Dumpling District

Better than your standard mall food court options. This shop is on the edge of the food court and has plenty of seating inside. There is a kiosk for convenient ordering. Good price point and several combinations available. The steamed dumplings were flavorful and served hot. I just wish they offer dumpling vinegar soy, vs packet soy.

It was newly opened here at the Pentagon City Mall, food court level. The food here is pretty good. I had the shanghai shumai and the Rainbow Soup Dumplings. The dumplings are made in-house, which is nice to see. All the food is served to go for now. The prices are a little expensive but you have to realize that this is at the mall and not your typical hole in the wall restaurant.

Every time I order food, I have to remind the cook to put on gloves. I went in today and requested the cook wear gloves, he said something in his native language and refused to cook my food. Thanks goodness there was another cook there. It wouldn’t be a big issues if he wasn’t picking up my shrimp with his bare hands after wiping his face and living his hat without washing his hands. Too bad mall employees are limited on what they can get in a short period of time.

Good dumplings but they need a trash can available to customers. People leave their trash all over the dining area because there’s no trash can available. They tell you to use the ones in the mall but they’re far away so it’s just unsanitary.

Hidden gem! Amazing dumplings. The dough, the soup inside each dumpling, shrimp zucchini filling- wow. Definitely coming back. I just wish they served them on plates, not only for to go

10/10 The customer service was warm and welcoming, the food was ready and in no time (Also amazing). I got the chicken fried rice and chicken dumplings. And the Tea shop next to it— Divine!

Waited 20 minutes for a singular scallion pancake order just to be told it never went through. When I finally got it, the scallion pancake tasted like literal oil — way, way, way too much. Extremely disappointed overall.

Extremely disappointing experience. The noodles were terrible, consisting of pre-made ingredients hastily assembled. Noodles are super dry because of it was just taken out from frozen. The ‘soup’ was nothing more than diluted soy sauce. In all my culinary experiences, these were undoubtedly the worst noodles I’ve encountered. The presentation was equally underwhelming. Food items were carelessly placed on recycled boxes, and customers were expected to pour their own soup. The complete lack of service was appalling. Given the poor quality and absence of proper service, the price point is unjustifiably high. A meal of this caliber should cost no more than $5. My sincere advice: explore any other dining option available in the mall. Your taste buds and wallet will thank you.

Pan-Fried Pork Bao Bun Nice golden crust on the bottom. Dumpling dough could've steamed a little longer, it was still partially uncooked gooey in some bites. Pork filling was good, needs more flavor. The dipping sauce was straight soy sauce, it would've been nice to have had some spices added to it to jazz it up. I tasted the chicken soup dumping from my friends order. By far the flavor of the broth and chicken itself outshined the pork. Get that one instead. Service Used a self service kiosk, so the only interaction is to pick up the food. No complaints on the service. While it didn't feed my soul, maybe it feeds yours?

I went to Dumpling District after a couple hours of shopping in the mall. The restaurant is relatively new so I thought I would give it a try. I ordered the crab and pork soup dumplings and was pleasantly surprised. The soup dumplings were served piping hot and were flavorful, especially coming from a restaurant in the mall food court. While they aren't as good as what you might get in a formal sit down Shanghainese restaurant you won't be disappointed in stopping here vs the other selections at the mall. My only critiques would be I wish there was someone coming around frequently to wipe down tables. I also had trouble locating a trash can while in the restaurant and ended up throwing my garbage out in the mall food court. Overall I would say this might be my go to lunch spot when I'm looking for something to eat in Pentagon City.

As of today October 13, 2024, there's no obvious lighted sign or placard that shows Dumpling District in the food court- so the easiest thing for me to tell people is that it shares a kitchen with Kung Fu Tea and the menu is to the right side of the Kung Fu Tea menu. I was pleasantly surprised with how good the soup dumplings were. They seemed to be made to order, as I saw a chef hand filling the wrappers after I placed my order. I tried the rainbow soup dumplings (one of each flavor) and would rank them as follows: 1. Mala spicy pork (red) 2. Black Truffle pork (black) 3. Crab Meat and pork (white with yellow tip) 4. Pork (white) 5. Shrimp & Zucchini (green) 6. Chicken (yellow) Even though I have a definite ranking, all of them were really tasty. If I were to order again though, I'd order a single order of 6 mala spicy pork. Side note about the mala spicy flavor though. I personally like the taste of star anise and fennel, which is a strong flavor in the red dumplings. If you hate star anise or fennel, the red dumplings would easily be your least favorite option. Also, when you receive your order, make sure you gently lift the dumpling off the parchment, or the valuable juice inside will spill out!

