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Eight of pickleball friends decide to have lunch together. The local friends recommend Hot Dumplings which specializes in buns and dumplings. The service is just okay. One person handles everything, it can be very frustrating to wait. The vibe is bright, modern, and clean restaurant. We went family style, so each of us share all the dishes. We have flavored beef noodle soup - better than average. It's flavorful and good noodles. Pan fried pork bun, both bun and meat inside tastes good. Fried beef noodles, good flavors and noodles. Combo fried rice - pretty good. Fish fillet with pickled cabbage & chili - solid standard soup. Spicy beef short rib - tasty. The highlights are specialty local Chinese dishes like dry fried lotus roots! Sichuan chicken with chili oil ; both are super yummy!! This is a Chinese restaurant, and not a fast food. So the check can add up quickly. Good for ordering regional authentic Chinese dishes.
Overview: Friendly staff - very attentive Yummy food Two people ate for 70 dollars +tax and tip, but we had very big appetites. We got five dumpling dishes and the sesame balls The serving sizes were good for the price, and all the regular dumplings we had were delicious and juicy. The pork and chive dumplings were my personal favorite, but a one or two of them were very heavy on the chives. I loved it. My partner really enjoyed the beef and onion dumplings The juicy pork dumplings were amazing! I saved them till the end. Usually, steamed buns are my favorite dish at dumpling places, but the ones here weren't very fluffy. They were more starchy. The filling was very similar to the filling in the pork dumplings.
I'm so glad I tried out Hot Dumplings recently. This is my most favorite dumpling restaurant in Orange County. I loved every single items I have had the opportunity to try out. The Wuhan Siumai has a nice black pepper taste with soft steamed texture of rice and fragrant mushrooms. I normally abhor having mushrooms but this is one of the rare exceptions. The spicy chicken cold appetizer was one of the best I have had since I left Beijing. The chicken was cooked just right and the accompanying sauce had a wonderful Sichuan pepper having the mouth numbing effect. I liked the crispy peanuts they threw in for contrasting textures so everything doesn't taste mushy. 10/10. I could probably eat this every day of my life with the cucumber salad and be a very happy human. I am really picky with boiled dumplings as I'm accustomed to making my own at home. I seldom ever find ones I like eating from a restaurant setting but the shrimp and chive dumplings here was one of the exceptions to that rule. Every piece bursted in flavors of fresh chives and shrimp flavors perfectly pairing with the black vinegar. Loved every bit of it and can't wait to have some again in the future. Not pictured from the visit are the pan fried pork buns. They were basically gone in seconds. I had no chance to let my phone eat first. It had a nice crispy texture outside with fluffy inside + juicy pork filling. Absolutely enjoyed every morsels of what I had. The inside of the restaurant is spacious and well lit. The service is prompt and attentive. I like coming during late lunch times during the week for peace and quiet. Can't wait to bring my mom with me the next time as I can't imagine her not enjoying what I discovered here.
Awesome authentic food, and equally awesome authentic staff! Very friendly and proactive providing service from making sure we have water all the time, clearing plates as we finish, being prompt when we ask for extra napkins, sharing plates, condiments, etc. It's fast and quality service. They also keep the place clean all the time. If they see a mess/trash on the floor, they see it and clean it right away, instead of most places they pretend they don't see it or think it's beneath them and not their job. LOL! We ordered pork soup dumpling, green beans, and beef noodle soup. All equally great and the Real deal. The string beans were still crispy the next day as opposed to other places where it becomes soggy. This is Must Try place, if you want an awesome authentic experience and great tasting food, and excellent service at good prices. We will be back. Thanks!
Small mom and pop place opened for the last year. We ordered 4 dishes between the 3 of us. Two dumplings dishes and two veggies dishes but also two white rice bowls. The restaurant was almost empty on a Friday around noon, but the parking lot was packed! I'd say that's my only complaint and unfortunately this issue is the parking lot will kill them cuz it's very small. You can't really do anything about the parking at this point. The food was great. Dumplings were super juicy. The veggie dishes were good to balance the dumplings. The service was tentative since not that many people were there. I'd go again if I was in the area.
