Ling Long is a little difficult to locate because it's a restaurant within a restaurant. I initially encountered it on Seamless (where its physical location was moot since it was being delivered to me in the lobby of my office building), but I decided to visit them as well after the first order resulted in a pleasant meal, especially since it was only a block or so away. The actual dumpling establishment is inside of a hot pot restaurant, which I believe is called YGF Malatang. I went over there last Thursday midday and the place was pretty packed - I imagine dreary weather is catnip for this place. It took a second to get my bearings and locate Ling Long, which was right by the front and pretty much closed off from the rest of the hot pot options (most of which seem to be picked up cafeteria style near the back of the room). There were two kiosks right by the dumpling prep area, and ordering on there was very straightforward. Even though it's a little awkward in there - there isn't a waiting area or comfortable place to stand that doesn't put you in the crosshairs of a hot pot customer going to and from their table - my dumplings came out in about 10 to 15 minutes, which I don't think is egregious for NYC during lunchtime when the food wasn't pre-ordered. Could have been a lot worse. Ling Long doesn't have a lot of meaty soup dumpling options compared to some other places. Normally I hit up the pork soup dumplings but since they weren't on this menu I went with the crabmeat dumplings, as well as sesame balls, something that looked intriguing and that I thought might fill me up a bit more than just the dumplings. The crabmeat dumps are excellent - very tasty/flavorful, and the dumpling itself is pretty durable, all things considered. I think it's next to impossible to keep an order of dumplings in perfect condition (there's usually a small leak or two once you get it out of the container) but nothing egregious where the container ended up with the dumps swimming in soup. The only issue I have with the dumplings is the order size - I'd have another option for six dumplings because four is a side. It's tough to justify buying lunch for just a glorified app (hence the inclusion of the sesame balls). I'd never had sesame balls before so I wasn't totally sure what they were or whether they'd be savory or sweet. It was pretty clear though that they're intended as a dessert; I remarked that they reminded me of an exotic Munchkin from Dunkin. Not bad, but a little too chewy for me, verging on gelatinous. I wouldn't go out of my way to order them again, but I also wouldn't need a gun pointed at my head to eat one. Take that for what you will. Service isn't really much of a factor with a takeout experience like this, but the fellow in the dumpling prep area was pretty communicative and kept me updated on the progression of the dumplings (e.g., "They'll be out in another minute or two."), and was pleasant as far as it goes. No issues in that regard. This seems like an area that has quite a few dumpling options (probably not coincidentally, this is a stone's throw from K-Town), but this is a decent one. read more