I love the fried rice cakes here! Great portion, make sure to add a protein, I always get chicken. Service is friendly and their to-go orders are well-packed. Please never take the nian gao off the menu!

Best dumplings ever! Fresh, flavorful, and the vibe is amazing. Public Abou Dumplings District is my new go-to spot -- don't miss it!

Kiosk ordering is cool but also helpful that they have staff at kiosk to help and answer questions. Ordered the rainbow dumpling since their claim is "Home of the Rainbow Dumpling". Shrimp with zucchini, pork, pork with crab, chicken, truffle, and mala. Cute set up. Disposable soup spoons and instructions on table on how to best enjoy. The flavor was good and the soup was plentiful. Definitely recommend. And there is a boba tea spot here also. #winning

I decided to try this out since it had very high ratings on Yelp - but alas, Yelp has failed me. I was so disappointed when I took my first bite, and the disappointment kept getting worse. We got the shrimp and zucchini soup dumplings. The dumplings didn't have a lot of filling or soup inside. The soup and the filling tasted OK at best, but the sauce it came very tasted very off - not sure if it was supposed to be like that, but it wasn't too my liking. The rice cakes were extremely bland. Even after adding several packets of soy sauce and some chili oil, I was impressed at how bland a dish could be. At least it had a good amount of shrimp and vegetables. On the bright side, the food was very hot and fresh (other than whatever the sauce was) and the presentation was also very nice. But the flavor was seriously lacking. I would recommend trying a different place if you're in the area.

Food was great. I believe they could do a little better with food pick up though. It was really crowded so it took a minute to get food. Maybe if they had a pick up window for customers. Or a spot on the counter just for that. So that workers wouldn't have to stop serving other customers to hand out takeout orders.

Ordered my food and after eating found something that looked like a worm. Picture attached. Please be careful choosing to eat from this place. I was extremely disgusted after finding this in my food. They refunded but asked if I wanted more.

Read some where that 3 stars means food is bomb but that's about it lol. First off, this is in a mall so I def am not expecting great service let alone, adequate service, but for a place that literally has dine in seating, it's a bit annoying to not be able to give that option when ordering and then have to take your food out the bag to eat there. Also it's wasteful on product. I get not wanting to have reusable things so you don't have to wash (I guess) but the paper bag is pretty wasteful bc it's not like you can hand it back since it's been stapled. I also did tell the cashier after that I didn't want it bagged bc I was going to eat there and he said no. The other thing that prompted me to write this review is that there is no trash cans inside their dine in seating area to throw away your trash. You have to walk several yards to the nearest trash can or I guess be rude and leave your trash on the table which I feel like it going to happen since you can't even see a trash can right outside the spot. Just too unnecessary if they literally have a dine in spot to sit (like a mean about 30 seats and booths!!) With that being said, food is GREAT. They make the soup dumplings in house. I was debating between the truffle and the spicy pork and the cashier recommended spicy pork. Did not disappoint and I'll def come back to get take out. There was a group of 4 dining as well and they def ordered a second round of food. If I was headed home, I would have too honestly.

Tried this place today with my mother! Very conveniently located in the Pentagon Fashion Center. The ambiance is nice and calming despite being in a mall actually. Service was 10/10 and pretty quick even with the amount we ordered. We got: Crab and pork soup dumplings Shrimp and zucchini soup dumplings Pan fried noodle with chicken Scallion pancake Everything was really good. Obviously the main attraction here is the soup dumplings and they TOTALLY live up to the hype. First, they're aesthetically pleasing and the different colors help differentiate which dumpling is which. The size of the dumplings was good, the skin wasn't too thick or too thin, and the dumplings were FULL of soup! Like if you pour the soup onto your spoon, the spoon will be full. And they're so flavorful you almost don't need the black vinegar. The scallion pancakes were also good; very flakey and crispy. And the pan fried noodle was flavorful! Love a crispy noodle. This place is also connected to a Kung Fu Tea which is a milk tea place so that's also a plus! Overall, loved the experience and the food. Some of the best soup dumplings in the area!

This place is new and it's delicious! We tried it a few days ago and coming back for a second time! Love it! So glad they are open! Finally a great dumpling place located in the Pentagon city mall and near the Ritz hotel. Service is good too!

Maybe I am a food snob but I have certain level of cuisine I am used to and unfortunately, this place is the run of the mill chinese food people eat to fill their stomach. Ordered soup dumpling hoping it would be similar to Din Tai Fung but not. Strangely very sweet and wonton skin very thick. I smelled a familiar smell in the air and asked the staff what it was. It turned out to be stir-fried chicken noodle which was big portioned but oily. The pork shumai was quite salty. Overall, if you know which items to order, you can have a reasonable meal to fill your stomach.