Food was delicious but the dumplings were smaller than expected except for the pan fried soup dumplings. Those were a decent size but unfortunately burnt/over cooked on the bottom. Flavor profile was good, not too salty. Service was good. Someone made sure we put on name on the list when we were waiting at the door. A server check on us every once in a while. Took a while to get more chopsticks and the paper check. Ambiance was great. Not too loud. Spacious enough for groups to be apart and not too close thay you bump into others. Cozy. Up to date. Clean. 1 unisex bathroom. read more

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Serious dumpling is solid, great for a quick stop in, shrimp & pork hit the spot! Great service and atmosphere. Anthonyxibarrax read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

My first impressions were mediocre all-around: -The water was definitely unfiltered tap; it tasted kinda bad -Their Beef Noodle Soup had a fairly distinctive broth, but seemed made of cheap ingredients and was neither very satisfying nor filling -They overcharge on sales tax by quite a bit -- San Jose's rate is 9.375%, yet they seem to be charging almost 10% This seems like the kind of restaurant that survives only because it's in an area with high foot traffic. read more

Bao Down Serious Dumpling is one of several restaurants operated by Hong Kong-born restaurateur and author** Chris Yeo, who also owns Straits (Santana Row); Sino (closed); Roots & Rye (Los Gatos); and The Province (San Jose). Serious Dumpling, as the name implies, focuses on classic Chinese and Taiwanese street food, snacks, and bao--but with modern twists. The Good: * Friendly service * Full selection of alcohol, from sake and mixed drinks to beers on tap and in bottles. * Great branding--I love their little dumpling logo. * We both absolutely loved the Garlic Noodles (蒜蓉炒面), which were definitely the star of the show--perfect texture and a great garlicky flavor. * The humble Beef Pancake (牛肉卷饼) has quickly become one of our favorite Taiwanese apps. Thin slices of beef wrapped in a tasty, crispy scallion pancake make this a fantastic bite. * The Spicy Pork SJB (辣猪肉) is another delicious bite, with a crispy bottom and a juicy, pork-filled interior. * The garlic string beans (蒜蓉四季豆) were another surprisingly delicious side. Tbh, we only ordered them thinking we should get some veggies in, but they turned out to be one of the highlights The Meh: * DTSJ means having to find and pay for parking. There is some street parking available (free on Sundays and City holidays), but your best bet is the San Pedro Square parking garage The Ugly: * Some of the Rainbow XLBs (彩色小笼包) came out already popped from the kitchen, which is kind of a bummer. I'm not sure what you do in that situation--do you complain and ask for another, or just suck it up and vent in your Yelp review? I'll let you guess my course of action. ;) Conclusion: Fine spot to get your dumpling and noodle on **Chris Yeo co-wrote "The Cooking of Singapore: Great Dishes from Asia's Culinary Crossroads" https://a.co/d/0j7KqEUD⁠ read more

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The service is great as well as the ambiance. However, the garlic noodles were too overwhelming with the sodium and sjb dumplings burned my tongue. read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Table for Juan - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Awesome spot in the heart of downtown SJ for some traditional and more unique dumplings! We ordered the original SJB pan-fried soup dumplings, boiled lamb dumplings, pork & shrimp chili oil wontons, pork & shrimp XLB, garlic noodles, and cucumber salad. My favorites were the original SJB, which were unbelievably soupy, and the boiled lamb dumplings. We came in on a weekday afternoon and it was surprisingly busy. Even though there was only one server working, the service was great, and the food came out quickly. read more

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Everything's good but I think the service can be better. For example the staff should avoid rushing the guests. read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Original SJB （原味生煎包）and Pork Ube XLB (6) (參薯) - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Surprisingly small restaurant but some seriously good dumplings steaming here! It wasn't crowded for weekday lunch and we were able to grab a nice corner. The hostess was very kind in taking our order when we were ready and helped us by joining two tables together since we order a LOT of dumplings. We ordered the following: Chicken potstickers: Juicy, steaming hot, thick coating but crisp from the bottom, delicious umami and my most favorite out of everything we ordered. 5/5 Pork and shrimp sui mai: They were tough but tasted good. I've had better but these were good as well. 3.5/5 Garlic noodles with added egg: These were disappointingly sweet with a fried egg on top. Canned garlic did not help the dish at all. 1/5 Giant xiong long bao: Massive dumpling with little pork filling but a lot of hot soup that can be sipped with two tiny straws. I'm a hot soup and broth lover so this was massively amazing for me. However, the dumpling completely stuck to the steamer basket from the sides tearing the dumpling apart. I would have loved to take the whole thing home and eat it later but it was a mess so left the whole thing after drinking the soup with the help of the straw. Still 4/5 since the soup was AMAZING! Chicken xiong long bao and pork xiong long bao: Very similar to chicken steamed dumplings we've had at other places. Little soup in the chicken ones but tasty . 4/5 for both Chicken wonton in chilli oil and pork and shrimp wonton in chilli oil- Tiny portions but great flavor once you add their soy sauce, vinegar and amazing chilli oil. 5/5 Pork and shrimp sui mai: Delicate and delicious. 5/5 Shrimp har gao: I've had better. 3/5 Chocolate xiong long bao: Chewy, warm and delicious. Loved them!! 5/5 We will retun for the chicken potstickers and other offerings! They have a nice menu and a very hard working kitchen staff! Lived watching them steam dumplings for us! read more

