OUR STORY

Told by our founder

Dumpling Daughter was born two generations before me. My parents owned Boston's most renowned 5-star Chinese restaurant, Sally Ling's. Despite all the fancy food I enjoyed, I always came back to my mom's home cooking. I always looked forward to an after-school snack of steamed buns or a giant plate of dumplings.


My favorite days were Sundays, when we went to grandma's house and she wrapped dumplings with my mom. The whole family would feast on dumplings together.

The happiest memories of my childhood were around the table. Today, my mission is to pass on these recipes and the happiness that comes with them, one dumpling at a time.

Nadia Liu Spellman,

CEO & Founder of Dumpling Daughter

“Sally Ling's on the Waterfront 1986”

“Sally Ling & Edward Nan Liu”

“Founder Nadia Liu Spellman”

“Nadia cooking up a storm”

A Thank You for Your Dumpling Dedication

It’s a dream come true that we’re able to share our dumplings and buns with people everywhere—in our restaurants and around your family table.

However you choose to indulge, thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Now go on, the dumplings won’t eat themselves.

  • Kara Baskin

    "This is one of the best takeout meals I've had in months. A bright spot in a bleak restaurant landscape, with dishes you'll return to again and again, even if it's just in front of the television."

  • Dave Andelman

    "The daughter of Sally Ling is culinary royalty. She’s the duchess of dumplings. I’m a loyal subject of her ever-expanding appetizing empire as I’ve never had better dumplings from Boston to China"

  • Sheryl Julian

    "Dumpling Daughter's Chinese food is exquisite"

  • Brittany Di Capua

    “I had the pleasure of indulging on some of her delicious steamed buns and dumplings -food that has been in her family for generations.”

  • Michael La Corte

    “Ling and her husband helmed the stalwart, eponymous Boston restaurant that was a landmark within the Chinese fine dining cuisine back in the 1980s — and now Nadia is continuing the "family business," if you will.”

  • Valerie Kolligian Thayer

    “Nadia has designed a creative menu at Dumpling Daughter.  A combination of beloved recipes from her mother’s restaurant, dishes reminiscent of her time traveling in China and Japan with her father, and foods prepared for her at home by her mother and grandmother make sure there is something for everyone.”