This Forthcoming Cambridge Dumpling Joint Has Some Serious Legacy

Dumpling Daughter will expand from Weston to Cambridge’s Kendall Square, reports Boston Restaurant Talk, citing a job posting on BostonChefs.com. The Chinese restaurant first opened in Weston in 2014, courtesy of Nadia Liu Spellman, but the restaurant’s roots reach back much further: Spellman’s mother is Sally Ling, who was behind the eponymous Sally Ling’s on Boston’s waterfront in the 1980s — the first of its kind in Boston, a white-tablecloth restaurant with serving carts and upscale Chinese food.

As Spellman told Eater in 2014, “My mother is my number one consultant, and the menu is based on my love for her home cooking.”

As such, Dumpling Daughter serves as a fast-casual homage to Spellman’s family legacy, serving “authentic Chinese homestyle fare,” from rice bowls topped with options such as chicken katsu or spicy tofu to sandwiches such as a scallion pancake and beef roll-up. And there are dumplings, of course, including pan-seared pork and Napa cabbage dumplings, steamed or pan-seared vegetable dumplings, and more.

Weston allows Dumpling Daughter to permit diners to bring their own beer and wine, but Cambridge does not allow BYOB; no word yet on whether Spellman will apply for a standard beer and wine license for the new location.

The job posting for Dumpling Daughter’s Cambridge location mentions a potential spring 2018 opening in Kendall Square but does not provide an exact address. Paperwork filed with the state, however, suggests that it will be somewhere on Ames Street, as Spellman’s new LLC is named Didi Ames Street Kendall.

Eater has reached out to Spellman for more details on Dumpling Daughter’s Cambridge expansion; stay tuned for updates.

Update, 6:30 p.m.: No new details yet, but Spellman tells Eater: “We are very excited about this next location and looking forward to sharing Dumpling Daughter with the city.”

Brian Samuels/Dumpling Daughter

• Dumpling Daughter in Weston Is Expanding to Cambridge’s Kendall Square [BRT]
• Dumpling Daughter GM Job Posting [BC]
• Dumpling Daughter [official site]