Little Dumpling King, 50 Piccadilly, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 1EG. 01782 286 113. Littledumplingking.co.uk.
All dishes £4 - £14. Wines from £25 a bottle. Beers from £4 a bottle.
At Little Dumpling King in Stoke-on-Trent’s Hanley, they make their own crispy chilli oil, which is much more crispy chilli than oil. This is a smart move, partly because it indicates a commitment to doing things properly and partly because they use so much, they’d go bust if they had to buy it retail. There are fat piles of the stuff across the dumplings, and in drifts around the deep-fried chicken wings, and as part of the “gnarly seasoning” on the sticky rice. The curious thing is that it doesn’t get repetitive, this clash and batter of heat and toastiness. It ends up feeling more like a signature; a mark of the place and its determination to beat you into happy submission with plate after plate of huge, banging flavours.
