Chesa C.
Yelp
Soup dumplings. Shanghai dumplings. Xiaolongbao. XLB. Orgasmic. Whatever you want to call them. I'm always on the hunt for these babies.
As Ilana from Broad City has best described, "I love me some dumplings! It's like a squirrel clutch with a meatball in it!" To amend her wise words a bit, soup dumplings are like squirrel clutches with meatball SOUP in them.
What drew my attention to this restaurant was that another review posted a "Warning" that this place is "super super Chinese." As an Asian American, good. That's what I want!
Anyway, I ordered their soup dumplings for here and duck noodle soup for take out. In addition to being a dumpling fan, I'm also a noodle fan. If I could choose any starch to accompany my meal it would be noodles (I'm sorry rice, not sorry bread). Also, roast duck is one of my favorite proteins and Chinese restaurants do it right. I'm pretty much all about Lan Zhou right now (heh that rhymes).
I came in on a Saturday around 2 PM. Since this was in between lunch and dinner there weren't that many people in the food court and I was able to order right away. When my dumplings were done, the lady who also ran the cashier brought them to my table with a smile. I'm not sure if she does this for everyone, but it was really unexpected and appreciated since my usual expectation for customer service at Asian restaurants is 0. At other Chinese restaurants, the dipping sauce is normally prepared for you and brought to your table. Here, there's a sauce bar where you can mix your own. As a regular dumpling eater, I have my sauce ratios figured out(vinegar, chili, soy sauce), so I prefer a sauce bar. I can see how someone new to the cuisine would prefer something pre-mixed.
When I picked up my dumpling, there was the appropriate, cat-like sag, I felt at the end of the chopsticks that indicated good amount of filling. I took my first bite, sucked out some juice, and I was happy...until I felt the scorching pain of hot broth. I do this every. damn. time. I can't wait. The outside of the dumpling was nice and chewy, not too thick. The inside was warm and pretty flavorful for Atlanta. I would say that if you have some history with soup dumplings, Lan Zhou's would satisfy you, but don't expect Din Tai Fung quality.
Also, I would like to note that this place is great for solo diners. I have no shame and frequent all sorts of places alone, but I know that's not the case for a lot of others. For those of you other lone wolves out there, this place is great for grabbing a bite to eat since you can sit anywhere in the cafeteria and nobody pays you any mind. This differs from typical sit down restaurants where sometimes I feel like people look at and treat me like I got stood up from a date.
After I got home from dumplings, I took a nap. When I woke up, like a true glutton, I immediately went for my duck noodle soup. The noodles were kept separate from the soup/veggies/duck to preserve their freshness. I re-heated the soup, placed the noodles in the broth, and began chowing down. GADDAM. The noodles kept their freshness! While there could be more veggies and duck in the soup, you could tell the noodles were obviously the star of the show--perfectly chewy and slurp-able. The broth was simple, but had good flavor. At the end of my meal I ended up drinking it all down.
This place is cash only, but don't fret, there's an ATM in the food court area as well!
This one got real long... apologies! I love me some good noodles and dumplings.
Here are the highlights:
- Cash only! I know this keeps prices down, but it is a hassle to carry cash.
- Good for solo diners who have anxiety eating in a sit-down restaurant
- Soup dumplings are pretty good for Atlanta
- Noodles are amazing, especially if you like thick noodles. They're still good 4-5 hours later if you get take out!