Tao’s Bakery in Stony Brook, dumpling destination
Shrimp-pork-chive dumplings are on the menu at Tao's Bakery and Dim Sum in Stony Brook, May 31, 2014. Credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
When it comes to dumplings, Stony Brook has all the luck. Red Tiger Dumpling House is currently the only place on Long Island to get soup dumplings, and now, just across Stony Brook Road, Tao’s Bakery & Dim Sum is serving a whole menu of savory and delectable treats. It does not get better than this.
When you walk into the little bakery takeout shop, in the same Nesconset Highway shopping center as the well-stocked Oriental Grocery, all you see are pastries. As much as I love Chinese food, I have never cultivated a taste for the confectionery end of that cuisine. But hanging over the counter is a menu featuring dozens of dumplings, buns, meat pies, shish kebabs, congee (rice porridge) and dim sum, all made to order in the kitchen.
The young man behind the counter suggested I order the lamb sandwich ($6) but did not prepare me for the delicious shredded lamb seasoned with spicy pepper, bright herbs and various haunting spices (was that fenugreek seed?) served in a split freshly griddled flatbread. Then I tried the shrimp-chive-dumplings ($8), hearty little parcels that announced, in no uncertain terms, "we are the real thing."
There’s one little table at Tao’s Bakery, providing not nearly enough room to try all the items on the menu — which I intend to do very soon.
Click here to read about other great dumplings on Long Island.
Tao’s Bakery & Dim Sum is at 2460 Nesconset Hwy., Stony Brook, 631-675-6492.
