Jeremy W.
Yelp
A pretty solid place for some classic bites! The place itself is pretty welcoming but as a heads up, if you get seated in the back with other people, that back room does echo. It gets a little hard to hear especially if there's a group. Wait staff is pretty friendly and very attentive. My water was always filled. Oh and speaking of water, I believe it's filtered water and not straight from the tap which I appreciate~
My partner and I went with the pork knuckles, pork ears, beef stew rice bowl, custard buns, and of course the soup dumplings. The pork knuckles and ears were pretty good cold appetizers. They had the classic cold oil flavors you would expect. Oh quick tip, I really liked the chili oil that came with the pork knuckles. I actually used it to flavor some of my soup dumpling bites and other dishes! The beef stew rice bowl was actually my favorite! The beef was slow cooked, pretty tender and flavorful. Pair that with some fluffy rice and sauerkraut to cut the fattiness alone you have yourself a savory and homey bite. Great job! The custard buns are pretty cute and Instagramable, but at the end of the day, a standard custard bun.
Lastly, the dumplings. I had pretty high expectations seeing that it was featured in Michelin in California. What fell short for me was, well for one, the size and texture. Not saying this is a make or break, but when I think soup dumplings, I think soupy, I think of that dumpling with a "dress" look, I think kind of a thin dough, I think umami. This didn't hit the spot, for me. To put things in perspective, after my first dumpling, I didn't do the ritual of taking a nimble, sucking the juice, and filling it with the vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger mix. The dumpling was a bit small to hold any soup and the meat was a bit bland. That "bite" you expect wasn't there, at least for me at this visit and actually my previous visit.
Overall, a pretty solid place for a casual dining experience. I would recommend this as a quick grab and go bite like maybe lunch. This place reminds me of Nan Xiao Long Bao in Cherry Hill, small plates with soup dumplings. Oh I remember the fried dumplings were pretty good last time I visited. Take your friends for a quick bite as you continue to tour around Chinatown!