Craving dumplings, I found this spot on Yelp and decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't crowded on a Friday night. The service was attentive and the restaurant was very clean. We ordered several dishes to share. Our absolute favorite was the Spicy Tripe--it was perfectly seasoned, genuinely spicy, and incredibly flavorful. The Shrimp and Chicken with Chive pan-fried dumplings were also quite tasty, though a few pieces were a bit burnt. We also enjoyed the Signature Flavored Beef Noodle Soup, which was delicious but a little on the oily side. The one dish that missed the mark for us was the Pork & Shrimp Wonton in Chili Sauce. The sauce lacked a real spicy kick, and the wonton wrappers were too thick for our liking. Overall, a mixed but mostly positive experience. I'll definitely be back for the tripe!
I've been to Hot Dumplings 3 times now and have tried a range of dishes here. My first impression walking in was the cleanliness of the restaurant and its fresh renovation. I tried both pan fried and steamed dumplings (xiao long bao) and shrimp & pork chili wontons. I wasn't a huge fan of the dumplings and wontons due to the thicker wrappers and the filling texture/flavor was okay for me. I wouldn't order again. However, I have a number of really solid dishes that I recommend! My ultimate favorite dishes that I keep coming back for: 1. Hot & Sour Soup (9.99): I haven't found a hot & sour soup that is both hot and sour enough for me until I came here. The flavor is authentic and the portion is also amazing. One order is enough for 4 people to each 2 bowls, I always have leftovers! 2. Eggplant w/ Hot Garlic Sauce (14.95): RIDICULOUSLY flavorful and delicious sauce. The texture of this eggplant is amazing. It's so perfectly buttery but has a slight bite to it. Not mushy at all and there is no bitterness or weird flavor like the typical eggplant. This dish could probably convince an eggplant hater to like eggplant honestly! 3. Sautéed String Beans (15.95): perfectly seasoned and perfect texture. The string beans are blistered with a crunch and the sauce is umami and garlicky. 4. Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli w/ Garlic (14.99): just like the string beans, the texture of the Chinese broccoli was perfect and had a great bite to it. The dish is adequately salted and garlicky as well. Honorable mention would be the Wuhan Siu Mai. I didn't really know what to expect of this because I've never had anything like it before. I ordered this with the typical kind of Siu Mai in mind, but they are nothing alike. This dish has a thin wrapper with diced mushroom and (sticky?) rice, and it's HEAVILY black peppered. I've eaten this twice now not knowing how to feel the first time, but it's grown on me. I would recommend sharing because the black pepper can be overwhelming after eating 2-3. Still unique and tasty though. I would say you really can't go wrong with any vegetables, they do that very well. Sometimes the simple things are difficult to cook well, but they nailed the vegetables for sure. While the prices might seem crazy for vegetables, it's not as bad as it seems because the portions for each dish is substantial. I always have leftovers when I leave and it's a perfect meal for the next day. They are very microwave friendly since they taste just as good reheated. Once you find the dishes you like here, I can guarantee it will be made well, and with consistency. I'm glad Hot Dumpling is so local to me, you know I'll be back here.
We were drawn by the Grand Opening sign and left very satisfied! Came for dinner on a Thursday, was mildly busy but no wait. There's only a couple employees but they are pretty quick. Can get loud inside. We ordered: - juicy pork dumplings: my favorite dish of our meal! Larger dumplings than what you typically see for soup dumplings, the dough and soup is really wonderfully done. Soup is on the sweeter side and smells of sesame oil, I was a big fan. - crispy pork dumpling: basically same thing as juicy pork dumpling but fried. Wish the dough was a little thinner on these but the crispy part was very nice. - beef noodle soup: my dad is usually pretty picky about this but he liked it a lot! Not too salty and the beef was very tender. I liked the texture of the noodles as well. Pretty affordable food and quick service!
Service was really good! The waitress was very friendly and super helpful. She cautioned us on dishes that were spicy and helped us figure out the best items to order for us. We enjoyed the green beans - full of flavor. The beef noodle soup was just the perfect bowl of comfort food.
