Little Kitchen

**********Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********

Recommended by: When we raved about Little Ting’s Dumplings to some friends, they recommended Little Kitchen as an alternative for dumplings.

Description on the Little Kitchen’s website:   They ain’t got one.

Neighborhood/Type:  University District (on The Ave)

Address: 4508 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105

What we ate/drank:    Shan Dong Boiled Dumplings, Pork Wonton in Chile Sauce, Pan Fried Chive Dumpling

Comments:  When we advised friends of Little Ting’s Dumplings, they countered that a new place opened on The Ave(University Ave) that they believe are the best in Seattle and cheaper than Little Tings to boot.   As mentioned in our Little Ting’s Dumpling post there are a lot of dumpling places in Seattle. When most people mention Chinese dumplings you mainly hear about Din Tai Fung or Dough Zone.  Some others mention J’Dumpling House(Ravenna), Ping’s Dumpling House, Xian Noodles, Jiaozi! Dumplings House, Chiangs Gourmet.  Looks like we can add another dumpling alternative to the Seattle dumpling fray.

Whenever we here a restaurant recommendation located on The Ave, we know two things. One, that it should be cheaper than normal. Two, most likely only UW students know about it, so if we go prior to school starting it will be empty. Sure enough when we visited in mid-September, we were the only ones there on a Saturday afternoon. Apparently, Little Kitchen just opened in August, so that also worked in our favor

When we first entered Little Kitchen we were quite surprised how big it was and how nice it was on the inside considering it’s on The Ave and the outside of Little Kitchen is not a true representation of the inside. This has got to be one of the nicer places on The Ave.

When ordering we had to ask some questions since the menu on the chalkboard doesn’t have a whole lot of details. For example, the menu does not state what’s inside a Shan Dong Boiled Dumpling? (Answer:Pork)  Once we got our questions answered, we ordered three dishes – Shan Dong Boiled Dumplings, Pork Wonton in Chile Sauce, Pan Fried Chive Dumpling. The dumplings are made to order, so it may take a while, but we’re more than willing to wait for freshly made dumplings. You order at the front counter and then they bring it out to your table.

One advantage that Little Kitchen has over Little Tings Dumplings is that the plates are smaller, so you can have more of a variation of dishes. The dumplings at Little Kitchen typically come in sets of 6. The dumplings at Little Tings Dumplings come in sets of 15.  The interesting thing is that when comparing Little Kitchen to Little Tings, if you figure out the price per dumpling, it comes out about the same.  The Shan Dong Boiled Dumpling comes out to $.67 per dumpling and the Pork & Chive Dumpling at Little Tings Dumpling is also $.67 per dumpling, so being on The Ave didn’t make it cheaper in that respect like you would suspect. The Pan Fried Chive dumpling came out to $2.50/each.

Pork Wontons in Chile Sauce is one of our favorite dishes and we always order it when available at any of the restaurants we go to. This was our favorite dish, but would have liked a bit more spicy. For an interesting perspective here is the price per wonton at Little Kitchen compared to Dough Zone and Din Tai Fung.  Surprisingly, Dough Zone is the cheapest.

Pork Wonton in Chile Sauce (score: 4.5/5.0)

Atmosphere: 4.25 (for The Ave this is above average)

Service: 4.50

Food/Drinks: 4.25

Bang for the Buck: 4.50

Overall:  4.35

Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.

• • Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
  • Most locals know about it
  • Locals “in the know” know about it
  • Only those who live close by know about it.
  • You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!

Servers recommendations to visit in the future: None

Related Articles:

• Little Ting’s Dumplings – Best Dumplings in Seattle
• What Visitors Think of Seattle – Taiwan (24 F)
• Dough Zone Dumpling House
• Best Seattle Coffee Shops For Each Stage of Dating