Not Going Back to The Slurping Turtle

The Slurping Turtle's shumai were a disaster. The wrappings were way too big in proportion to the miniature filling, creating starchy, way out of balance things with little flavor. The top third of each dumpling came to the table hard and dry, as if it had cooled too quickly or been handled improperly before assembly. These were the worst shumai I have ever tasted or could ever imagine tasting.


"Silken" tofu was relatively smooth, but nowhere near the wondrous texture that spoiled me in the Gras era at L20. Unlike Gras' simple serving method which added one complementary element that really made the tofu the star, the Slurping Turtle added an I-can't-remember-now array of strawlike, discordant ingredients. The one garnish I do remember with clarity was some julienned kombu that had been marinated in sugarry soy sauce. It was plasticky and way too sweet. Though not the same level of disaster as the shumai, this dish did absolutely nothing for me.

With a green tea and two tiny portions of food that were memorable for all the wrong reasons, lunch was over 20 bucks. It is perhaps too soon to judge a place, but for me the Slurping Turtle is off to a very bad start and I can't imagine ever returning.