Found Treasure: Chloe’s Dumplings

August 23, 2204 – The dumplings would be enough. More than enough. 

Pork-ginger-scallion dumplings, mapo tofu dumplings, flaming Cheetos and cheese dumplings, Nashville Hot dumplings, Nutella-banana dumplings and deep-fried walnut dumplings.

Can I get an exhale. 

But here’s the thing: There’s a lot more going on than dumplings at Chloe’s Kitchen—formerly Mo’s Dumplings, and still Mo’s Dumplings in spirit, with the website to match—which makes the blossoming Westside Santa Cruz go-to more of a revelation.

More on the rest of the menu in a moment. First, the dumplings I came for. 

As tempting as the exotics like the flaming Cheetos and Nutella items might be, I went religiously for the homemade-esque action tagged with a little dumpling-chopsticks icon. 

The symbol denotes “Chloe’s Favorites.” (There are also symbols for vegan, vegetarian, spicy, gluten-free and contains nuts, which is nice.) 

Each made me a happier person as I enjoyed their dimensions of tender and texture plus comfort and spark. 

The four Chloe-endorsed dumplings—with the staffer on register helping me pair veg/pork/chicken/shrimp for each—became a smorgasbord, each satisfying with their different identities.

Chicken kung pao felt like a safe or predictable play, but proved adventurous thanks to a blanket of spicy mayo, zippy kung pao sauce, sliced scallions and crushed peanuts, with a good sear from the pan.

Scallion-ginger with shrimp felt similarly harmonious as far as protein plus flavor profile, the surprise here being how girthy they seemed, while staying light from their steam treatment.  

Favorite number three were the vegetarian Thai chili dumplings with a well-scaled Southeast Asian heat.

Then the simplest of the quad, a pan-fried pork number, qualified as my most-likely-to-reorder.

The helpful staffer nodded toward a colleague when I mentioned it would be all namesake favorites, all the time. “That’s Chloe!” 

Suddenly I was gaining new elements of intrigue talking with the boss. 

First off: Mo—Benji Mo—is her husband, and the switch in names was inspired mostly by her increased role and a desire to mix it up as far as external image, but without many internal changes. 

She added a big exception: Mo’s was dumplings-only by design, a COVID creation that kept it simple for takeout feasibility.

As the reawakening of restaurants arrived, the possibilities at their shop did too. 

Chloe Mo and her husband eat out constantly and can’t help but translate their discoveries into their own takes to widen Asian options for their Santa Cruz audience.

“I think we have good taste for food,” she says. “Whatever we think is so good, we try to make it in our way, in a Chinese way.” 

The expanded foodscape they’ve authored enjoys depth and range—and a peek at plates around the dining room revealed patrons are into a lot more than the headlining dumplings. 

Some eye-catchers from the dozens of offerings swing from festive fried chicken wings to a variety of soups, including pho, noodle soups and, yes, dumpling soups. 

Distinct menu sections focus on loaded vegetarian choices (Sichuan-style fried tofu and stir-fried eggplant and string bean among them); a chicken and pork section with temptations like pork belly teriyaki, spicy garlic chicken and spicy chili chicken; a 12-item seafood section (salt and pepper fried shrimp providing some pop); and bonus noodle and rice dishes (like kimchi fried rice and stir fried udon). 

The hits keep playing with the chef specials, stacked with more of Chloe and her husband’s go-tos like Chloe’s magic ribs, ginger and scallion lobster with fried noodle, and a Laksa Malaysian-style seafood pot with clams, fish filets, shrimp and veggies in a spicy coconut broth.

“We’re trying to bring good Asian food to Santa Cruz and not have to drive to San Jose,” Chloe says. “When we go out to eat, there’s not a lot of pho or Laksa or options from the region, so when we try something and like it, we try to recreate it here.”

While Chloe immigrated to Santa Cruz from England, her origin connects to a much more flavorful place: Her native Chinese city of Guangzhou, it turns out, translates to tasty. 

“People back home say, ‘Eating Guangzhou’ when you’re eating good food,” she says. “Because it’s the best food city in the country. It’s not like the cuisine is the best, but in the city, you can find all different styles from different cities and people are more open, and the competition makes it better and better.”

Many will recognize the European name for Guangzhou as Canton, as in Cantonese food, which has influenced food worldwide—well beyond dumplings.

“I feel like it’s important to have a big variety for people,” Chloe says. “Even if it’s so good, you can’t eat the same thing every day.”

Chloe’s Kitchen | 2301 Mission St. Santa Cruz | mosdumpling.com.