Dumpling Hours-Palo Alto

David Sidoti 2 months ago

We walked in optimistic and left wishing we'd gone elsewhere. The dan dan noodles and red chili oil wontons both came drowning in sesame paste, an ingredient that belongs in neither, and the result read muddy, flat, and a long way from authentic. We were sharing everything, but my wife was disappointed enough that she barely ate either. Dan dan noodles are one of my originals, so setting the bowl down after a few bites was its own kind of letdown. The pork siu mai was the meal's curveball, served as a soup dumpling. I'll give them the ambition, but the broth was thin and didn't carry it. Three dishes in and nothing had landed. The pork xiao long bao was the lone bright spot, and mostly because it cleared the bar of being edible. We finished the four and called it. The telling part: a reviewer raised these exact issues about the sesame paste a year ago, so this isn't a one off. Sixty dollars before tip for a lunch I wouldn't order again.

Richard Ly 3 months ago

Came on a Sunday around 7pm and there was still a line but we were seated within 15 mins so not terrible. They use QR scanning on the table but the servers do come around to check if you have questions. We ended up seated outside, which wasn't bad since it was a bit warm that day. We ordered the regular soup dumplings (XLB), the pan fried ones, (SZB), the egg and Chive pancake, and the green onion noodles (recommended by the server). Both baos were excellent and we ended up ordering seconds of both of those. The chive pancakes were pretty good and the noodles were tasty as well but we felt that for the price, it wasn't worth it. We'll likely be back again but stick to the baos.

BeautyGathering 3 months ago

Highly recommend this xiaolongbao spot! 🥟✨ We ordered the crab soup dumplings, pork soup dumplings, pan-fried buns, cucumber salad, hot & sour soup, braised beef, and sesame balls — and honestly, everything was delicious. The soup dumplings were the highlight. Each bite was filled with rich, flavorful broth, with thin delicate wrappers and amazing taste. The crab xiaolongbao was especially fresh and savory, and the pork one was just as satisfying. The pan-fried buns were crispy on the bottom, juicy inside, and perfectly cooked. The cucumber salad was refreshing, the hot & sour soup had great flavor, and the braised beef was super tender and well seasoned. Even the sesame balls at the end were crispy outside and soft inside with just the right amount of sweetness. The restaurant was clean and comfortable, and the service was friendly and attentive. Overall such a great dining experience — definitely coming back again!

Mrinalini Loew a year ago

Rating this for lunch for a family of five. We had great time. We used the Yelp reservation kiosk that was right in front and only waited about 5 minutes for our table. We ordered a bunch of food. It was all delicious, except maybe the okra was a little bit too slimy. The soup dumplings, the shumai and The potstickers were my favorite. There were QR codes on the table to order and the system was easy enough. What stood out to me is the really friendly service: the waitress came over and said we probably ordered way too much food for a family of five and suggested that we remove a few things to begin with. She was right! I thought that was really nice, they didn't have to do that. Food came out very promptly.

Combat Fisher a year ago

we went to dumpling hours to get a quick bite to eat. the food was okay not great. of all the food we tried our favorite was the wonton soup, the cucumber and fried pancake. some of the other dishes were so-so. we live in Taiwan so we are used to really good dumplings from Din Tai Fong. the food tasted like it had MSG and was fairly salty. when ordering just ask them for the menu and order that way. they have the QR code ordering for people who need to see the photos i also get thought it was kind expensive or Chinese food but i guess that is just pricing in Palo Alto the string beans did not taste good at all. kind of old tasting. would I go back again ? maybe but only to order certain dishes.