Not sure how long this place has been opened but it still has a grand opening sign out front. When I walked in, I saw a few tables with their signature beef noodle so I got that to try. I must say, this is one of the very few places who use egg noodles for their beef noodles and I didn't really like it. The broth was standard, but the meat was nice and tender. I also got their beef and onion dumplings which was just alright. The shrimp, chicken and chives pan fried dumpling had a nice flavor though. Service was nice and quick, and they were good about coming by to fill up our waters. I probably only come back for their pan fried dumplings if I was in the area, but wouldn't go out of my way to come.
Stopped by here for a quick bite tonight. I ordered the spicy beef noodles. Beef was good and tender with some tendon. Noodles were not overcooked. The broth however was very oily. It was in fact, noodles and beef drowned in a full bowl of oil and not the normal beef broth. Mostly noodles and not much meat. Service was good and food was brought out quickly. 3.5/5
I am so happy to see that South OC is really coming starting to fill up with Asian restaurants. Hot Dumpling, is one of the newer establishments located in the same plaza as Kanji, a liquor store and El Pollo Loco. Honestly, the spot that they're in can never keep a business long enough. Hot Dumplings, is not hard to find per se, but it's easily overlooked being right in the middle of all the suites where both sides connect. As some other Yelper mentioned, if it wasn't for their huge banner outside, I wouldn't have known they were even there. I brought the family here the other night so we could give Hot Dumpling a try. When we arrived it was maybe 45 minutes before they were closing. We were greeted and seated right away. We didn't know what to order but they were patient with us and answered our questions. What we ordered; 1) pan fried shrimp and pork dumplings - these had a nice crunch to the skin, while having juicy meat on the inside. We enjoyed this one very much. 2) pork and shrimp wonton - I wanted to order this with chili oil but others who were with me don't eat anything spicy. To that, I say booooooo. I had to make my own saucer full of black vinegar and chili oil to make my tummy happy. 3) juicy pork dumplings - these were very juicy and tasty. My kids were ready to fight over the last couple pieces. 4) eggplant with hot garlic sauce - one of my favorite veggie dishes in an asian cuisine. Overall, we enjoyed our food and the service we received. Everyone was nice and had a smile on their faces. As you can see in photos, the place was clean including the restroom. I definitely wouldn't mind coming back for more and am happy to have stumbled upon them. I hope you give them a try.
This first take-out order visit consisted of: * Pan-fried Pork Bun (6), $14.45: I like the slightly chewy texture and crispy, pan-fried bottom of its exterior; the tender filling had nice flavors. * Wuhan Siu Mai (8), $14.99 - I received only 7: This sui mai differed in appearance, filling, texture, and flavor from others I've had (even their menu's picture doesn't match); it looked more like a steamed dumpling. The savory filling consisted of pork, mushrooms, rice, and seasonings, which we very much enjoyed. A small container of a tasty hot chili sauce was included with our take-out order. The interior seating area is small but clean and attractive. I'd like to return to sample more items on their menu. Customer service was very pleasant.
