Party Food: Honey Pig Steamed Buns At Lotte (And Look For Fried Chicken In Catonsville Soon)

Takeout stuffed buns from Honey Pig at Lotte

The newest party food for the HowChows comes from the newest big supermarket, and the food looks like it just keeps getting better.

The steamed dumplings at the Honey Pig counter were a hit on our December's first visit to the new Lotte in Catonsville.  They're softball-sized buns with light steamed outside wrapped around a range of chopped meats and vegetables.

(Update: Honey Pig Dumpling -- and the chicken place -- closed later in 2013.)

On Sunday, we turned a snack into a party.  We got a dozen wang mandu to serve for Korean New Year and steamed them at home.  Seriously, this is easy and delicious.  A few minutes in a steamer warmed everything, and we served a crowd by slicing the dumplings in half.  It's showy fun.  It was delicious dinner for 10 people with leftovers for lunch.

These dumplings are easy party food.  Some rice and kimchi could make a simple lunch.  Or you can get a little complex with a soup or chapchae or bulgogi.

I have a steamer from my fun with Andrea Nguyen's cookbook Asian Dumplings.  Buy one a little farther east from the new Lotte at the Hanoori Home Plaza, the Asian homegoods store in the shopping center with H Mart.

The new Catonsville Lotte is spectacular, and I'm thinking about a bunch of posts fromt here.  But the big news looks like Korean fried chicken may be coming to the Lotte has well.  Honey Pig has a sign on the space next to the bun counter that says "Honey Pig Chicken Coming Soon."

That could be the greatest takeover ever -- steamed dumplings and spicy fried chicken.