and the dumplings had a lovely, mostly-even golden crust to them.

Making a nest of the veges, I topped the pile with the dumplings and filled a small side-bowl with some of the House of Dumplings "Mum's Sauce" that is the 'house speciality' when it comes to dipping sauces for these dumplings - if you like spicy with a bit of kick, this is absolutely the souce you should use!

The result was everything I could have wanted from an authentic Asian style meal, and being able to prepare it myself, at home, without needing to spend hours in prep, or having to buys larger-than-needed portions of exotic spices made the meal not only quick and effortless, but also a lot of fun to prepare. If I was making this meal for two, it would be sure to impress.

The next day, I made the same meal again, but this time using the thawed dumplings. I wanted a fair comparison to see if I could find any differences in the flavours... and the result was a resounding "Nope." They tasted just as good cooked from either state... which is actually great news. If you plan to cook these, and for any reason get side-tracked, you don't need to throw these out if they partially thaw out. Just pop them in the fridge, and cook them up for another meal. While the box shows a Best By date about 8-9 months down the track, I wouldn't leave them more than a day in the fridge when thawed before cooking them up... because leaving them any longer would be a crime against your taste buds.

Alas, I didn't think the grab a photo of the second batch because I thought I had grabbed one from the first round, but then discovered I had not done so, probably thinking "No stress, I'll get a pic of the dish tomorrow..." but I can tell you the dish was amazing to eat, and actually looked pretty good if I do say so myself. I'm go great shakes on presentation, so it wasn't anything to put on the cover of a foodie magazine, but it worked well at scoffing time.

The flavour profile is spot-on, with just the right amount of spices to give it a warm, rich depth in your mouth without overdoing it and leaving you wondering exactly what meat you just ate. The lamb turned out tender and still moist, which made it a delight to chew instead of a chore. Would I buy these again? Certainly! You get all the same high-quality ingredients and loving attention to detail that was in the previous flavours that House of Dumplings used to do, but at a more affordable price and in an even more convenient format. They are, without a doubt, some of the best dumplings I have eaten, and by far the best fast-cook dumplings I have come across in a long time.