Taste of Traditional Chinese in Squirrel Hill at Amazing Dumplings

By Nick Razum

There is something special about walking into a restaurant that serves a traditional cuisine. The signs are obvious upon entering Amazing Dumplings in Squirrel Hill. Designer Brett Rutherford and the owner Ping collaborated to create the aesthetic transporting you to Xi’an, Ping’s hometown.

Photo by Nick Razum

A choice between spicy or not helps narrow your choices down, but it can’t help decide what’s best. Every variation of dumpling or noodles is an explosion of flavor from natural ingredients carefully crafted into a well-prepared edible work of art. Each plate of dumplings is decorated with a flower made of garnishes to add to the artistry of the colorful dumplings. 

Photo by Nick Razum

Traditional cuisine can be difficult to find when far away from the homeland. It is just as difficult to bring the traditions here. A long process of research and experimentation has led to Ping’s perfected recipes representing the flavors of northern China. Bringing back the secrets to the proper flavor and technique involved sending family members on many trips to Beijing where they would taste the dumplings of successful restaurants in order to compare to Ping’s dumplings here in Pittsburgh. 

Before Amazing Dumplings, Ping and her husband ran Sakura in the same location for 17 years. Sakura served Japanese food because of their experience working in Japanese restaurant kitchens. 

Being amongst the international community in Squirrel Hill, they would serve Chinese students from Pitt, Duquesne or Carnegie Mellon. When they found out the owners were Chinese, students would order traditional Chinese cuisine. Sakura gained a following of Chinese immigrants and students coming solely for traditional Chinese cuisine, inspiring Ping to start from scratch to create a new restaurant that would serve the food from her hometown. 

To try something unique, make a reservation and order ahead the “Moon Reflects on Pond” cucumber soup. After eating the spicy dumplings or noodles, the cucumber refreshes the palate. 

Ping is excited to share her traditional cuisine at the Pittsburgh’s Best Restaurants event at the David L. Lawrence convention center on January 31, 2024. 

5882 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 amazingdumplings.com

(412) 422-7188