I always seem to stumble into food TikTok. Recently it's been Asian cuisine, specifically dumplings. They look so tantalizing on my screen, topped with all their sauces. Shaniky specifically called me with her Trader Joe's dumplings. But how can I try these? It felt too far from my comfort zone. But, I started searching online about the delicious looking food and asking for some recommendations from friends that know the area to try dumplings from a local restaurant. 

I ended up The Lucky Kitchen near the University of Michigan’s North Campus. The Lucky Kitchen is a women-owned business. In 1993, they released a menu that met the criteria of "healthy people," according to their website. They decided to find different ways to cook Chinese cuisine, without the use of oil, salt, sugar, or MSG. This then allowed them to be connected with the "Mfit healthy dieting program," their website says. Nineteen of the Lucky Kitchen recipes meet the criteria of the "healthy standards" and certified by Mfit ("About Us").  Lucky kitchen was also recognized by The Michigan Daily as Best of Ann Arbor Chinese Food ("About Us"). 

I felt very welcomed when I walked in. This is a pretty small restaurant with only about six tables with 2-4 chairs each. On the wall is a very large picture of the menu, which would be helpful for customers ordering in person instead of having to read a small print on a regular piece of paper.  But I ordered ahead on this visit: boiled dumplings, which came with a small cup of sauce. I was questioning the cup of sauce due to not knowing what it was, but decided to sit down and dig in. I tried the dumpling itself first: I loved it. It was very savory. I then tried it with the sauce, which was questionable. It had a very salty taste but the more I ate it the more I liked it. The meat inside was beef mixed with vegetables. I also enjoyed the broth that came out when I bit into it. 

 Dumplings were introduced by Zhang Zhongjinj in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the winter time everybody was getting colds so, he made these as a healing treatment ("The History"). The dumplings would be shaped to the body part that needed healing. It was never clear if this truly did help, but the villagers did love the dumplings. Nowadays, they aren't used to heal but to symbolize prosperity and wealth. During Chinese New Year at midnight families eat dumplings to bring good luck to the new year ("The History").