There are a handful of restaurants that I've been kind of down on for the last couple of years and Dumpling Inn is one of them. My last couple of visits a couple of years ago just weren't satisfying and the the restaurant's namesake....namely Jiaozi went severely downhill after the owner opened, then sold the Dragon's Den. Even before then, the only dumpling worth my while at Dumpling Inn was the shrimp and chive version.....of course, the Missus, with Her QingDao heritage won't touch any of the jiaozi here with a ten foot pole(though She tells me I'm more picky than She is)....my coworker "YZ" once even told me, "you know, that's really NOT Chinese food....." And yet, the place is beloved by many....though I will say, I did not see a single Chinese customer during any of my three visits. I'm sure they come here, but I never saw a single one. Still, I thought I really needed to circle back here and give the place an honest try......
And I thought the Shrimp and Chive Jiaozi was the way to go, which is over eight bucks now ($8.25).
So where to start.....I usually begin with the wrapper, but why not go to the miniscule amount of filling in these....very bland, even with chives, it's literally the size of a dime. I'm going to start calling this place "Dime-pling Inn". The wrappers were too gummy for my tastes are really not very good.
Then there's the Xiao Long Bao ($7.75), which folks rave about.....which is actually better than any of the jiaozi.
Dough has that uneven, sometime's hard texture of something that's been frozen for a bit. The top of the folds are hard, not enough soup, quite bland, if this is the best that San Diego has to offer........
I'd rather hold out for one of my trips to the SGV......
Black vinegar is not the standard here, you need to ask for it. They treat it like elixir of the gods. As soon as you pour some into the dish, they immediately whisk it away....kind of funny actually.
Still, I know someone who loves this place and during a discussion he convinced me to really give it a try here, putting aside all manner of dumplings and actually try some of cooked dishes. Fair enough, so I went with the dish he considers the best here on my next visit, the Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce, now this is "lunch size", but not really what I consider "lunch priced" at $9.75.
First the fish, the batter was kind of greasy, like it was fried in oil at too low a temp. The fish was moist and tender though. My big question is "where's the black bean sauce"? There was so little of it, you can easily see that whomever made this didn't coat the fish very well. Vegetables almost raw. However, as a consolation prize, the rice was perfect. In total, on the bland side......
Still, I decided to give it one more go....this time ordering one dish I'd really enjoyed on previous visits and another I'd never had here.
First something on the menu I'd never had Satay Lamb with Chinese Greens ($12.75).
The Sa Cha sauce was really mild, lacking in a deep savory flavor that I like. Nice good portion of Gailan, done well. The lamb was "wok'd" quite well, very tender, but this was really too mild for my taste. Still, this was the best dish I had overall......
Mostly because the Jellyfish Salad ($8.25), an old favorite of mine surprisingly came out near the end of my meal; I thought they'd forgotten, but here it was.....
I kind of wish they had forgotten about this as the sauce tasted watered down and there was still an astringent flavor, mildly reminiscent of acetone, telling me that this was hastily prepared. A ig disappointment.
It would be easy enough for me to close the book on Dumpling Inn, but I saw something that would at least bring me back eventually. As I was eating, a gentleman in a wheelchair came in, apparently he was a regular as all the ladies here knew him. They sat him at a table, went to the back and returned with a ziploc with what looked like custom eating utensils that he could use.....I guess he really is a regular! This brought a smile to my face...maybe I'm not the biggest fan of the food here, but I'll surely support a place that takes care of their regulars. So I guess I'll be back......someday.
Dumpling Inn
4619 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
I never understood the hype of this place. I've visited a few times in past but just couldn't understand WHY people loved it so much. Shouldn't the XLB be served in a steam tray/bamboo container? You risk the skin breaking when transferring them onto a plate. That's what it looks like in the pic at least.
Posted by: Faye | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 10:49 AM
I had the black bean sauce fish at Hong Kong BBQ the other day. I was pretty happy with the flavor, and I'm fairly certain the price was about the same for twice the food. The asparagus and beef in XO sauce was yummy (a bit skimpy on the beef though).
Posted by: janfrederick | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 12:04 PM
I liked the dumplings at dumpling inn alright but agree they are not the best. And the long wait + high price certainly don't help. Do you have other spots in SD you recommend for dumplings?
