Dumpling Inn

 Welcome to Mmm-yoso, a food blog. Kirk writes most of the posts. He wrote about Dumpling Inn way back in 2005. Cathy also blogs here alot. But today ed (from Yuma) is posting about Dumpling Inn. Way back in 2010.

In December, Tina and I were driving up Convoy Street heading for a couple bowls of ramen at Yakyudori when I asked her to look for someplace she'd like to lunch the next day. Almost instantly, she said, "Hey, Dumpling Inn, I'd love some dumplings."

So the next day we got lucky and found a parking place in the crowded lot, arriving at the tiny restaurant around 11:30:

By then, Tina had already heard my stories about Dumpling Inn.  How the same space used to be occupied by a restaurant named MRSHO's.  I never figured it out -- Mr. Sho's or Mrs. Ho's?  Or how I once came in and ordered fish dumplings.  The waitress asked if I wanted spicy soup with it for a dollar extra, and I said yes.  Only when the dumplings showed up, did I realize that the mild-flavored fish dumplings would be swimming in spicy soup.  Another time I craved Xiao Long Bao (also called soup dumplings) that I had been reading about at Chowhound, but found nothing by either of those names anywhere on the menu.

Okay, maybe I had some past issues with this restaurant, but when Tina suggested going there, I realized that I hadn't been in Dumpling Inn in at least five years.  Overdue for a visit.

After we received a complimentary pot of tea, the next thing that arrived on our table was an order of potstickers:

They certainly looked right.  But I found them slightly disappointing.  The mild filling was okay, certainly, but the flavor was not memorable in any way.  The moderately thick wrappers seemed slightly understeamed and gummy on the top half and slightly overdone and cardboardy on the bottom. Not terrible, but far from the best potstickers I have eaten.

The available condiments were adequate: 

Chile oil, white vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. No black vinegar, however.  I also wished that each set of dumplings had come with separate little mixing plates or small bowls.  The way it was, our little plates ended up with a mix of flavors -- as if we wanted all of the dumplings with the same background tastes.

On the other hand, we had no complaints whatsoever about the jellyfish salad:

The portion size was excellent.  The sweet, tangy, and salty dressing was perfect for the salad.  Both Tina and I loved the contrast in textures between the generally crunchy julienne of daikon, celery, and carrot and the unique chewy crunch of the long strips of jellyfish:
 
The fish and chive dumplings showed up next:

The fillings had a mild fishy flavor, generally pleasant. The wrappers seemed about right, not too thick or chewy. Well steamed. I would have preferred a better filling-to-dumpling ratio.  These were certainly not overly stuffed dumplings.

Then came the XLBs. These days, customers can easily find them on the menu without knowing the secret code words. The large dumplings were steaming and had a few long shreds of ginger across them:

Tina and I warned each other not to pop a scalding hot, soup-filled dumpling into our mouths.  But of course, I tried to eat one too soon and then spent a minute or so shoving the dumpling around in my mouth to keep from hurting any one part of it too much. Nicely, Tina didn't laugh at me.  Too much.

Once the dumplings had cooled to the proper temperature, we dug in and enjoyed the rest of them.  While the wrappers were fairly thick, we felt they contained plenty of filling.  The soup/meatball balance also seemed about right. None of the dumplings looked ruptured, and every one I ate (even counting the one I harpooned with a chopstick) contained some soup. Perhaps the flavors in the dumplings are not traditional enough to satisfy an XLB connoisseur like Kirk, but they were certainly good enough for Tina and I.

Overall, except for burning my mouth, I enjoyed the lunch. I'd happily return. And next time, probably try more than just dumplings. And remember to let the XLBs cool down.

Dumpling Inn, 4619 Convoy (in strip mall with Korean Mkt), San Diego, (858) 268-9638

Comments

[Cathy]

The name was BOTH Mr. Shos and Mrs. Hos, ed. I remember we noticed it while walking up for a lunch. You could see the dot had been moved. The "original" had communal tables. First time we ever went there, they put us at a large 8 person round table, and then brought others to sit with us. We always get the pork dumplings in the spicy soup, cucumbers and then something thing off the wall signs. Gotta go back. Thanks for the memory.

[Rosa]

It's been a while since I've been to Dumpling INN but I was satisfied with the meal I had there. I loved the jellyfish salad as well and the XLB there were the first I've ever eaten.

[Lily]

They have black vinegar behind the counter, you just have to ask.

[ed (from Yuma)]

So, Cathy, is Dumpling Inn the same as MRSHOS - or just in the same space? Glad someone else has that memory.

Like you, Rosa, I was satisfied. Nothing was bad, most things good, and even the potstickers were just having an off day, I'm sure.

Thanks for the info Lily. I read Kirk's post (with comments) after I got back from San Diego where someone mentioned the same thing. Dumpling Inn was Tina's idea, and as with most of her ideas, it was a good one. But that meant I hadn't done my proper research.

[Loren]

One of my absolute favorite things there are the three ingredient pan fried noodles, they are incredibly good I've found. Same go for the Beef Satay and Greens they make, I recommend both.

Dumplings, they're about as you described them, not the greatest (hell I think Imperial Mandarin down Convoy does better) but tasty.

[bill]

Never really liked pan fried dumplings but steam and boil dumpling me any day.

[Jon]

The dish my friends and I end up craving at Dumpling Inn is the Kung Pao Chicken, which is not very traditional at all, and has some plum sauce or something on it. It's absolutely delicious!

[ed (from Yuma)]

Jon and Loren, thanks for the tips. I was surprised by how many diners were not having dumplings. Usually I am cautious about not going with a restaurant's specialty (usually steak is not the best choice at a seafood house, and the fish at a steakhouse is rarely memorable), but it sounds like I need to expand my choices on my next visit.

I still remember my first pot-stickers, bill, which blew my mind and that may be the reason I still order them when I can.

[Cathy]

Hey ed. It was the same space, with plain, yellow walls (no mirrors- so seemed smaller) and several large plain round tables and incandescent lighting (so it seeemed even more yellow). That first visit, it was raining and we ordered chicken with noodles! We never had anything but canned La Choy crispy noodles before that. It had that odd vegetable (bok choy). The next time, we asked for "mixed seafood" and that dish had things on it which we had never seen before- and The Mister knows seafood...I am unsure if dumplings were on the menu, but we were still fascinated with Chinese food with noodles...

[ed (from Yuma)]

So, Cathy, when was that?

I saw MRSHO'S probably on my first visit to Convoy. I had just moved to SD and located Korean Mkts (Korean food was an obsession in those days) on some street named Convoy. The first time I cruised Convoy, I felt like I was in foodie heaven. But there were so many choices (and I had limited finances) that I don't think I ever ate there, yet I've been chuckling about the name ever since.

[Cathy]

Woo Chee Chong, which was *the* Asian market was where First Korean Market, which Kirk posted on(I posted on Island Town, a 6 seat eatery inside the Market) now is located,in that Dumpling Inn parking lot. WCC closed in 1993 and we shopped there for years. We were fascinated to go there regularly- they had Peking Duck, on Friday only...and BBQ pork with or without bone, for $3.99/lb and the live crawfish crawled over everything in the seafood/meat case. We have been trying to remember and are pretty positive that MRSHOs was the first restaurant we went to on Convoy Street.