Browse the full appetizers menu — soy-garlic wings, the Taiwanese fried pork chop, slow-braised baby back ribs, popcorn chicken, fried calamari, smashed cucumber and the classics of any Chinese-American spread. Eleven shareable small plates designed for two-to-four-person tables.
An appetizer round at Ugly Dumpling is the kitchen's calling card — a one-bite preview of how the rest of the table is going to taste. The category divides cleanly into three subgroups: fried + glazed (wings, pork chop, popcorn chicken, fried chicken dumplings, calamari, rangoon), cold + steamed (cucumber salad, edamame), and the "shareable rest" (braised ribs, spring rolls, fries).
If you only order one appetizer per visit, the consensus pick is Wings ($13) — soy-garlic glazed, six-piece order, the highest-rated starter in the brand. The signature category-defining dish is Braised Baby Back Ribs ($14) — slow-braised in a savory-sweet glaze that's closer to Shanghainese hong shao than American BBQ. And the Taiwanese-style Fried Pork Chop ($9) is the menu's lowest-cost-per-bite signature: a pounded thin chop dredged in sweet-potato starch and dusted with five-spice salt.
The category also covers three vegetarian/vegan options — Spring Rolls, Edamame, French Fries — and the cucumber salad is the only cold appetizer on the entire menu, an important palate-cleanser when the table is leaning heavy.
Ranked by popularity and table-share frequency.
Crispy wings glazed in soy-garlic, garnished with cilantro. The most-ordered appetizer on the menu.
View dish →Slow-braised ribs glazed in a savory-sweet Shanghainese-style sauce. Fall-off-the-bone tender.
View dish →
Crispy Taiwanese-style fried pork chop with five-spice salt. Lowest-cost-per-bite signature.
View dish →
Taiwanese-style salt-and-pepper popcorn chicken with crisp Thai basil. Bite-sized and shareable.
View dish →
Lightly battered calamari rings — golden, tender, salt-and-pepper finish.
View dish →
Pan-fried chicken dumplings with a crisp golden bottom. Eight pieces, dipping sauce on the side.
View dish →
Crispy fried wontons filled with sweet cream cheese — the Chinese-American classic.
View dish →
Smashed cucumber in a light, savory garlic dressing. The only cold appetizer on the menu.
View dish →
Steamed soy beans tossed in sea salt. Vegan, gluten-free, lowest-calorie starter.
View dish →
Vegetable spring rolls — cabbage, carrot, mushroom, vermicelli. Cheapest dish on the menu.
View dish →
Crisp golden fries — kid-friendly, casual side or shareable.
View dish →Cooking method, type, allergens, calories and price — all eleven starters at a glance.
| Dish | Method | Type | Diet flags | ~Cal | Pieces | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings | Fried + glazed | Chicken | — | 580 | 6 | $13 |
| Braised Baby Back Ribs | Braised | Pork | — | 640 | ~6 | $14 |
| Fried Pork Chop | Deep-fried | Pork | — | 520 | 1 | $9 |
| Popcorn Chicken | Deep-fried | Chicken | — | 540 | ~12 | $10 |
| Fried Calamari | Battered & fried | Seafood | Shellfish | 490 | ~10 | $13 |
| Fried Chicken Dumplings | Pan-fried | Chicken | — | 460 | 8 | $8 |
| Cream Cheese Rangoon | Fried | Cream cheese | Dairy | 420 | 6 | $9 |
| Cucumber Salad | Smashed / cold | Vegetable | Vegetarian | 120 | 1 | $8 |
| Edamame | Steamed | Soybean | Vegan · GF | 180 | 1 | $6 |
| Spring Rolls | Fried | Vegetable | Vegetarian | 220 | 2 | $4 |
| French Fries | Deep-fried | Potato | Vegetarian | 320 | 1 | $6 |
Calories are approximate per full order. Frying oil and sauce variation can swing values 10–15%.
Most tables over-order or under-order their starters. Here's the structure that always works.
Open every round with the Cucumber Salad or Edamame. Cold dishes hit the table first while the kitchen prepares the fried order — the cold start sets pacing and palate.
Pair a dry-fried dish (Popcorn Chicken or Pork Chop) with a glazed one (Wings or Ribs). Texture contrast — crisp + sticky — is what makes a starter round feel complete.
Anchor the table with one of the three signatures (Wings, Ribs, Pork Chop) and one familiar pick (Spring Rolls, Rangoon, Fries) for less-adventurous diners.
Calamari, Spring Rolls (sauce), Rangoon — wheat. Calamari — shellfish. Rangoon — dairy (cream cheese). All glazes contain soy.
Vegan options: Edamame, Spring Rolls (request no fish-sauce in the dip).
Gluten-free: Edamame is the only safe GF starter; everything else is breaded, battered or sauced with wheat-based soy.
Six diner profiles, six clear answers.
The Ugly Dumpling appetizer page is a snapshot of how Chinese food actually traveled to American restaurants. The Cream Cheese Rangoon was invented in San Francisco at Trader Vic's in the 1950s — it has no traditional Chinese origin and is named after Burma's capital. French Fries appear because the brand's diners — kids and casual orderers — expect them on any sit-down menu in the U.S.
The signature dishes tell a different story. The Fried Pork Chop is a Taiwanese street-stall classic — pounded thin, dredged in sweet-potato starch, fried, and dusted with five-spice salt — that became a benchmark dish in U.S. Taiwanese restaurants in the 2000s. Salt & Pepper Popcorn Chicken (鹹酥雞 yán sū jī) is the same Taiwanese night-market lineage. Braised baby back ribs trace to Shanghainese hong shao braising — soy, sugar, rice wine, ginger.
The smashed cucumber salad (拍黄瓜 pāi huáng guā) is northern-Chinese street food that's gone mainstream worldwide in the past five years — it's now a fixture on every modern Chinese-American menu, including Ugly Dumpling's.
