I came to the restaurant over the weekend. Upon receiving my food, I started to eat and was severely burned. I've never been burned by food so bad. I wasn't warned the food would be so hot. I was hit with boiling hot oil as a bit into a dumpling. I have photos of my lip and can provide more information about my second degree burns. This has been horrible and hard to eat. Please warn people that the food is coming out extremely hot. This can be avoided. Most restaurants will let you know. Please add this into your servers to do list when bringing out fried dumplings. Drain some of the oil out. Anything other than being burned by hot oil. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Wahoo another dumplings joint in the area! Dumplings are one of my favorite "food groups" so I was ecstatic about this opening. I made a phone order and they said it'd be ready in about 20 minutes. Being so new, I definitely think they have some kinks to iron out regarding their takeout/pickup flow. When I arrived, there was a line out the door and I wasn't able to tell who was lining up for their takeout order and who was there to place an order in person. What we got: 1. Garlic eggplant: Solid! I was worried their non-dumpling items would be disappointing but I liked this one. Eggplant was well cooked and it was flavorful. 2. XLB: Honestly, you just can't expect takeout XLB to be the same as when it's fresh. So it definitely was underwhelming, but I was happy to get XLB. 3. Steamed dumplings: They got our order wrong, which was disappointing but they were still yummy! I honestly have high hopes for this spot as they improve over the next few months. Definitely want to give them another shot in the future. read more

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Looking for something quick to eat and ended up here. Sadly, they were out of their original XLB so I wasn't able to try those. I ordered the beef and tendon app dish which was really tasty! Also got the Westlake beef soup and the noodles with black bean sauce. The noodles were good and hardy but the soup was a little underwhelming. I had to add some soy sauce for a lil bit more flavor. All in all, I thought this place was just ok and nothing really stood out to me. 3/5 @justgrindz read more

Solid spot for some Chinese food in Berkeley! The service is pretty fast and the prices are reasonable. The Sheng Jian Bao here are pretty popular, and are definitely a good choice. Not too special amongst Chinese food places tbh, but this place is pretty convenient and you can't go wrong with a meal here. read more

3.5 rounded up to a 4. Love the food, don't love the prices for the amount that you get. We ordered the Har Gow, steamed pork dumplings, steamed chicken dumplings, zongzi (2 sticky rice balls with BBQ char siu wrapped in leaves), and soup dumplings and the total came to $28. We were ready for a nice lunch feast but ended up having more of a snack. Honestly though, the food was delicious. Although Z. did not like the steamed sticky rice balls for their texture (the char siu was on the drier/tougher side), we found everything else to be enjoyable and very appetizing. The Har Gow (steamed shrimp) was amazing -- the shrimp filling was plump, very savory, and the wrapper firm and fresh. 5/5 Har Gow. The steamed pork and shrimp dumplings were wrapped professionally and the fillings also very well-seasoned/flavored. Dumpling Kitchen just needs to up their portion sizes to keep things fair. In the meantime, we might try their frozen dumplings option to get more bang for our buck. read more

Great lunch spot. Boiled wonton in chili oil was really good. Also recommend the XLB. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - C3. Szechuan-Style Wonton in Chili Oil / - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Solid spot for good Chinese food. Pork Buns: very juicy, nice crispy bottom. 4/5 Salt and pepper fish: pretty flavorful, nice big pieces. 4/5 Chow Mein: decent but unspectacular 3/5 I made some sauce by mixing the soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil that they had. It was good with all three items. read more

