In northern China where I grew up, dumpling is almost always a staple at holiday dinners and friends/family get-together. I don't think the taste is any more special than other Chinese cuisine but it is rather labor intensive and is almost always synonymous with hospitality and special occasion. The filling I used tonight was pork with mixed vegetable and some Chinese spices, but really anything goes from shrimp, fish, crab to any kind of red meat or all vegetarian.