4 months ago
With a name like Hot Dumplings, I had to try it! Although it looked like it could be a dive from the outside, the restaurant was nice and clean. We ordered the mapo tofu and chicken and shrimp pan fried dumplings. The mapo tofu was fine, though it could have used more Sihuan peppercorns to get that numbing effect. The dumplings were very hot, with a thicker wrapper (which I prefer). There are several dumpling options, along with noodles, fried rice and some entrees. Overall, a good addition to Lake Forest! read more
Eight of pickleball friends decide to have lunch together. The local friends recommend Hot Dumplings which specializes in buns and dumplings. The service is just okay. One person handles everything, it can be very frustrating to wait. The vibe is bright, modern, and clean restaurant. We went family style, so each of us share all the dishes. We have flavored beef noodle soup - better than average. It's flavorful and good noodles. Pan fried pork bun, both bun and meat inside tastes good. Fried beef noodles, good flavors and noodles. Combo fried rice - pretty good. Fish fillet with pickled cabbage & chili - solid standard soup. Spicy beef short rib - tasty. The highlights are specialty local Chinese dishes like dry fried lotus roots! Sichuan chicken with chili oil ; both are super yummy!! This is a Chinese restaurant, and not a fast food. So the check can add up quickly. Good for ordering regional authentic Chinese dishes. read more
7 months ago
Overview: Friendly staff - very attentive Yummy food Two people ate for 70 dollars +tax and tip, but we had very big appetites. We got five dumpling dishes and the sesame balls The serving sizes were good for the price, and all the regular dumplings we had were delicious and juicy. The pork and chive dumplings were my personal favorite, but a one or two of them were very heavy on the chives. I loved it. My partner really enjoyed the beef and onion dumplings The juicy pork dumplings were amazing! I saved them till the end. Usually, steamed buns are my favorite dish at dumpling places, but the ones here weren't very fluffy. They were more starchy. The filling was very similar to the filling in the pork dumplings. read more
I'm so glad I tried out Hot Dumplings recently. This is my most favorite dumpling restaurant in Orange County. I loved every single items I have had the opportunity to try out. The Wuhan Siumai has a nice black pepper taste with soft steamed texture of rice and fragrant mushrooms. I normally abhor having mushrooms but this is one of the rare exceptions. The spicy chicken cold appetizer was one of the best I have had since I left Beijing. The chicken was cooked just right and the accompanying sauce had a wonderful Sichuan pepper having the mouth numbing effect. I liked the crispy peanuts they threw in for contrasting textures so everything doesn't taste mushy. 10/10. I could probably eat this every day of my life with the cucumber salad and be a very happy human. I am really picky with boiled dumplings as I'm accustomed to making my own at home. I seldom ever find ones I like eating from a restaurant setting but the shrimp and chive dumplings here was one of the exceptions to that rule. Every piece bursted in flavors of fresh chives and shrimp flavors perfectly pairing with the black vinegar. Loved every bit of it and can't wait to have some again in the future. Not pictured from the visit are the pan fried pork buns. They were basically gone in seconds. I had no chance to let my phone eat first. It had a nice crispy texture outside with fluffy inside + juicy pork filling. Absolutely enjoyed every morsels of what I had. The inside of the restaurant is spacious and well lit. The service is prompt and attentive. I like coming during late lunch times during the week for peace and quiet. Can't wait to bring my mom with me the next time as I can't imagine her not enjoying what I discovered here. read more
Awesome authentic food, and equally awesome authentic staff! Very friendly and proactive providing service from making sure we have water all the time, clearing plates as we finish, being prompt when we ask for extra napkins, sharing plates, condiments, etc. It's fast and quality service. They also keep the place clean all the time. If they see a mess/trash on the floor, they see it and clean it right away, instead of most places they pretend they don't see it or think it's beneath them and not their job. LOL! We ordered pork soup dumpling, green beans, and beef noodle soup. All equally great and the Real deal. The string beans were still crispy the next day as opposed to other places where it becomes soggy. This is Must Try place, if you want an awesome authentic experience and great tasting food, and excellent service at good prices. We will be back. Thanks! read more
