is splashed with red and orange decor and smiley-faced dumpling mascots. In the small kitchen, cooks press rows of meaty parcels to order on a griddle machine.
It’s a new brand opened by the Kiosks Collective, a group which also owns Crave, Ministry of Rojak, A Noodle Story, and other takeaway joints, in conjunction with the folks behind, who are co-owners. Dumpling Darlings, of course, is the popular hipster dumpling and noodle restaurant with outlets at Amoy Street and Circular Road, owned by husband-and-wife duo Foo Choo Kiat, 35, and June Tan, 33 . The duo developed the branding and the menu here, but are not involved in the day-to-day operations.
June is quite clear that this is a totally different brand and business from Dumpling Darlings. For one, the price point is lower, starting from $5.90 for six dumplings, while the offerings at Dumpling Darlings start at $8 for five pieces. The menu at Ion is also less diverse than Dumpling Darlings, which apart from the standard gyoza-style dumplings featured here, includes specialty dumplings like pierogis, mandus, and momos.
“It’s a passion project for us,” says June, “and it’s been quite fun to think of new iterations of the [Dumpling Darlings] brand that could work as well.” Here, you order using a touch-screen, or submit an order online by scanning a QR code, and wait to collect your order, which arrives in Chinese takeout-style boxes printed with grinning cartoon dumplings. Because the food is made to order, the average wait is about seven minutes.