Courtesy of Northern China Eatery
Fan Zhang, owner of the popular Buford Highway restaurant Northern China Eatery, often sees one-to-two-hour waits for his restaurant’s authentic Chinese fare. With the opening of spin-off the Dumpling Factory in June, he hopes to make the food more accessible to metro Atlantans. Set to replace Boxcar Betty’s—a Charleston-based fried chicken spot—in Westside Paper, the Dumpling Factory will serve highlights from Northern China Eatery’s menu.
“At Northern China Eatery, every table [orders] dumplings, along with stir-fry stuff, so I could see there is a market,” Zhang says. “We just started franchising the Dumpling Factory brand and needed a location to prove ourselves.” A franchise location is in consideration for the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Courtesy of Northern China Eatery
Dumpling varieties may include pork with chives, pork with fennel, pork with cabbage, chicken with corn, and shrimp with chives. Seasonal options like lamb with cilantro will be available for two or three months at a time. Dumplings can be ordered steamed, pan-fried, or boiled and come with black vinegar and chili oil sauces.
Zhang says 12-16 dumplings comprise a meal. He’s also working on combination plates, such as fried rice with dumplings, soup with dumplings, and stir-fried rice noodles with dumplings. Other offerings may include egg drop soup, wonton soup, hot and sour soup, steamed buns, scallion pancakes, and more.
Expect counter service, takeout, and delivery, and for those who choose to dine in, a robot may deliver your food to the table. The restaurant will not serve alcohol at the beginning. However, Zhang is considering selling bottled beer and soju in the future.
The 2,100-square-foot space will feature framed Northern China Eatery T-shirts and photos of dumplings on the walls. Other than that, not much will change from Boxcar Betty’s.
For those looking for a sit-down experience, Zhang…
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