Small mom and pop place opened for the last year. We ordered 4 dishes between the 3 of us. Two dumplings dishes and two veggies dishes but also two white rice bowls. The restaurant was almost empty on a Friday around noon, but the parking lot was packed! I'd say that's my only complaint and unfortunately this issue is the parking lot will kill them cuz it's very small. You can't really do anything about the parking at this point. The food was great. Dumplings were super juicy. The veggie dishes were good to balance the dumplings. The service was tentative since not that many people were there. I'd go again if I was in the area. read more
Craving dumplings, I found this spot on Yelp and decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't crowded on a Friday night. The service was attentive and the restaurant was very clean. We ordered several dishes to share. Our absolute favorite was the Spicy Tripe--it was perfectly seasoned, genuinely spicy, and incredibly flavorful. The Shrimp and Chicken with Chive pan-fried dumplings were also quite tasty, though a few pieces were a bit burnt. We also enjoyed the Signature Flavored Beef Noodle Soup, which was delicious but a little on the oily side. The one dish that missed the mark for us was the Pork & Shrimp Wonton in Chili Sauce. The sauce lacked a real spicy kick, and the wonton wrappers were too thick for our liking. Overall, a mixed but mostly positive experience. I'll definitely be back for the tripe! read more
19 days ago
I've been to Hot Dumplings 3 times now and have tried a range of dishes here. My first impression walking in was the cleanliness of the restaurant and its fresh renovation. I tried both pan fried and steamed dumplings (xiao long bao) and shrimp & pork chili wontons. I wasn't a huge fan of the dumplings and wontons due to the thicker wrappers and the filling texture/flavor was okay for me. I wouldn't order again. However, I have a number of really solid dishes that I recommend! My ultimate favorite dishes that I keep coming back for: 1. Hot & Sour Soup (9.99): I haven't found a hot & sour soup that is both hot and sour enough for me until I came here. The flavor is authentic and the portion is also amazing. One order is enough for 4 people to each 2 bowls, I always have leftovers! 2. Eggplant w/ Hot Garlic Sauce (14.95): RIDICULOUSLY flavorful and delicious sauce. The texture of this eggplant is amazing. It's so perfectly buttery but has a slight bite to it. Not mushy at all and there is no bitterness or weird flavor like the typical eggplant. This dish could probably convince an eggplant hater to like eggplant honestly! 3. Sautéed String Beans (15.95): perfectly seasoned and perfect texture. The string beans are blistered with a crunch and the sauce is umami and garlicky. 4. Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli w/ Garlic (14.99): just like the string beans, the texture of the Chinese broccoli was perfect and had a great bite to it. The dish is adequately salted and garlicky as well. Honorable mention would be the Wuhan Siu Mai. I didn't really know what to expect of this because I've never had anything like it before. I ordered this with the typical kind of Siu Mai in mind, but they are nothing alike. This dish has a thin wrapper with diced mushroom and (sticky?) rice, and it's HEAVILY black peppered. I've eaten this twice now not knowing how to feel the first time, but it's grown on me. I would recommend sharing because the black pepper can be overwhelming after eating 2-3. Still unique and tasty though. I would say you really can't go wrong with any vegetables, they do that very well. Sometimes the simple things are difficult to cook well, but they nailed the vegetables for sure. While the prices might seem crazy for vegetables, it's not as bad as it seems because the portions for each dish is substantial. I always have leftovers when I leave and it's a perfect meal for the next day. They are very microwave friendly since they taste just as good reheated. Once you find the dishes you like here, I can guarantee it will be made well, and with consistency. I'm glad Hot Dumpling is so local to me, you know I'll be back here. read more
10 days ago
We were drawn by the Grand Opening sign and left very satisfied! Came for dinner on a Thursday, was mildly busy but no wait. There's only a couple employees but they are pretty quick. Can get loud inside. We ordered: - juicy pork dumplings: my favorite dish of our meal! Larger dumplings than what you typically see for soup dumplings, the dough and soup is really wonderfully done. Soup is on the sweeter side and smells of sesame oil, I was a big fan. - crispy pork dumpling: basically same thing as juicy pork dumpling but fried. Wish the dough was a little thinner on these but the crispy part was very nice. - beef noodle soup: my dad is usually pretty picky about this but he liked it a lot! Not too salty and the beef was very tender. I liked the texture of the noodles as well. Pretty affordable food and quick service! read more
Service was really good! The waitress was very friendly and super helpful. She cautioned us on dishes that were spicy and helped us figure out the best items to order for us. We enjoyed the green beans - full of flavor. The beef noodle soup was just the perfect bowl of comfort food. read more
