March 24, 2025 By Jessica Militello
Astoria just got a little soupier—and that’s a good thing.
Unmei, an artisanal Taiwanese dumpling shop, opened last month at 31-06 35th St., bringing a dose of comfort food and authenticity to the neighborhood. The cozy eatery specializes in steamed soup dumplings known as Xiao Long Bao, as well as Taiwanese braised beef noodle soup and other classic dishes.
The shop is run by siblings Shuchen Kuo, who goes by Celine, and Fanchi Kuo, also known as Chef FC. The brother-and-sister team has called Astoria home for about six years and says they opened Unmei to fill a void they noticed: a lack of high-quality, traditional Taiwanese dumplings in the area.
“As Taiwanese people, we haven’t seen any related restaurants or handmade dumpling houses in this area,” said Celine. “Now we can serve ourselves, but at the same time, we can share Taiwanese food with the whole community.”
Handmade Taiwanese dumplings. Photo credit: Unmei.
The new spot also serves popular Tawainese snacks like popcorn chicken and a unique dessert called baked bunnies with fillings such as red bean paste or custard. “Unmei,” which means fate in Japanese, is the word that comes to mind when the duo thinks of their journey thus far, from moving to the U.S. around nine years ago to making the move to Astoria, working in and visiting restaurants to perfect their craft, and finally, opening their restaurant’s doors to share their dishes with the community.
“I will say Unmei can describe our whole experience, the whole American life,” said Celine. “When we came here, a lot of things happened, and we never knew if we could own a restaurant, but fate brought us to this whole new place in our life. We want people to know that in life, we can’t try to expect anything to happen. Just embrace [the moment], and fate will lead you to the best situation.”
While Flushing is generally the go-to place for authentic soup dumplings, there are a few scattered soup dumpling shops in Western Queens. However, Shanghainese and Cantonese dumplings are prepared differently than the Taiwanese dumplings that they make daily at the shop.
Taiwanese dumplings from Unmei. Photo credit: Unmei.
“The Shanghai or Cantonese dumpling comes with the crystal wrap,” said Chef FC. “In Taiwan, we focus on Xiao Long Bao, the soup dumpling. I hope our community can enjoy it in Astoria because they always need to go to Flushing or over in Manhattan [for soup dumplings.]”
While feedback on the authentic Tawainese food has been very positive since they opened, when families visit, their baked bunnies, in particular, resonate with young children who are drawn to the treats’ cute bunny ears, which are all handmade as well.
Baked bunnies made at Unmei. Photo credit: Unmei.
“I designed that recipe, and I think it’s very delicious and cute,” said Chef FC. “A lot of times when children come to our store, they tell their parents, I want to try that, and I feel so happy about that. This is also the meaning of Unmei. We want to provide people a place and a good memory for them.”
Since the restaurant is on more of a residential street compared to commercial areas in the neighborhood lined with restaurants, the owners want Unmei to feel like a cozy and familiar go-to space for neighbors in the area to visit and bring the handmade dishes home to their loved ones. The restaurant is still working on solidifying its final menu, but customers can stop by and see their offerings throughout the day.
“We want people to feel like Unmei is another place for them,” said Celine. “Whether they want dumplings, a Tawainese snack, or a sandwich, they can come here and get something nice and then go back and enjoy the food with the family.”
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