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My roommates and I LOVED this place. This was our first meal together for our first year at Berkeley and this was absolutely unforgettable. As a table we shared the chili wontons, pork soup dumplings, cucumber salad, egg yolk buns, shrimp har gow, and shrimp chow mein. Outstanding flavor. The food came out quickly and everything was so fresh! The staff was super friendly too! The feel of this restaurant was also very homey and reminded me of places I've eaten at in Taiwan. If you want great, authentic food, come here! Not everything is pictured in the pic btw! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Solid place in the Berkeley area that serves shanghainese food and dumplings! I've been here a few times and they always have quick service, affordable prices and overall pretty good food. Their chili wontons and shanghai fried pork buns are DELICIOUS and a must try. The XLBs are ok, i've had better and also had worse - wish they were a little hotter/juicier but overall pretty good. My least favorite dish was the beef roll pancake - for the price, the portion they gave was a little small. I'm used to other places giving me 2 rolls with 8 pieces but they only have one roll with 4 pieces and it came out colder than expected. However, would still recommend if you're in the area and craving some dumplings! read more

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I came for Dumpling Kitchen's soft opening over a week ago and had a fantastic experience! The restaurant is cozy yet modern, and the staff did a wonderful job making customers feel welcome. My favorite dishes were the Broccoli Chicken over Rice and Steamed Crab and Pork Dumplings. Although chicken and broccoli is typically an Americanized dish, Dumpling Kitchen's version was fresh, not too salty, and as traditional as the dish can get. The portions were perfect too -- not too big and not too small. I'm excited to try more dumpling and dim sum dishes in the future! read more

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Reading the other reviews on Yelp helped my wife and I know what to order: Shanghai steamed pork dumplings (A01) and Shanghai pan-fried pork buns (A05). We went in at 5pm on a Thursday, and by 6pm when we left, all tables were taken. The good: The steamed pork dumplings were very good. (4/5 stars) Using DinTaiFung as a comparison, these dumplings are quite a bit larger, but taste great. Skin is thin, the seasoning is done right, and no pork "stink". Be sure to add vinegar and perhaps soy and hot oil to fit your taste. The pan-fried pork buns were amazing! (5/5 stars) Crispy on the bottom, soft on top, and juicy on the inside. Be warned! Super hot (as another yelper pointed out)! The bad: Shanghai chow mien was lack luster. (3/5 stars) Not bad, but didn't have that nice wok-fried, charred taste. Also, the lack of fresh julienned cut ginger was disappointing. This is a standard condiment for Shanghai dumplings, and surprised it isn't offered here. read more

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Excited to experience dim sum at night! That's the best part about this place. Dim sum anytime. This is one of their newest location. We're so glad we came here. Parking was insane but we got lucky and parked by a nearby lot. We even met the owner Michael. What a nice man! Two of my friends have tried their SF location so they already knew what to order. Lucky me! Everything was mouth watering delicious. The wait outside was not long at all and we came early by 6 pm. There's 2 levels of seatings and I highly suggest to ask for the upper floor seating. Much cooler up there on a warm day/night. The servers were so nice. I definitely remember William. Checked on us often and made sure we enjoyed our meal. We had 7 dim sum selections and there was plenty for the 3 of us. We even had a mini to go box at the end. The price is $$. I can't wait to go back here again. read more

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I was really knocked out by the food here, in particular the Juicy Kurobuta Pork Buns. Juicy, flavorful, and with an amazing texture - they were truly memorable. So good I had to get more the very next night! The potstickers were also good, as well as the shrimp shumai. But don't miss the kurobota pork buns! read more

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I've walked by this spot so many times but only recently had the chance to try it and it was amazing!! The dry-fried chicken wings and sweet vinegar spare ribs were much saucier than I expected, but it was very satisfying. The xiao long bao and chili oil wontons were soft and chewy with the perfect texture; the meat inside was juicy and flavorful. Two things that stood out to me the most are the sticky rice xiu mai and the green tea baos. The matcha buns were bursting with green tea flavor which is surprising since most of the time matcha flavor gets lost in food. I will continue to come back just for these buns. read more

A coworker of mine ordered doordash and instead of receiving the Italian food he ordered, he received a very large order of delicious Chinese food that he was gracious enough to share with myself and our other co-workers. I don't know about him, but I am very glad for this serendipity because otherwise I wouldn't have known about this place. The vegetarian bao were absolutely delicious. They were so fluffy and hearty. And I could eat the sauce from the eggplant in garlic off a dirty flip flop and still be happy with my life choices. The salt and pepper tofu was also really good although I wish it had been more crispy. read more