Not sure how long this place has been opened but it still has a grand opening sign out front. When I walked in, I saw a few tables with their signature beef noodle so I got that to try. I must say, this is one of the very few places who use egg noodles for their beef noodles and I didn't really like it. The broth was standard, but the meat was nice and tender. I also got their beef and onion dumplings which was just alright. The shrimp, chicken and chives pan fried dumpling had a nice flavor though. Service was nice and quick, and they were good about coming by to fill up our waters. I probably only come back for their pan fried dumplings if I was in the area, but wouldn't go out of my way to come. read more
Stopped by here for a quick bite tonight. I ordered the spicy beef noodles. Beef was good and tender with some tendon. Noodles were not overcooked. The broth however was very oily. It was in fact, noodles and beef drowned in a full bowl of oil and not the normal beef broth. Mostly noodles and not much meat. Service was good and food was brought out quickly. 3.5/5 read more
I am so happy to see that South OC is really coming starting to fill up with Asian restaurants. Hot Dumpling, is one of the newer establishments located in the same plaza as Kanji, a liquor store and El Pollo Loco. Honestly, the spot that they're in can never keep a business long enough. Hot Dumplings, is not hard to find per se, but it's easily overlooked being right in the middle of all the suites where both sides connect. As some other Yelper mentioned, if it wasn't for their huge banner outside, I wouldn't have known they were even there. I brought the family here the other night so we could give Hot Dumpling a try. When we arrived it was maybe 45 minutes before they were closing. We were greeted and seated right away. We didn't know what to order but they were patient with us and answered our questions. What we ordered; 1) pan fried shrimp and pork dumplings - these had a nice crunch to the skin, while having juicy meat on the inside. We enjoyed this one very much. 2) pork and shrimp wonton - I wanted to order this with chili oil but others who were with me don't eat anything spicy. To that, I say booooooo. I had to make my own saucer full of black vinegar and chili oil to make my tummy happy. 3) juicy pork dumplings - these were very juicy and tasty. My kids were ready to fight over the last couple pieces. 4) eggplant with hot garlic sauce - one of my favorite veggie dishes in an asian cuisine. Overall, we enjoyed our food and the service we received. Everyone was nice and had a smile on their faces. As you can see in photos, the place was clean including the restroom. I definitely wouldn't mind coming back for more and am happy to have stumbled upon them. I hope you give them a try. read more
This first take-out order visit consisted of: * Pan-fried Pork Bun (6), $14.45: I like the slightly chewy texture and crispy, pan-fried bottom of its exterior; the tender filling had nice flavors. * Wuhan Siu Mai (8), $14.99 - I received only 7: This sui mai differed in appearance, filling, texture, and flavor from others I've had (even their menu's picture doesn't match); it looked more like a steamed dumpling. The savory filling consisted of pork, mushrooms, rice, and seasonings, which we very much enjoyed. A small container of a tasty hot chili sauce was included with our take-out order. The interior seating area is small but clean and attractive. I'd like to return to sample more items on their menu. Customer service was very pleasant. read more
1 year ago
It's OK. Looking to find a closer go-to place for wontons and other things, I came across this restaurant. My girlfriend and I decided to give it a shot. When we arrive in the evening (closer to 7:30PM on Tuesday), we were seated almost immediately. There were only a few other parties inside so there were quite a few tables open. At the end of each table there is a QR code that you scan with takes you to the online menu where you can place your order. We were given a paper menu to look at as well. The paper menu wasn't helpful at all, there were minimal photos and pretty much no description of the items as far as ingredients goes. The online menu is also missing a lot of the descriptions and only has a few photos as well. After some quick browsing and going based off of the names of the dishes, we played it "safe" and ordered: Shrimp & Pork Wonton in Chili Sauce, Beef Dry Hot Noodle, Dry Fried Lotus Root, Cucumber Salad, Beef Tripe Rice Noodle Soup. It was not long until the food came out. How was it all? - Shrimp & Pork Wonton in Chili Sauce: These were OK. The sauce was a little sweet compared to other places. - Beef Dry Hot Noodle: This dish requires you to mix it well since all of the sauce is on the bottom. It came with a few thick, well-done pieces of beef. They were a little tender and had some flavor. The sauce was OK. Nothing special. Noodles