I’ve mentioned a couple of times recently about the new trend to open bars that are serving up, more or less, Asian street food or Asian bar food. And the trend just keeps growing.

The latest entry into the fray is The Night Market, Gorriti 5612, Palermo [w3w: opposite.glades.madness], which just opened a couple of weeks ago. Ostensibly setup like a Singapore hawker market, it may bear some resemblance, but only superficially. Let’s take a little tour, shall we?

So, the setup is, you walk in, there’s a bar where you can get your beer, soda, or water, and you also buy monedas for 100 pesos apiece – tokens, that you can then redeem for food at one of the four stands at the far back. The things along the walk that look like they’re food carts are just places to sit. At the back, you’ve got a Japanese yakitori stand, a Korean dumpling stand that also serves rice bowls, a Japanese ramen stand, and, a Taiwanese guabao stand. Dumplings and yakitoris run 1 moneda, all the rest run 2 monedas.

With few people there, the system works smoothly. I imagine that if the place is packed, it could get a little annoying, or at least require planning, because you’re going to have to stand in line to get your monedas and drinks, and then again, at each stand. Then again, local food festivals, like Masticar do much the same with tickets. I’d say the average person is going to need anywhere between 3 and 5 monedas for a decent meal, depending on how hungry you are, who you’re with, sharing, and all that. I, of course, am always hungry….

Started off with kimchi dumplings and a bottle of beer (somehow I missed that they also have craft beer on tap). Delicate, with that lovely crisp fried side. The kimchi inside lacking punch, so kind of cabbage dumplings, but they bring hot sauce to the table, and when the one they brought was still a bit weak for my tastes, the manager brought over two additional ones, a housemade one that was very good, and also a small dish with just about a demitasse spoonful of a fiery red liquid that with one drop on the tip of a chopstick set my mouth on fire. Mostly I used the housemade one, which was hot, but didn’t overwhelm the food.

Very good chicken yakitori, and a decent portion for the price. Nice char on the grill, but still juicy. Good marinade with a nice balance between salty and sweet.

I wouldn’t say that this is my favorite guabao ever…. The pork belly is sliced really thin and then grilled, so rather than being unctuous and packed with flavor, it was kind of like semi-crispy bacon without the smokiness, and piled with chopped raw cabbage and green onions. There just wasn’t a lot of flavor going on. And the steamed buns, which look like albino hamburger buns, aren’t done to order, so they’re cold, and a little dense as they’ve… settled.

I decided to finish up with one more round of dumplings. I was going to get the classic pork ones, but thought I’d ask the dumpling guy. He said that while that was what everyone orders, because they’re the classic, the real killer dumplings were the curry chicken ones. And damn, he was right. Noted, early on, see the photo earlier, when there were few people there, the dumplings were presented nicely lined up – once there were more people lined up to get stuff, they’re just kind of dumped on the plate.

All in all, I like the space and the decor, it’s just kind of fun. The music, however, really turned me off – it’s all Asian gangsta’ rap, with way too much cursing for my tastes. I don’t mind someone throwing out an occasional four letter word, but when virtually every line of the lyrics in every song seems to include some version of fuck, motherfucking, shit, and more, at high volume (the place is, according to my sound meter, running just shy of 75dB steadily – about the level of standing next to a vacuum cleaner that’s running continuously), it’s a bit irritating when you’re trying to eat, and it’s too loud to really tune out, and would be really hard to hold a conversation.

The food, two very good dishes, one good, and one mediocre. Mostly fair prices – 100 pesos for 5 dumplings is actually quite reasonable, as it is for 2 yakitori skewers. On the other hand, 200 pesos for a single bao (even if I’d have liked it) is a bit much, when you can get them at places like Bao Kitchen for 140, Fukuro for 175, or Koko for 150, and all better than this one. It’s just about a dollar to a dollar and a half difference, but we’re talking bar/street food, so it’s a difference worth noting.

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This place was actually one of the earlier spots to open, and the biggest reason I haven’t been is that they’re only open Wednesday to Saturday, the nights that we usually work as well. Opio, Honduras 4415, Palermo [w3w: fighters.addicted.breathy] has been open roughly two years now. And they’re touted for their dumplings, you’d have thought I’d have made it work at some point. But the second biggest reason I hadn’t been is that several friends who’ve been were “not impressed”, and so it wasn’t at the forefront of places I was looking to try. But, with my little staycation winding up (damn three weeks went fast), I thought I’d check the box.

