Dumpling Station

I am not one of the people in love with the concept of food trucks. I certainly do not hate them and if there were a food truck on every corner it would not bother me one bit. But the idea of waiting in long lines for food that more often than not is merely average (I have yet to have a meal from a food truck that I could not replicate at home) does not appeal to me. I was at an event at the Arboretum once where people were waiting in two hour lines for food. From a truck. Seriously?

A friend once raved to me about eating Kogi and questioned why I hadn't tried it. I asked how long it took him and was not surprised when he said "about an hour to order and another half-hour to get the food." When I explained to him that I could drive to H Mart, buy the ingredients and make my own Korean BBQ at home in less time than that, he offered me a challenge. I won.

But, as I wrote, I do not hate food trucks, and there are still a few out there that I would like to try. One that I have had my eye on for a while is Dumpling Station. The other windy day, driving down Mission in South Pasadena, I spotted the truck. There were only a couple people milling about and I was in the mood for a snack, so I parked my car and got out.

There were two people in line ahead of me. And it still took me more than ten minutes to place my order. I shudder to think what the wait time is when there is a long line. I ordered four "kimchi pork" dumplings, pan-fried (you have the option of pan-fried, steamed, or deep-fried) and garlic wasabi fries.

I stood on the street for about 15 minutes waiting for my food. There was a wall nearby and I thought about sitting there to eat, but the wind was blowing hard so I took it to my car.

The kimchi pork flavor was very good, with the perfect amount of spice. I'm not sure I could make this at home without lots of experimentation and a couple of recipe guidelines. I would love this in an egg roll. I wish the dumplings had been fried at a higher temperature; the side that was in the oil was barely browned, resulting in a gummy texture and bland flavor. (If I'd know the dumplings would be this flabby, I would have just ordered them steamed.) But the interior flavor was so good that I still really enjoyed these.

The crinkle cut fries were perfectly cooked and the wasabi sauce was delicious, but I did not care for the garlic and spices on the fries. They were extremely salty. I shook off what I could and tried to eat around the seasoning, but this proved very difficult. I probably finished less than one-third of the order. Yet another example of my opinion that it's more frustrating to receive a dish that could be great but is suffering from some major flaw than a dish that merely sucks. ("For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been.'")

Dumpling Station is usually in South Pasadena a couple times per week, and if I am with someone who wants to try it I would be glad to go back. Often the truck is parked by South Pas High School, which strikes me as a wonderful idea; when I was in high school I'm sure I would have been blown away by this food.

But I wasn't on this occasion and I doubt I will ever return by myself. The dumplings were good but not great, the fries were a disappointment, and the 25 minute wait - when there were only two customers ahead of me - was just too long. Despite that, I honestly do hope they succeed. They were very friendly and I appreciate them bringing unique flavors to South Pasadena, which is not exactly a bastion of ethnic cuisines. (Unless you count Panda Express and Baja Fresh. Which I don't.) But I just did not find anything special enough about the food to return.