By Randall Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Who doesn’t love a dumpling? There’s a reason why nearly every world cuisine has its own version of flavorful food creations delivered inside a neat pastry package. While the arrival of world-renowned Din Tai Fung two years ago may have marked a peak moment in the comfort-food trend for Seattle, we westsiders know the true peak of any local comfort-food trend is when we can indulge without leaving the peninsula.

After finding themselves dining on dumplings with increasing frequency, the team behind Shadowland was presented with the opportunity to take over the former Quadrato space (4302 SW Oregon) nearby, and soon the idea for Dumplings of Fury was born. Back in August, we reported briefly that this eatery was on the way – and now we finally have a full serving of details.

“I think it was definitely our love of dumplings that somehow sprung us into thinking of doing this,” says Ben Jenkins, Shadowland co-owner. “There’s nothing like that here, and we wanted to do something different for West Seattle.”

“It won’t be good for business, but I think I’ll be our best customer!”

In addition to fresh handmade dumplings, Dumplings of Fury will have beer and wine available. The culinary team is also weighing the possibility of offering bubble tea.

The plan is for ‘Fury’ to focus primarily on takeout and delivery, though there will be a small amount of indoor and outdoor seating made available when they open for business. Between licensing, the installation of a new kitchen hood system, and awaiting the storefront signage, Jenkins says his team is optimistically hoping to be ready to go on the first of the year.

Operating hours have yet to be finalized, but Jenkins says he’d ideally like to open for a few hours at lunch, shut down for a few hours, and then re-open for dinner time. Because the dumplings will all be handmade, closing shop for a few hours between meal periods would help the kitchen prepare more stock for the evening rush, as the process of preparing fresh dumplings by hand is quite time-consuming.

Whether the dumpling shop opts to have two separate business periods or just opens from early afternoon through a late dinner, any given day’s stock will be limited.

“When we run out, we run out,” says Jenkins.

As experienced restaurateurs, though, Jenkins’ team will work to avoid any such disappointments, while also looking for opportunities to expand their business, with the first likely expansion being to extend their hours on the weekends to get the Junction’s late-night crowds.

But first come the dumplings.

“Once we know we can execute our initial plans, we may expand from there,” says Jenkins. “But our focus is going to be on doing our style and doing it right.”

And, speaking of style, how about that name?

As one might infer, “Dumplings of Fury” denotes a Kung Fu theme. The shop will be adorned with vintage Kung Fu movie posters. Some of the design elements were chosen by Jenkins’ six-year-old son Liam, who is not legally able to visit his father’s current place of business. But it’s not just a child’s fondness for the martial arts that inspired the theme.

“It’ll be fun, and when something is fun, you’re more likely to get your kid to try something they might not otherwise try,” says Jenkins, finishing with a common parental lament: “Kids can be picky.”