Nut allergy friendly: No issues here with almost anything I think…read more Parking: Plenty in the strip mall lot. Time to Order: 11-16 minutes for all of our dumplings. I've finally made it to the original spot for the legendary soup dumplings. "Better than din Tai fung", so I've heard. I can finally confirm: these are probably the best soup dumplings in Houston. We arrived around 6:15PM on a Monday after leaving Spa World (yeah, I was off for the day after an exam). No wait, though I've heard it gets quite busy and it was still decent busy while we were there. Service was very prompt and didn't keep us waiting to put an order in, and dumplings came out hot! We got: #85 Tomatoes and Pork Soup Dumplings (5/5): Whatever they put in this broth, it's like liquid crack. MSG? Who knows. The dumplings come with the perfect texture and you can literally lift them up and see the filled soup inside. Not a single one was broken. The soup was fantastic and the dumpling was excellent. It's seriously the best I've had in Houston and maybe in the U.S. #24 Pork & Scallion Thumb Bun (4.5/5): It was a tad salty, but the scallion offset the pork really well and they were perfect small bites. #27 Spicy Pork & Shrimp Wontons (4.5/5): Loved the red sauce, great wonton texture overall. No extra dips needed. I'm definitely going to try their other location and it's totally worth the trek to this one. Awesome job to the team here!

Stopped by after a meaningful day at Spa World and debated whether we were hungry enough to truly…read moreappreciate the food. Turns out, we were forced to acknowledge how good it was whether we wanted to or not... because yes, it really was that good. Tomatoes & Pork Soup Dumplings - I was exceptionally curious about incorporating tomatoes into soup dumplings, so I had to order these to satisfy my curiosity. Grateful to see they also had a thumbs-up on the menu to reinforce my decision. The dumplings were beautifully folded and didn't tear when picked up. You could actually see how much soup was packed inside--they looked like little jiggly water balloons. The broth was unexpectedly sweet while still being savory, with a very clean flavor. My BF said they were probably some of the best soup dumplings he's ever had, and I'd have to agree--they were pretty top-tier. These came out hot-hot. The wrapper felt a bit drier than other soup dumplings I've had, giving it a mildly chewy aftertaste that I wasn't fond of (I'm very aware of textures), but in terms of flavor, absolutely no complaints. It's important to note that I've never been as big a fan of soup dumplings as my BF is, but I admit this place converted me. Time to see how well it compares to Din Tai Fung. Spicy Pork & Shrimp Wonton in Red Oil: - Wonton - Very juicy with well-rendered pork fat. My favorite part was how delicate the wrapper was. After watching the dumpling episode of Chuuka Ichiban (Cooking Master Boy), I became overly aware of the thickness of dumpling wrappers. I have to admit this place absolutely nailed it--the wrapper was just thick enough to hold the filling, yet delicate enough that it almost melted away as you chewed. - Red Oil - Tangy and aromatic. Despite being an oil-based sauce, it didn't taste overly greasy. The seasoning and herbs gave it a signature spice that felt layered rather than simply spicy for the sake of being spicy. It actually grew on me the more I went back to it between the other dumplings, working as a great palate cleanser and taste bud reset. Pork & Scallion Thumb Bun - I'd never had a thumb bun before, but it's quite dainty, just as the name suggests. The texture was a bit firmer than I would have liked--almost like a stiff potsticker. All of these dumplings had a very pronounced pork flavor. I found this one a bit too salty compared to the others, perhaps because the soup dumplings and wontons were balanced by their broth and red oil. Maybe I just needed to dip it in vinegar (someone educate me). I tried it three ways: plain, accidentally in soy sauce, and finally in vinegar. The vinegar definitely mellowed out the saltiness, but this still wasn't my favorite dish. Service was fast and considerate throughout our meal. They refilled our water attentively and checked on us at a meaningful pace without feeling intrusive. I also noticed they didn't play any music here, but somehow the constant buzz of the staff moving around was comforting. The atmosphere felt peaceful and gave off very authentic Chinese vibes. Overall, we'll be visiting them again soon at their new location closer to us. #worth