Posted by: J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 01:06 PM
I've never understood the hype either. Kirk, what would you recommend as the best XLB in San Diego?
Posted by: LL | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 01:17 PM
I'm from the SGV and only moved here 4 years ago. I love my XLB and haven't really found anything in SD worth the time/wait/drive.
My best option is to actually buy them frozen up in LA and steam them in my own kitchen. In my opinion, it taste better than Dumpling Inn!
Posted by: Christina | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 02:35 PM
:(
Posted by: kat | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 03:02 PM
I'm still waiting for Kirk to open his own XLB restaurant...
Posted by: Jason | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 03:55 PM
I'm not an xlb expert, but looking at the photo, those look unappetizing, espcially with the hard looking folds. it's so funny when i see the so-called 'super diners' for the sd u-t and their recommendations about authentic asian food almost always include dumpling inn! really now...
Posted by: caninecologne | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 03:57 PM
Hi Faye - Actually they steam them on the plate, that's why they deliver it with spider tongs.....but as whole, Dumpling Inn just isn't that great.
Hi Jan - You know, I gotta get back there.....
Hi JS - I recommend a drive to the SGV....
Hi LL - You know, I really can't recommend any XLB in San Diego....sorry, but I just can't do the "I'm just happy we have it here...." thing.
Hi Christina - We lived in the SGV for almost five years....I'd rather drive up there to have XLB. Even mediocre XLB is better than what we have.
LOL Kat......
Hi Jason - I'm too old for the business! ;o)
Hi CC - Dumpling Inn is perfect for the "I want something that's almost traditional but won't get me too far out of my comfort zone" crowd. It's a gringo hybrid that's not too close to PF Chang's, but not too close to, say Qingdao Bread Food either....
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 11 March 2014 at 07:13 PM
Oh, Dumpling Inn. I have quite a few friends that love this place and I always stay really quiet when they are singing its praises. I also have noticed that the staff is very nice to their regulars, but I still don't like eating here.
Posted by: Kirbie | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 01:21 AM
Filling to wrap ratio looks disappointing.
$10 lunch portion, WTF!
Posted by: nhbilly | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 05:47 AM
Hi Kirbie - You've got much more restraint than I do......
Exactly Billy!
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 06:17 AM
This place is horrible, I cant say there are too many Chinese Restaurants in SD. What I mean by that is more of a Cantonese style, closest is probably Golden city and big maybe sam woo. Rest are really szechuan style, Same goes for dim sum...sorry to say Id much rather drive to LA if I miss chinese food!!
Posted by: hk kid | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 07:37 AM
I cant wait for 85c to open in Clairemont and for Ding Tai fung to open in the OC. Finally Quality food I'm proud to say that's Chinese.
Posted by: hk kid | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 07:38 AM
Kirk,
Come pick me up! I can be the token Chinese person in your next post. I love the pan fried noodles there.
Posted by: Soo | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 12:10 PM
@Kirk - Thanks, and I concur with your statement regarding not being happy with just having it in SD. Would rather not have it since we would make the trek up north anyway. Exposing others to subpar XLB is doing everyone else a disservice. Our last visit to Dumpling Inn was disappointing to say the least. All of our XLB were clumped together and broke upon serving. Not happy with soupless XLB!
Posted by: LL | Wednesday, 12 March 2014 at 09:51 PM
Hi HK Kid - Funny thing is, the locations of 85 C we went to in Suzhou and Nanjing were infinitely better than Irvine and HH....
LOL Soo! I'll let you know if I need a token Chinese!
Hi LL - That's exactly how I feel. Thanks again for your comments.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 13 March 2014 at 06:14 AM
Dumpling Inn was great in the early 2000s (that's when I discovered it). The food tasted like the local homemade jiaoze I grew up with in Taiwan. The last time I stopped by was in 2010, and it started to go downhill, food was much more expensive and smaller portion. Reading your post made me believe they lost their chef and the new person can't replicate. It's always sad when that happens.
Posted by: Bara Tenjo | Sunday, 16 March 2014 at 09:43 PM
Hi BT - When we moved here in 2001, I thought the food was decent. It really started to go downhill after the owner started to expand to newer things (i.e. Del Mar Reandevous) and it seems the objective was to maximize profits. I don't mind that, but it seems the food has really suffered not only in terms of quantity, but quality, and execution.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 March 2014 at 06:10 AM