I'm so happy that there's finally an authentic dimsum restaurant here in Berkeley! I came at around 1pm on a friday, and was surprisingly seated immediately. I've heard that there's usually a really long wait, so this was a pleasant surprise. We ordered the mongolian beef rice plate, steamed sticky rice shumai, pork xialongbao, bbq pork buns, and vinegar pork ribs. Everything was delicious and tasted very authentic as well! I especially enjoyed the shumai, as I'd really only seen those at din tai fung before. Overall, I had a great experience and would definitely come again :) read more

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I have wanted to try dumpling kitchen for a while and I am glad I decided to visit for a random weekday lunch! My group ordered the hot and sour soup, vegetable bao, spicy wontons, and mapo tofu lunch special. The soup came out first and it was very nice and warming for the cold weather lately. The portion was also very generous, had to take some home. The vegetable bao were good, not super savory, but tasty nonetheless. The wontons were okay, not the best I have had. I wish they had more spice to them. The highlight though was the mapo tofu. I highly recommend this item because the seasoning and sauce is rlly good. The interior was larger than expected since they have another room with tables in the back, but be aware they only take cash and debit! read more

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For Valentines my wife of all places chose to come here. She always has a yearning for pan fried pork buns ( sheng jian bao). We discovered this bun on our trip to Shanghai in 2007. Since then she scouts for them in every Chinatown we visit throughout the world. ( BTW: she has been on 30+ cruises.) I believe these at Dumpling Kitchen are a cut above! My litmus test for any Chinese restaurant is eggplant with garlic sauce (yu xiang qie tz). Today this dish hit the mark for me. I had it with their stir fried noodles because they do not have brown rice. That disappoints my nutritional goals. But it more than compensates with its chorus of color, texture, and harmony of flavors. The meal all together makes my wife happy and we are in perfect accord. read more

We came in for their soft opening and really enjoyed dining in! Definitely a great choice for dim sum in Berkeley. My favorite were the A1 shanghai pork dumplings. Both the xiao long baos (A1 and A2) were very lightly flavored, but we could pour as much of the dumpling sauce as preferred into the bao for more saltiness. We were most excited for the pan fried pork buns (A5), and my boyfriend ended up loving these. They're pretty large and the bread was delicious. However, the filling didn't have the saucier flavor I'm used to from other restaurants. Service was a little on the slower side but totally understandable as it is a soft opening. Space inside fills up fast. We will definitely be coming by to try more dishes in the future! read more

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Very good foods and great friendly service! My wife and I enjoy the dinner! It is soft opening now. Lots of people waiting but worth it. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Pan A5. Shanghai-Style Pan-Fried Pork Buns - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Today was their soft opening and the staff was super friendly, especially since my party of 4 stayed an hour after closing and we never felt rushed. To the staff, sorry about that! I hope the tip helped! I ordered family style and shared 2x pork soup dumplings (A1 on the menu), large hot and sour soup w/ pork, mapo tofu, and 3 bowls of rice. We tried to order the pan-fried pork buns but they weren't available today. Everyone left full but we had room for more, so I suggest ordering another dish for a group of 4. The food was tasty but I wish they all had some more salt. The flavors were there and what I could taste was delicious, I just wish I could've tasted more of it with some more salt. I would also appreciate if there were plain black vinegar + ginger for the soup dumplings as shown on the menu photo. There is a sweet soy-vinegar(?) sauce at each table which I presume is for the soup dumplings. The soup dumplings are served with sauce dishes but we didn't get extra small spoons for the sauce so I ended up pouring it directly onto my dumpling. The sauce container is set up so that only a little comes out at a time unless you shake it, so this worked out well. At the end of our meal we got a complimentary Rolling Donkey (#14 on the menu) dessert which was delicious and super nice of them to offer. It had a sticky, chewy mochi texture so if you like anything mochi, you'll like this dessert. It wasn't too sweet which I liked as well. Next time I'll order the soup dumplings but maybe pass on the mapo tofu, or request a salt shaker with it. I'll be back again to try the other dishes on the menu. I have high hopes for the dishes I haven't ordered yet & I hope Dumpling Kitchen is here to stay! read more

