Wonton noodle soup @ Wang’s Dumplings
34 Clarence St, Liverpool, L3 5TN
There are few things more comforting than a bowl of wonton soup and nowhere I would rather eat one more than at Wang’s Dumplings.
On your approach to the tiny shopfront on Clarance Street, take a look through the wire-glass window and you’ll see proprietor Yin rolling and cutting scores of perfect, fat dumplings.
You’ll be welcomed in with a friendly wave, the short menu handed to you as soon as you step over the threshold. The choices are simple enough: dumplings filled with pungent pork and chive, rich beef and ginger or soy-braised vegetables (pan-fried or boiled and available in servings of 10, 16, 18 and 25) or pork wontons in soup (available with or without noodles).
As difficult as it is to look past the fried beef dumplings — and in as large of a serving as you feel capable of managing — the wonton noodle soup is not to be missed. Beautiful bright yellow parcels floating in a light savoury broth; a tangle of thin egg noodles; a generous glob of chilli oil and — at the bottom of the bowl — large, tender leaves of stewed cabbage.
On the side you can choose skewers of barbecued chicken, cumin lamb, frogs legs, honey pork or ‘starch sausage’ (a sort of hot dog on a stick seasoned heavily with chilli powder and sesame seeds). Also available are shredded potatoes with sour sauce and ‘pork pancakes’.
The latter looks a bit like a Chinese quesadilla (without the cheese) and is essentially a giant smashed version of Wang’s signature pork dumpling. The inside filled with fatty meat and chewy vermicelli noodles; the outside crispy, oily and delicious.
For those wishing to dine in, a warning. This place mostly serves food for takeaway or delivery. Even if you manage to bag one of the two small tables inside it’s not unlikely you’ll be sharing it with the huge insulated bag of one of the Deliveroo riders waiting to collect orders.