were al dente. - Dry Fried Lotus Root: Pretty much lotus root fries. These I liked, even though they had the tiniest sliver of lotus root in each of them haha. It's a large, shareable portion. - Cucumber Salad: Not a fan. I normally like it but not here. They seemed a bit bland. Maybe a hint of sesame oil on them or something but that's about it. - Beef Tripe Noodle Soup: This was my girlfriend's dish and I don't like tripe so I really don't have any input on it. I did try the broth and it was alright. She wasn't a fan. Service could use improvement. No one helped us at all during the meal. The only interaction we had was when the server sat us and told us that dumplings take a little longer since they're made fresh. Parking is difficult here depending on the time of day. There are neighboring restaurants and businesses and the lot is pretty small. I don't think I'd come back to give it another shot, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it! read more
Pan fried dumplings here are so good. We got the pan-fried pork dumplings and loved the crispy bottom, soft bread, and juicy and yummy filling. The sesame balls were also good, but I would have liked more red bean filling. We cut the balls in half and each was maybe 70% full. We also tried the shrimp and pork with chives dumplings. It definitely needed the accompanying sauce to carry the flavor because it was a little bland on its own. The chow fun had great flavor, but was super greasy. Like, there were pools of grease at the bottom of the bowl. Probably wouldn't order that one again. We ordered takeout and their timing was very good! It's located in a potentially small and busy plaza with a tiny parking lot. read more
Hot Dumpling is a new Chinese restaurant at the Baker Plaza, where Good Times Cafe used to be. The place feels open and welcoming when I walked in. It wasn't very busy so I was seated right away. There is a QR code affixed on the table but the host handed me a menu and took my order on his iPad. There are a few items I wanted to try, finally settled on the hot and sour soup and the pork+cabbage dumplings because of its name. Food came out promptly. While I enjoyed the hot and sour soup, the taste of dumplings is average at best. The service is pretty much what I expected of a typical Chinese restaurant. They left me alone for the most part. I had to ask for my bill after I was done. read more
9 months ago
My family has been going there and the food has been good. However last night I took a girlfriend there and the food was terrible. The male owner always seems to be in a bad mood but thankfully the lady server (ping) is wonderful. Although the food was bad but she still gives the best service. The string beans was extremely salty and we had to send it back. It literally came out covered with black sauce. The house special noodles had no taste and the beef was literally black too. The steamed dumplings was ok however how can the dumplings be bad when it's cooked from a frozen package. Ambiance ok, not too noisy as we were the only table there until half way through our meal. read more
4 months ago
1 year ago
Highlights: stir fried green beans, chicken chow fun, chicken pan fried dumplings. Amazing quality on all of these. Lowlight: honey walnut shrimp. It wasn't crispy, and the sauce is very lemony Happy grand opening to this restaurant! The cuisine stays true to its origins, and the food is legitimately good. For a brand new restaurant, the steady stream of patrons is quite promising, but that's not surprising at all. My only issue was the sauce on the honey walnut shrimp. I would consider myself a connoisseur of honey walnut shrimp, and I've never had that "lemony" of a sauce before. I would be very happy to come back here soon after work. read more
Hubby and I popped in here and check out the restaurant that took the place of another eatery that disappeared before we could even try it lol. I really really hope it works out for Hot Dumpling but we've been Lake Forest residents for 22 years and there has been so much turnaround in that particular unit. When we stopped in, we thought it was your run-of-the-mill dumpling and beef noodle place but honestly, it wasn't. The dishes are familiar but the flavors/spices differ pretty significantly being that they are from the Wuhan area. Hubby and I do what we normally do and over-order and we got the following: - Fried lotus roots - Pan Fried Beef and Onion dumplings - Wuhan Siu Mai - Pork XLB - Beef Tendon Noodle Soup Everything was pretty tasty but the stand outs were the fried lotus roots, Wuhan Siu Mai and the noodle soup. Next to these items, the Pork XLB and the pan fried dumplings were less shiny. The place was nicely remodeled and looks like a casual, modern eatery. They could probably squeeze in more tops but it was gratifying to see them get pretty good traffic. The parking in that location isn't ideal especially if people have to fight with the sushi place and El Pollo Loco. The service was friendly and attentive. Waters were refilled promptly ad they stopped to ask us what we thought and if we had any notes for them. Definitely some place that wants to make sure they are doing a good job. Check it out! read more
