Little-known dumpling house big on flavor

"Humble" is the best way to describe Katy's Dumpling House, a super-casual storefront nestled into an ethnic food-heavy strip mall in Westmont.

Totally low profile and -- if not for its cult following -- easily relegated to under-the-radar territory, it's the kind of gem that will haunt you in the wee hours, until you make a requisite visit once again.

Blink and you'll miss the place: the sign actually reads "K's Dumpling," but other signage spells its name -- Katy's Dumpling House -- in full. It's a tiny, hole-in-the-wall kind of joint that's manned by a stern Katy Lu. It has yellow walls and not much else; therefore, many people opt to carry out.

Still, loyalists have no problem settling into the handful of tables to be served, abruptly, and flourish-free.

There is a language barrier at play, so be aware of that before dining here.

Another fact of note: Some who come might be offput by the handwritten (not entirely translated) menu and the staff who, with conviction, tells you what you do and don't want to eat.

A spot touted by culinary chat site LTHForum, the restaurant does see its fair share of non-Asian customers, many of whom are self-professed foodies.

One minute the restaurant can seem barren. The next, it fills in with visibly salivating diners who have made the trek from city and suburbs far and wide.

Needless to say, the main thrust of the menu is the restaurant's namesake handmade "dumplings," chewy, divine, hand-pulled noodles to which fragrant, flavorful sauces cling. You'd be wise to head in this direction. In addition to the dishes that incorporate them on the menu, there's a refrigerated case to the left of the counter where they're sold in bulk to go.

There is sign offering handmade frozen dumplings -- choose from versions like leek and pork and beef and scallion -- as well as handmade frozen shrimp or vegetable-meat wontons. The restaurant also has a board of house specialties -- they aren't translated and therefore easily intimidate Western diners -- with out-of-the-norm selections like boiled pork meatballs, marinated duck wing and drunken chicken as well as hot and sour bok choy, red oil-pressed ear, spicy beef stomach and Shanghai-style smoked fish.

We suggest beginning, as we did, with an order of the doughy-crisp potstickers that burst with juicy, seasoned pork. Just don't forget the singeing chili sauce for dipping. The savory fried onion pancake studded with pork comes in a close second.

No visit is complete without ordering the Szechwan cold noodle dish. Both searing and refreshing at once, the saucy, chili-flecked pile of noodles -- we'll admit they're greasy, but we find them addictive -- is mounded with aggressively flavored ground pork and thin slivers of cucumber to temper the burn. The dish further benefits from a hint of vinegar and is intensified by what we assume to be sesame oil.

We were less impressed, however, with the simply named stir-fried noodles.

Beginning with a foundation of the same noodles, they're not nearly as spicy -- though full of dried red chilis -- with a sweeter sauce and a blend of veggies, chicken, beef, shrimp and imitation crab. The blend of meat and seafood was a bit of a surprise, and we weren't particularly fond of the hunks of faux crab. We picked around them, though, and found the overall dish otherwise enjoyable.

Reservations aside, the dan-dan noodles fared far better. The red-hued broth, while spicy, had a lot of richness and depth. Ground pork, noodles aplenty and bok choy round the experience out. The cashier tried to tell us that we'd like the beef noodle soup better -- how would she know? -- but we went with this and were glad we did.

Granted, there are Americanized selections that read like a list of any Chinese restaurant's greatest hits (think kung pao shrimp), but these really aren't the reason for coming here. Stick with the noodles.

While you're at it, be sure to peruse the deli case if only for an education. You might find choices like five-spice-accented tofu or, perhaps, spicy beef tendon or cold pork stomach. Then again, if you're squeamish, you might want to steer clear.

As mentioned, you won't experience much in the way of pampering -- both in terms of the setting and the service. There's soda to drink, and what you see is what you get. It's not uncommon for non-Asian customers to be deterred from ordering certain things -- this happened to us on two separate occasions -- but we'd suggest sticking to your guns if you know what you want.

If you don't, we're fairly certain they will steer you down a path of delight. Just don't expect a lot of pleasantries along the way.

Katy's Dumpling House

665 N. Cass Ave., Westmont, (630) 323-9393

Cuisine: Authentic, noodle-based Chinese dishes

Setting: Bare bones, small space in a strip mall

Price range: Starters $3.95; entree-sized soup and stir-fry $4.50 to $6.25; carryout case $4.50 to $7.25

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday

Accepts: Cash only