Amid the frenetic rush hour on Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, we dodge old ladies wielding shopping bags, politely refuse offers for massages and phone repairs, navigating the dark and busy winter streets until we reach Old Captain’s Dumpling, a small beacon of calm and warmth.
Inside the matchbox-sized restaurant, a sweeping photo of Taiwan covers the back wall, left by the previous tenants. Beneath it, two ladies in blue gingham smocks serenely knead dough and mix fillings, placing plump egg-sized dumplings to the side.
Dong and Jenny Wang sit at a table out front, ready to share their story on how their dumpling stall in China eventually became a standalone shop in Queens. Dong hails from Shandong, one of the northern coastal provinces on the Yellow Sea, renowned for banquet food which became the foundation of Chinese culinary culture.
“This is also the only place that does fish dumplings,” Dong said matter-of-factly, in reference to his home province. “My grandpa was the captain of a fishing vessel,” he continued. “He would be out at sea for up to half a year at a time; seafood was the only fresh food available, and cooking was the major way he passed the time.”
Each time Dong’s grandfather made it back to land, he would share what he had learned from his cooking trials with his wife, who ran a small stall selling dumplings and wontons at the local market. “The recipe constantly changed. It was not just one person’s contribution but the entire community’s.”
Dong’s father and uncles all learned how to make the fish dumplings. “In my family, all the men learned how to cook well. Everyone except my aunty,” Dong said.
“Me either. That’s why I found a man who can cook,” Jenny teased.
Dong’s father later brought the captain’s fish dumplings to a stall at the New World Mall in 2013, which housed the pre-eminent food court for regional Chinese fare in Flushing. Amongst other cutthroat competitors, including Xi’an spicy cumin lamb burgers, and Henan hand-pulled noodles, Old Captain’s held its own, developing a loyal customer base through doling out the Platonic ideal of dumplings.
“After five years in the food court, we just outgrew it,” Jenny said, picking up where Dong left off. During the Covid-19 pandemic, as restaurants were closing, they decided to move their operation to a standalone space around the corner from the mall. They added fried dumplings, noodles, and congee to their menu. Beyond fish, they have five other dumplings on offer: pork, shrimp, and cabbage; pork, shrimp and chive; lamb and carrot; egg and chive; and pork and cabbage.
While busy all year, they are stretched particularly thin during Chinese festivals, including the Winter Solstice and the New Year, when families come together and eat dumplings, a symbol of good fortune and joy. “It’s like turkey for Thanksgiving,” Dong said, dashing outside before his parking ticket expired.
At that moment, one of the elderly dumpling makers broke her meditative state and handed over a tray of mixed boiled dumpling options. We bit into one of the fluffy fish pearls, so light that we felt we were floating.
“Please don’t use too much sauce,” Dong said in his spartan demeanor, as he entered back inside. He wanted us to taste the fresh ingredients. “If you like spicy, you can add later.”
Dong explained how he grinds the fish and meat coarsely, cuts the shrimp in half, and slices the vegetables with a knife, so that each individual ingredient can be tasted in every bite.
The dumplings are humbly satiating, lightly seasoned to keep the ingredients’ flavors intact. “We don’t make meatballs. Not everything should stick together,” Dong continued.
He takes quite a scientific approach to his recipes, describing his experimentation process. “This fish dumpling is like version six,” he said, explaining how he swapped out cilantro for chive three years ago. He also never cuts corners, never accepting offers for cheaper materials from his vendors, despite the pandemic and economic downturn.
Old Captain’s keeps the menu small, matching the no-frills restaurant. “If you have a hundred dishes on your menu, it means you have zero good dishes. I don’t want a menu the same size as me,” Dong said, deadpan, pointing to his belly. The dumplings, with their delicate whorled wrappers and flavorful bites of filling, are the answer to the tough question of what to choose among all the delicious food Queens offers.
After hearing the full story of Old Captain’s Dumpling, we asked what the plans were for the next step. Dong jumped in, “I don’t care about forward or backward. No, no. I just want the taste to be better.” Given how delicious the dumplings already are, we can’t wait to come back to taste the next version.
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Published on February 06, 2025
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