My Neighbours the Dumplings - Victoria Park - (Near Hackney, South East)

2 /5 Wee Jin-wen: Really wanted to like this place but it was just disappointing all-around. My group of 6 came here for a farewell dinner for one of our friends, and we were seated at a table with benches and no back rests, despite 5/6 of our group being fairly large-sized men. To say it was an uncomfortable squeeze is an understatement! The food took ages to arrive, we waited maybe 15-25 minutes in between our starters (dumplings) and the hot plates. Dumplings are ok, but not amazing – we had the har gao, chicken, chives and prawn dumplings and siew mai. Drinks came at the same time and were extortionate for what they were (£4 for 300ml of coca cola!) We had the lamb noodles, miso chicken thigh with rice and pork belly for mains. The portion sizes were small for how much they cost, my friend had to order 2 portions of lamb noodles and jasmine rice, and another friend had 2 portions of the pork belly. Thankfully, food was relatively tasty. Service staff were pleasant but lacked initiative. We were provided only 1 bottle of water shared among the 6 of us, and we would have to constantly request the bottle be refilled as a full bottle was not even enough to fill one round of our glasses. We definitely expected better, considering the service charge paid – what we experienced, in my opinion, did not meet bare minimum.

5 /5 Tahrima Milky: Extremely warm, well decorated place, a cozy and comfortable atmosphere to be in. Every food is a 10/10 the prawn dumplings were to die for, the crab dumplings had the perfect bite and the cilantro/green sauce that came with it was refreshing and delicious we drank it all. Ollie was an excellent server and the service was friendly, inviting and supportive. I would get the chocolate dumplings again JUST for the black tea ice cream, they should definitely sell it by itself. There is only one negative thing I would say is that the chocolate dumplings taste “burnt” whether that was how unsweetened the chocolate was or that the roll didnt suit the dish.

5 /5 Sus B: The best hidden gem by Victoria Park. Hands down the best Chinese restaurant in London—the cooking is on another level. I was sceptical about my husbands jackfruit dumplings, but oh my word… they were incredible. You have to try them—an absolute must. Every dish was packed with flavour and spot on. Whoever the chef is, they know what they are doing, and the waiting staff were incredibly friendly and attentive—they even gave my dog treats, making it such a welcoming spot for all of us. Its one of the few dog-friendly Chinese spots in London, so definitely pop in next time youre around Victoria Park.

5 /5 Krishna Deenoo: Went for the "£1 Dumpling 5pm to 6.30pm" We arrived at 5pm and there wasnt anyone in the restaurant except the staff, not even 10 mins after group after group started coming in and very quickly there was a nice buzz of people. The offer included the dumpling in the menu (pictured) though we had the special dumpling (Potato & Truffle Sui Gok (ve) crispy glutinous rice dumpling) which triggered a childhood memory The spicy margarita is a classic twist off the classic, very well done and the sober wasabi sour, never had a drink with wasabi and would definitely work as a digestive Chicken & Prawn Siu Mai Steamed in Dim Sum style (4 pc) Prawn Har Gau Dumplings Steamed in Dim Sum style (4 pc) Crab, Prawn & Chive Fried Dumplings w/ green seafood sauce (3 pc) Smokey Jackfruit Dumplings sauce w/ mala sauce (4pc) (ve) Crispy Fried Prawn Wonton w/Sweet chilli Sweet chilli sauce (5 pc) Pearl Meatballs Spiced pork rolled in sticky rice w/ peanut sauce & Thai basil (3 pc) (gf)

2 /5 Sukhy: After a long-awaited visit to My Neighbours the Dumplings, I left disappointed. The decor is undeniably charming, but the atmosphere quickly turned claustrophobic when a divider was unnecessarily placed on my table—despite the restaurant being nearly empty. I had to ask for it to be removed. Food-wise, the Pearl Meatballs (£6.90) were… interesting—pork mince wrapped in sticky rice. The peanut sauce was the only redeeming element. The Crispy Roasted Pork Belly (£14.90) was dry, bland, and came in a meagre portion with no sides. Steamed Jasmine Rice (£2.50) was overly sticky, not in a good way. And £3 for a tiny 200ml Coke? Borderline insulting. Overly Expensive. To top it off, the server’s response to my honest feedback—“it is what it is”—was the final nail in the coffin. Left with an odd aftertaste and even worse impression. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone sensible.