When a Pushcart Legend Opens a Dumpling Temple in Vermont
“People say in these parts there’s a lady that has a push cart, makes amazing Chinese dumplings,” Guy Fieri announced at the start of this segment. The bad news? She’d closed up shop. The good news? She’d upgraded to a brick and mortar—and Guy was about to experience what locals call “love at first bite.”
Welcome to Hong’s Chinese Dumplings, where Mama Hong (officially Hong You) has achieved near-mythical status. She came to the U.S. with her daughter Lisa in the late 90s, started with a pushcart on Church Street, and built herself into what Guy dubbed “the dumpling mayor” of the town. One regular put it simply: “She’s like my grandma, basically.”
Guy’s Dumpling Confession
Before diving into the cooking, Guy made something clear: “I love dumplings. You don’t understand, my dumpling issues are—I mean, I have to go to like counseling.” This wasn’t going to be a casual visit.
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Mama Hong had two styles on the menu: traditional pork dumplings and something that raised Guy’s eyebrows—chicken and cheese dumplings. That’s right, cheddar cheese in a Chinese dumpling. “We’re in Vermont, so I’m going with this cheese in a traditional Chinese dumpling,” Lisa explained. Guy’s response? “I can’t believe I am participating in the cheddar cheese going in the Chinese dumpling.”
Inside the Kitchen: How Mama Hong Builds Her Dumplings
The process started simply: flour and water for the dough. Then Mama Hong began building her filling—and this is where things got interesting. For the pork dumplings, she combined ground pork with salt, chicken base, a secret spice blend, sugar, ginger, granulated garlic, oil, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, cucumber, cooking wine, regular soy sauce, green bell pepper, and white onion.
The chicken and cheese dumplings featured cooked chicken breast meat seasoned with ginger powder, garlic, Montreal seasoning, turmeric, paprika, salt, chicken base, oil, sesame oil, regular soy sauce, and vinegar. Red and green bell peppers joined white onion in the mix—and then came the cheddar cheese.
Guy watched Mama Hong work, noting she really loads up the filling. “Not shy on the portion,” he observed. These weren’t delicate little parcels—they were substantial. Similar to the bold flavors found in dishes like Mei Lin’s “98-Step” Hot Chicken Sando, Mama Hong wasn’t holding back.
The Secret Sauce: Sweet and Sour Cranberry
For dipping, Mama Hong prepared a sweet and sour cranberry sauce using orange juice, sugar, cranberry, pineapple, and cranberry jelly, cooked down for 15 to 20 minutes. Guy’s verdict? “I want to buy it by the gallon.”
The Taste Test
When Guy bit into those pan-fried dumplings—crispy on the outside, chewy within—his reactions said everything. The chicken and cheese? “Tastes like a quesadilla.” The pork? “When you cook the pork raw inside of the dumpling, all that flavor stays inside of there.” He described having “this undying need to shovel this.”
The final serving—three pork dumplings and three chicken cheese—drew raves. “Those spices are really, really good,” Guy said of the chicken and cheese. As for the pork with that cranberry sauce: “To me, it’s just meant to be.”
These are probably the biggest dumplings Guy had ever seen, and they delivered. It’s the kind of authentic-meets-inventive cooking that makes Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives worth watching—much like Killer Barbecue in Des Moines or Portuguese Kale Soup.
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