When we went to Nightbird a few weeks ago, we passed by Dumpling Home on our way. This was also on our list of places to try, but we hadn’t prioritized it since since you can’t make reservations (line up and put your name on the yelp list once open). Andrea had been thinking about going to dim sum, but I suggested we finally give this place a try. We lined up about 15 minutes before the opening. There were already a handful of people in line already. By the time opening time (5:00pm) came around, there was a lengthy line down the block. As soon as they were opened, they were very efficient about seating people and since we we’re the third party in line, we were quickly seated. We didn’t wait for even 5 minutes and they were taking our order, so we made some very quick decisions.
We ordered the Fresh Cucumber with Garlic Sauce so we would at least having some veg to eat. But really it was all about the dumplings. We had to order the Juicy Pork Bao since we love a pan fried bao. Then we also ordered the following dumplings: Vegetable, Crab & Pork XLB, Shrimp & Loofah XLB, and Numb & Spicy Pork XLB. Each of these could be ordered as either 4 or 8 and we definitely only went with 4 for each. I had actually also ordered the Chicken XLB, but they must not have heard me or missed that order which in the end given how much food we had, that worked out ok. Something to order next time.
The drinks, the Fresh Cucumber, and the Juicy Pork Bao came out within a couple minutes (literally). The single diners to the tales on each side of us had also ordered a pan fried bao as well. The cucumber dish was crisp and fresh as I was looking for, but it didn’t really have much flavor beyond that. I loved the look of the bao with the bottom half with a golden brown from being fried. This also translated to the texture of the pan fried bao with the bottom part having a bit of chewiness to it. The broth was very flavorful, but the meat was a bit less so.
There was a bit of pause between those first orders (which they mostly must have had all staged to go at opening), which worked out perfectly since it gave us time to finish the Juicy Pork Bao. Soon enough, our stack of bamboo steamers arrived. First up was the vegetable dumpling. We were pleasantly surprised by this since it had a fresh cabbage and mushroom flavor to it. The Crab & Pork XLB had a deliciously rich crab flavor (Andrea was not so much a fan). The Shrimp & Loofah XLB had was filled with small shrimp and I assume bits of loofah (like the exfoliating sponge which is from plant of course, but have never seen it otherwise on a menu). I wasn’t that excited by this one, but Andrea definitely liked it more than the crab one. lastly, we had the Numb & Spicy Pork XLB which we of course saved for last. It was flavorful and had some heat to it, but I found the numbing from the Szechuan pepper to be very mild and really hoped for more numbing like some of the dishes at Four Kings (perhaps we are numb to the numbing?).
We were finished eating by 5:45pm and the two parties that were seated right before us were done even earlier and had already left. There was a healthy number of people waiting to be seating, so this place is clearly all about quick service, which was fine by us. Andrea also discussed which our favorite dumpling place is. This is definitely better than Dumpling Kitchen in our neighborhood. Dumpling Time was really our favorite and Andrea still said it was her favorite. I was enamored with the pan fried bao and pleasantly surprised by the vegetable dumpling, but the XLB was inconsistent. There is so much more on the menu I want to explore, so I agree that we’ve had better consistent dumplings at Dumpling Time, but I still would really like to explore much more of the menu here at Dumpling Home.
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