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Their salt and pepper wings are to die for. I typically cooked my own wings before coming here, and it took me probably around 10-15 years across 3 different countries to complete my recipe (Thailand, Indonesia, the US south/east; states including Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, both Carolinas, New York/Pennsylvania and my hometowns of Chicago and Cleveland). Even in college, my plain and hot wings were rumored as a sizzling specialty on campus among party goers. (Pro tip: it's the frying oil) Now, choosing between making my own and ordering theirs is a toss up based solely on how lazy I'm feeling. Even when I order delivery, they always come piping hot. How do they do that? They also have really good Mopo tofu and Mongolian beef. Quite spicy, but the peppers don't hurt coming out nearly as bad as some of the more authentic Thai recipes ... - (pet-pet!! spicy-spicy!!) Their fried rice and chow mien dishes are very clean tasting and aren't excessively oily like most Americanized Chinese joints. Ironically, the only things average are their dumplings, as they are quite unctuous lmao go figure *shrug* :-) read more

We ordered the XLB, Dan Dan Noodle and Sichuan Chicken rice. The menu looked legit, but... The XLB was alright. But both the Dan Dan Noodle and Sichuan Chicken Rice were disappointing. The Sichuan Chicken tastes like straight out from Panda Express. And it was the worst Dan Dan Noodle I ever had. The sauce was like sour and spicy, rather than Dan Dan Noodle. It was not even about authentic or not, it's just awful. On the bright side, there's this server i really liked, she was really nice and courteous despite our complaint. Sorry about the less than 15% tip, but with the food quality, it's hard for me to give higher than 15%... read more

Love love loved it!!! Our meal was amazing! The best part though, was the chili oil. I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I asked if they buy it and they said it's made in house. Please sell this chili oil! And if anyone is able to recreate it please share the recipe!!!! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

My friends and I enjoyed this place quite a bit! It's relatively small and was pretty packed on a Sunday night so I can imagine it being difficult to get a table indoors if you have a large group. Here's what we got: -A01: Shanghai Style Pork Dumplings -A05: Shanghai Style Pan-Fried Pork Buns -A14: Steamed Shrimp and Pork Shumai -A15: Steamed Shrimp Har Gow -E2: Shanghai Style Rice Cake They had run out of the wontons in chili oil when we got there, so we weren't able to try those. Out of what we did get, I'd recommend the steamed shrimp har gow and steamed shrimp and pork shumai. These had a ton of flavor and great texture. I think the pan-fried pork buns were a little bit disappointing as they weren't as crispy as I'd like on the outside. I'd also pass on the Shanghai style rice cake next time since I found these to be more bland. Over all, this is a great place to get dim sum in the Berkeley area. I'm excited to see them grow as a restaurant and look forward to coming back! read more

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such a comforting place! i really enjoyed the variety of dishes they had esp the stir fry green beans. their soups also HEALS the soul - literally recovered from cold the day after. usually a wait during peak hours but won't wait for too long. soup dumplings are pretty flavorful and the dough is on the thicker side. i recommend asking for vinegar, ginger, and soy sauce to go with it. most servers speak english and mandarin! read more

Pretty solid Chinese restaurant. The food here's definitely good; it's nothing spectacular but it definitely does the job if you want Chinese food. I do like the juicy pork buns (D1), wontons in chili oil (C3), and sweet vinegar spare ribs (G1). Prices are standard for Berkeley and it's also very close to campus. read more

We've eaten here twice, and like it a lot. From the outside, one might think it is another student dive, but inside, the decor is quite nice. It is clean and spacious. And the food is really fresh, tasty, and authentic. Service is good too, friendly and attentive. All in all, an unexpectedly positive experience. We'll go back whenever we are in the neighborhood. read more

