NYC Dumpling Fest 2009. Photo: Alexa Weibel.
The Lower East Side function supported the Food Bank for New York City with sales of the usual Asian dumplings and a smattering of dumpling cousins: Polish pierogi, Chinese bao, Italian gnocchi, Mexican tamales, Asian pot stickers, Malaysian kuih koci, Indian idli and Filipino palitawa.
Chefs Wai Hon Chu (co-author of "The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide") and Jaden Hair (author of "The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook: 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight's Dinner) did book signings, but the obvious highlight of the event was the eating contest.
Forty contestants, largely male, of all shapes and sizes showed up to voraciously dive into bowls of whole-wheat dumplings at varying speeds. Judged by a panel including city councilman John Liu -- who quipped about the dumpling, "All those ingredients in one little package, what more could you ask for!" -- the gustatory athletes were an amusingly motley bunch.
More on the eating competition, after the jump.
There are two types of competitions in the world of competitive eating, whether you are talking about pros or about the contests you'll find at the local county fair. One type, perhaps the most popular type, emphasizes quantity and challenges participants to eat as much as they can in a set time limit. IFCOE contests from 
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