There are plenty of eateries and shops in NYC, but not many in the underground market. You can get to one from the Columbus Circle subway station, beneath 8th Avenue between 57th and 58th street. At Turnstyle Underground Market, there are nearly 40 eateries and shops, great for rainy or snowy day. Well, actually, great for any day!
They have fun pop-ups, both shops and eateries. Right now, they have a unique mash-up series going on there. We went there to check them out! First one was “Pizza Dumplings” created by Lisa’s Dumplings and Champion Pizza. I know, so cool and interesting, right???
You can get your hands Pizza Dumplings at Lisa’s Dumplings. And while you wait, you can see the staffs making dumplings in action! It is always so fascinating to see them make these little babies at lightning speed! We got to see how they make dumplings at Yaso Tangbao in the past, and it was really cool!
So, here are the Pizza Dumplings. They are pan-fried, nice size, not too big nor too small. It came with a side of chopped scallions.
I poured some scallions on top, and then looked for a dipping sauce. But then, I thought “This is a pizza dumpling, do I need any dipping sauce for this???” Since no dipping sauce was provided to begin with, we decided to have them without any extra sauce.
At a glance, it looks like regular fried dumpling. But with one bite, your taste buds get confused and surprised with completely unexpected flavor. It does taste like a pizza!!! It had a good little kick to it, with hint of sweetness from the tomato sauce. It was meaty and juicy, super fun! It could also be said that they were a bit similar to lasagna, with the dumpling wrap acting as the pasta dough. Scallions added extra fresh and crisp texture, nice contrast of bitter flavor to the dumplings. The wrap is not to thin nor too thick, plump and a bit chewy in a good way. Super fresh! We thought they were pretty good.
Another fun collaboration happening right now between Panda Bubble Tea and Merchant’s Gate is a drink called Drunken Panda. Now, the owner of Lisa’s Dumplings is also a founder of Panda Bubble Tea, so it makes sense that she is using this unique marketing to promote both of her businesses. We went all the way down to 57th street entrance/exit, where Merchant’s Gate is located for this drink. It was very festive with ceiling filled with Christmas ornaments. I wonder if they have it right that year around? Very pretty!
A handsome bartender made our drinks right there, and here is our Drunken Panda. It is made with Passion Fruit Tea and Bubbles from Panda Bubble Tea, mixed with Rum.
It had a nice sweetness to it from rum, nice and strong. Smooth and fruity from the passion fruit tea. It was quite tasty! The unfortunate thing was that the straw was not one of those tapioca-size straw, so we couldn’t get those bubbles… We managed to get a few of them, and they popped in our mouth which was fun.
This fun collaboration is happening right now until Friday, February 21st, so if you want to try them, head over to Turnstyle Underground Market right now! If you can’t make it, not to worry, they will have more fun collaboration coming up next month… Even without any of these pop-ups, it is still a fun spot to go with so many shops and eateries!
Turnstyle Underground Market – 1000 S 8th Ave, New York, NY 10019