Food is good for the price but nothing is incredible. Good service. Ambiance is very quiet. read more

food was delicious, portions were quite small though my favorite was the spicy wontons, they're a bit different from traditional spicy wontons but still really delicious service was speedy as well! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Pan fried soup dumplings were the highlight of meal, but super hot (more than regular soup dumplings; be patient). Seaweed salad was a huge portion. Everything else was unremarkable. My fam did not like it. Very quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Service was fast and water refills frequent. Clean bathroom. read more

I recommend their vegetarian bao and vegetarian dumplings. Both are delicious. Egg roll is OK. I do not recommend the BBQ pork bao. Almost entirely dough with very little pork filling. Quite disappointing. Most of their food is delicious, though. Would still recommend. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Vegetarian bao. Delicious! - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

This place is tucked away in an odd location, giving the inside a strange layout. It's always busy, and it's clear that the reason why is that the food is delicious! They sat us in the upper back level in a corner, out of the way, which is perhaps why this place had so many drawbacks... However, the drawbacks included the waitstaff, who (while seeming like a large number for such few people that were in the restaurant at the time) seemed to spend more time chatting in the kitchen and disappearing for long periods of time, than waiting tables. People that had come in and ordered a good 20 minutes after us seemed to get their food first, with a few of them telling the waiter that the items they were brought were incorrect--mostly because we were pretty positive they were ours (the waiter threw them out, we presume, because we never saw them again). It took us a good hour to get our food, and we ordered very little quick cooking items. Additionally, it's easy to see (or smell) that the workers smoke right outside the door to the area where we were seated, because one or two of them would leave, and suddenly the whole area would fill with cigarette smoke (we could hear them chatting nearby), which isn't a pleasant accompaniment to a meal...overall, the food was really good, but I would have to decide if it was worth the hassle of poor service, and lack of hygiene again. read more

Authentic Chinese dumplings place, very tasty with reasonable price. But watch for lunch time over flowed customers. The wait time could be a bit long, but all worth it! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Love both steam pork bun & pan fried pork buns! Kids loves them too! The eggplant was also amazing! Highly recommended! - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

I've been here twice and each time I enjoyed our meal. We had the following : pork & shrimp siu Mai (yum), green beans appetizer (yum), cucumber salad (yum), hot and soup (yum if you like this soup), Shanghai-Style Steamed Pork Dumplings (yum), Salt and Vinegar fish (yum), Fried Pork Bao (yum), Combination Fried Rice (good), Walnut Shrimp (good/okay), Broccoli Beef (good/okay. Next time I'll skip the walnut shrimp and beef to try something else because they're pretty standard - good but nothing special. All the others items are "must try/must order"! read more

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Tried it for the first time, very small location. But dumplings were yummy and most differently be back. Hot and sour soup I enjoyed not too sour which I liked. All the dumpling were tasty and texture was good. Pork soup dumplings 9 out of 10 Pork/ cabbage dumplings 9 out of 10 Chicken and corn dumplings 9 out of 10 Hot and sour soup 10 out 10. Due to being not so sour . Wonton in chili oil 7 out 10 wasn't really hot almost a little sweet. Sorry no pics we were to busy eating ! read more

This place was so good! Lots of seating, service was great. I love Shanghainese dumplings and food.

goated with the (chili) sauce. In all seriousness, Dumpling Kitchen is the perfect intersection of price, speed, and flavor. An irreplaceable order for a party of two might be the pork bao buns, the onion pancakes (yum), and the soup dumplings. 15 bucks per person is a price you can't beat in Berkeley, and I'll be damned if it isnt yummy read more

Amazing soup dumpling!! I recommend to everyone who needs a quick bite. Super friendly too! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Dumpling restaurant - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

I will dream of this place. Their soup dumplings and fried pork dumplings are out of this world. Will absolutely come back every single time I'm in the city. Until we meet again, read more