I remember early on seeing a copy of their menu and noting some odd translations – things like “crab-cakes of prawns”… no, if it’s a crab-cake, it’s made from crab, if it’s made from prawns, it’s a prawn-cake… on the current menu, it’s a shrimp-cake, so they’ve gotten in there and fixed up those kind of errors that drive us pedantic menu readers crazy. I’m also not sure I’d have named a bar “opio”, which is the Spanish word for opium, or opiate – it has a negative connotation in hindsight in Asian cultures, and on top of that it’s also Spanish slang for something that’s soporific… inordinately boring. Hmm, maybe subconsciously that’s another reason I never went… would you trot yourself off to a place called “Boring Gastropub”?

The space feels big, but that’s mostly because it’s got triple or quadruple height ceilings. Overall, it’s really not a very big space – there’s probably only seating for about 30 people. Two waitresses are easily handling the whole room – then again, despite the “oh, you don’t have a reservation, all I can offer you is the bar” routine at the beginning, it never gets more than about half full, and it’s clear that most people walking in don’t have reservations. I think they just sit solo diners at the bar, period. While I probably would have asked for the bar anyway, I hate that approach.

I’m here for dumplings, and none of my local friends have joined me, despite a broadcast offer on Facebook and Twitter. Silly people. Going out dumpling diving with me is something you shouldn’t miss.

I order a gin and tonic and… umm… wow. That must be close to a liter sized cocktail, it’s massive. I mean, it still probably has no more gin than a standard cocktail, there’s a fair amount of ice, and a lot of tonic water, but hey, I won’t be ordering a second one. It is good. I turn to the menu. It’s clear my waitress is relatively new – she has no idea if they accept credit cards or not, and when it comes to ordering, even after repeating my order twice, I have to show her on the menu which things I want because she goes blank, and then she still manages to get two out of four wrong.

They have an array of dumplings (all 170 pesos), from various cultures, and I order up a trio, letting them arrive in whatever order the kitchen wants to put them out. First up are the beef and nira (garlic chive) wontons, five of them, crispy fried. Great texture and flavor – the beef is flavored not only with the garlic chives, but with fermented black beans and green onions, a combination that really works. We’re off to a good start, especially after I ask for and get some housemade hot sauce in front of me.

I’d ordered the prawn, bok choy, and chili gyoza, but got the prawn and pork potstickers, which was immediately obvious from the browned bottom surface. First waitress error there. But they were good, actually very good, just not what I’d ordered. I thought about sending them back, but I’d already eaten one and I could always order more….

And the third round came with the pork and kimchi mandu. I mean, they don’t really look like traditional mandu, but so be it, I’ve seen enough different styles that everyone has their own version. The kimchi could use a lot more punch in it, these are pretty mild. They’re tasty, I just hoped for more of that tangy, spicy flavor inside. At least there’s more kimchi flavor than the kimchi dumplings above.

I debated at this point going back and ordering the gyoza that I’d wanted in the first place, or another – they have eleven different kinds of dumplings on the menu, so I’ve got a ways to go. But…

…I decide to go with a little compare and contrast with the classic pork belly guabao to see how theirs stacks up against the one above and others that I’ve tried. Second waitress mistake, I get prawn guabao. This time, I send them back. I really want the pork belly ones. And, in short order, with apologies from the chef, I get the ones I ordered (I should have just ordered from him directly). Big plus, they steam the buns to order in a big steamer kettle, which is the way it ought to be – they come out light and fluffy, and… hot. Second, the pork belly is slow cooked, melt in your mouth, well spiced, thick slabs of the stuff, the way it should be, and then garnished with a tangy sweet housemade hoisin sauce, and pickled cucumbers. Add a dollop of hot sauce and these are really excellent, and so far above the ones I had at the place above it’s like night and day. And, you get two of them for 180 pesos. Now we’re talking.

Overall – the space is fine, it’s a bit industrial made over with Asian stuff, but that’s to be expected. The music was a mix – in fact, kind of non-intrusive, and the overall volume level much lower, running about 68dB (like the sound of a shower running) pretty consistently. You could hold a conversation here, without having to lean in to hear what someone is saying to you. I can’t say I was impressed with the service, it was friendly, just inept, but I’m chalking that up to a somewhat clueless waitress who was clearly new to the place. The other waitress seemed to be much more on top of things.

The food? I liked it all. The dumplings were all well made and flavorful, and they were all cooked right, the same for the bao. The pricing is kind of the reverse of the place above – here you’re paying a higher price, 170 pesos for 4-5 dumplings versus 100 for 5, though overall I think these are better quality, and there’s more variety; and paying only 180 pesos for two excellent bao versus 200 for a single one that was mediocre.

So, putting the two up against each other… Ambiance/decor – The Night Market wins. Music – Opio. Service – hard to compare, since at The Night Market you have to serve yourself, so I suppose, even with the mistakes, I’d give it to Opio, simply because they have service. Food – Opio. Pricing – toss-up. But pretty much, I’d have to say Opio wins hands down.