1 year ago
Lake Forest gets another awesome dumpling spot! Came for a late lunch and seated immediately with low traffic. Ordered the Pork Dumplings and Wuhan xiu mai. The xiu mai was different than your typical dim sum ones and had peppered rice and I believe pork belly inside. It was a good item but the star of the show was the juicy pork dumplings! The soup inside the dumpling was packed with flavor and the pork was juicy and tasted amazing. I hate to compare it to that one chain since it's cliché but it's just as good as Din Tai Fung if not better. The size is more significant than theirs with more soup and meat and at a bit cheaper price point. It's similar to Sunny Dumpling across town as well which I love as well! I'd love to come back and try their noodle soups and other dumplings! Service was fast during late lunch and the server was friendly. The dining room is clean and had a modern look. Parking can be tricky since the plaza is small so be aware that you might need to park a street over and walk over. Other than that it was a pleasant lunch. Only comment is that I wished they gave me a spoon with my dumplings to slurp up the soup. Definitely would come again! read more
1 month ago
4 months ago
Hot Dumpling replaced the former Good Time Cafe in Lake Forest. It's located in a small center at the corner of Bake Parkway and Trabuco Road, so parking can be hard to come by during peak hours. There is also an El Pollo Loco and an AYCE sushi restaurant located in this same plaza. We've had the pleasure of visiting this restaurant twice at the time of this review. I was not too impressed with the presentation of the Juicy Pork Dumpling and Wuhan Siu Mai, but the taste more than made up for the appearance. The pan-fried pork & chive dumplings were fabulous and I also tried their pan-fried pork buns on my follow-up visit, so I can say that their pan-fried dishes are def worth trying. The green onion pancakes, shrimp & pork wonton in chili oil, pan-fried pork dumplings and chongqing spicy chicken were also solid dishes. The biggest surprise for us was their Mapo Tofu dish which ranks up there with the best we've ever tasted. The only miss was the Spicy Beef Tendon appetizer. Service is friendly and attentive too, so I recommend a visit if you enjoy Chinese cuisine! read more
1 month ago
Honestly, I'd give this place a 3.5 out of 5. It was clean, which I appreciated, but ordering through a QR code isn't my favorite experience. From what we tried, I'd recommend the pork buns and the pork, shrimp dumplings, and the green onion pancake-- all solid choices. As for the Shu Mai, I've tried to like it over the years and it's just not for me, but if you're a Shu Mai fan, this version did taste homemade. read more
Amazing Chinese noodle! So so so good. **Service: Ping was our server today and she was so sweet. Its my first time here and she went over the menu with me, carefully check my spice tolerance. She recommended the Sichuan Chicken, It looks so good ( we didnt get it today since we want soup but definitely next time). She also explains how the ingredients including the dough are freshly made/ in house noodle. 5/5 for professionalism and hospitality. **Food: every single dish was Bomb.com. The flat noodles in the beef soup, soo fresh and soaked in beef soup. Wuhan noodle style, Super flavorful broth, beef flanks are perfectly cooked. 5/5 Cucumber salad: refreshing, must order. Xiao long bao : (number 19 on menu). they definitely make it in Big portions, they are not stingy on the fillings read more
Food****// tried their xiumai and beef fried rice both are above average, portion is good, fried rice is moist just the way I like it. I'll try xlb next time for sure Service****// quick check in and see staff cleaning up right away after guest left is always a good sign. They bring tablet to table for payment so get ready for your tip calculator Ambiance****// newly remolded so nice and clean, most Chinese restaurants can't keep it up after few months so let's see Btw, I was going for 好年冬but find out they closed which is kind of sad read more
2 months ago
Food was decent. Pretty authentic lake forest dumpling restaurant. I ordered pickled cucumbers, cabbage and pork dumplings, beef noodle soup. I'd go back to my neighborhood restaurant and dine in to check out how the service holds up: read more
3 months ago
2 months ago
1 year ago
I loved their veggie dumplings when I went with friends for lunch recently. I wish they had more vegetarian/vegan options. Friends loved their noodles with braised beef, XLB, and pan fried baos as well. Spacious new restaurant with plenty of seating. Parking can be tough during rush eating hours, but they have fast, friendly service. Dumplings take 15-20 mins, so be sure to order ahead! read more
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