Vicky L.
Yelp
My friends have been talking about this place and were super excited to try it out. Maybe they hyped it up too much, but it personally didn't meet my expectations for a Chinese dumpling style restaurant. When you first enter, the modern Chinese style atmosphere welcomes you alongside greetings from the front desk. The host seats you and gives you the paper menu with a front and back side that you can mark on for ordering. A server comes to pick up the paper slip you've filled out and sends it to the kitchen for preparation. The menu/order sheet is taped to the side of the table afterwards.
Their menu is on the smaller side, with a focus on apps, shareables, pan fried goodies, and noodles. We shared everything we had ordered on this visit including the Green Onion Pancake (thin, small portioned, and not too oil, minimal green onions inside), Pan Fried Beef Pies (very hot interior, not very flaky exterior, not too much beefy flavor, kind of stiff and packed meat), Pork Xiao Long Bao (not soupy enough, skin too thick, broth not very flavorful, tops with holes so not completely closed and leaked soup out), Pan Fried Pork Buns (very frozen-like, kind of dry, not too flavorful), Beef Potstickers (nice and crispy edges and exterior skin, quite beefy), and Spicy Beef Shank (our favorite item we had this visit, like a lightly spicy and numbing beef jerky). We were checked on by multiple servers throughout the visit and wasn't quite sure who our main server was. Not sure if the servers are team-oriented/tip splitting either. Also, each table has their own set of condiments for use (soy sauce and vinegar), but not as good as other places I've tried (not much depth of flavor in either).
Would I come back for more? Only if I was in the mood for soup dumplings or pan fried Chinese snacks and in the burbs. There are so much more Chinese restaurants that hit the spot more authentically and more fresh tasting than here at Dough Zone. I'd say it is just okay, not great but not bad either...just know that it tastes pre-made, frozen, and reheated.