Handmade Chinese Dumplings Emerge in North County | Eater San Diego

"Located in the Encinitas Village Shopping Center near Trader Joe’s, Dumpling Bar opens on Monday, September 16 after 15 months of construction and renovation. The 1,300-square-foot restaurant seats approximately 32 people (11 tables inside and two tables outside) and is one of the few Chinese dumpling spots in North County with a display kitchen where diners can watch a dedicated chef flatten scratch-made dough and fill wrappers. Backed by the team behind Taste of Hong Kong, Kanpai BBQ & Shabu, and China Max, the owners bring decades of culinary experience to the menu, which features soup dumplings (xiao long bao), potstickers, steamed dumplings with Kurobuta pork and shrimp or vegan fillings, and chicken wontons in chili sauce that can be requested with added green Sichuan peppercorns for extra kick; housemade chili oil and chili crisp will be available at each table. The restaurant will also offer “thumb buns” (mini pan-fried buns) served in containers balanced atop tumblers of drinks like soda, Thai tea, or boba milk tea, and dessert dumplings filled with sweet red bean, chocolate, or black sesame. During its early days Dumpling Bar will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and its handmade dumplings will carry over to the planned resurrection of China Max on Convoy Street slated for mid-November." - Helen I. Hwang