Kenji K.
Yelp
I was a fan of the previous two dumpling restaurants at that location. First it was Shanghai Dumpling King, then another similar name I forget now. Both were excellent.
This was my first visit to Dumpling Dynasty, the latest iteration of Chinese restaurant featuring XLB Shanghai soup dumplings, and I was sorely disappointed.
First I ordered green onion pancakes, were were small, dry, and tasteless, with almost no filling.
Next of course was Shanghai soup dumplings. Oddly, they steam their XLB in little disposable aluminum foil cups, which do seem to prevent the soup from leaking out in the steamer, but unfortunately the dumplings stick to the foil, making it almost impossible not to tear the dumpling while trying to get it off the metal foil cup, losing the soup anyway. I suppose you could bite into the dumpling and drink off the soup first, which I didn't try. But even then the dumpling pastry was unevenly cooked, since the steam can't get to the dough in the cup. The top was soft, the part int the cup chewy. Not a good cooking method, in my opinion. Also, they do not serve the usual ginger/soy/vinegar dipping sauce with their soup dumplings.
The one dish I was happy with was wokked string beans. Nice crisp bite without being undercooked. Just right! I would have preferred a bit more heat, but that said, quite good.
I might try this place again to try some of the dishes that other Yelpers are loving, but I'll be going elsewhere when the hankering hits for XLB Shanghai soup dumplings. And I'll definitely pass on their green onion pancakes.