An Edmonston company hit a new milestone this week when its dumplings went on sale at larger grocery stores.

Founded in 2017, Mulan Dumpling uses fresh ingredients and antibiotic-free meat to make dumplings with flavors like pork and cabbage, curry chicken and shrimp and chives.

The company got its start when co-owner Roya Shadravan decided after having a brain tumor removed that she wanted to quit her job as a journalist in Hong Kong and pursue her passion for cooking, using healthy and organic ingredients.

Naming the business after the legendary Chinese warrior, she and her partner, Kristy Lam, began by selling dumplings from a pink food truck in places like a Reston office park and next to the pandas at the National Zoo, where they were popular with visitors.

“The pandemic hit, and the zoo was closed to the public, but we still got requests from customers asking for our dumplings every day,” Lam told the Hyattsville Wire. “That sparked the idea for us to package our dumplings so customers could enjoy them at home any time.”

The couple moved Mulan Dumpling to the Union Kitchen food accelerator and began selling for delivery through Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats.

A few months ago, they moved the operation to a larger Edmonston facility just across the train tracks from Hyattsville’s Arts District and began offering packaged dumplings for grocery stores.

The dumplings are available in D.C. at Yes! Organic Grocery, Dawson’s Market and Streets Market and, starting this month, Giant and select Whole Foods grocery stores. They will be on sale on the corridor by early next year, but for now you can order them for local delivery from Giant online.

Lam said next year, they plan to introduce two gluten-free dumplings and a vegan dumpling, focusing on stores in the mid-Atlantic region.

“Our long-term goal is to go national,” she said.

Support the Wire and Community Journalism
Make a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.