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(San Pedro Square) Food: original giant soup xlb (8.5/10)- enjoyed the flavor and texture of this dish. It is steamed so the container has holes which causes the soup to pour on the plate. You will have to use the straw on the plate to drink the soup. Garlic noodles (9/10) very flavorful and is probably the dish I enjoyed the most. Noodles were cooked well. Shrimp added more texture and flavor Garlic string bean (7.5/10) string beans were cooked well but lacked flavor. Chicken wontons (6.7/10) won't really buy this again. Small and lacked flavor. Had to add chili Curry beef sjb (8/10)- little hard on the bottom but the beef and soup tasted well Ube chocolate buns (7.8/10) I expected more for this. You can't really taste the Ube and it didn't have much chocolate inside. If they added more chocolate I would have graded this a lot higher Setting: plenty of seats, clean, and offers table sizes for small to larger groups. Tv available if you want to watch sports etc Service: server was great. Checked on us if we needed water, recommended some dish, and was updating us on when our order will arrive. Price: price is fair. Not too expensive or cheap Parking: San Pedro square garage or side streets read more

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3/5: If I'm only rating the food, its 2.5/5. Its terrible. Starting off with the fried pork and shrimp dumplings, as soon as I took a bite, all I could really taste was the oil and the meat inside was just mediocre. I didnt eat any of the dough. Now, the shumai, I dont know what meats they use but this is definitely not an authentic human. The beef noodle souple was the only dish that was actually ok. I gave it a 3, only because the waiters are great. Will not be back. If you are familiar with asian food, specially if you are from around SGV Area in Southern CA, this place unfortunately will not satisfy your cravings. read more

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I've been for several business lunches and had a chance to try much of the menu but haven't been able to take photos... Shrimp & Pork Wontons: excellent and the dish to get when you don't know what to get. I like a little extra chili oil. Pork Xiao Long Bao: nvm, THIS is the signature dish. I like the pork and shrimp version even better. Garlic noodles: Ask for egg to be added. Not too garlicky but with a defn kick. Garlic string beans: underrated. Get these and you even feel like you're being healthy. Beef pancake: sort of a Shanghai version of a burrito. Decent but a little dry -- not my fav. Steamed Curry Beef Dumplings: very juicy inside. A touch of curry. Quite good but I like the XLB better. Small room with lots of light. Staff helpful. Will keep coming to lunch. read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Corporate event - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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We came here with our family on Lunar new year and had a good time. They have beautiful artwork on the walls. It was luckily not too busy so we were seated right away, although with a family of 4 and the number of dishes we ordered, the table felt a bit on the smaller side to contain everything. We ordered the shrimp har gow, garlic noodles with egg and vegetables, chicken XLB, pan fried monk SJB, chicken wontons in chili oil and chocolate XLB for dessert. Most of the dishes were pretty good with our dipping sauces and chili oil. Service was reasonably quick and our server was super friendly and helpful. All in all a good experience. read more

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Came in with no expectations, but WOW! This place gives Din Tai Fung a run for its money, with pretty similar menu items and that same delicious taste! All the dumplings and noodles were super flavorful and served fast. The only thing is that the items tend to lean on the sweeter side, so just be aware of that. I wish we got a few more "spicy" items to offset it. Service was quick and the servers were really helpful in deciding what to order. Inside is pretty nice, and when we went for dinner on a Monday evening it was pretty empty and quiet inside. Definitely will be back! read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Cucumber salad（凉拌黄瓜） Pork&Shrimp SJB (猪肉虾仁） Garlic Noodles （蒜蓉炒面） Chicken Wonton in Chili Oil （6）（鸡肉抄手） - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

The food is here is so good! Soup dumplings are amazing and so many options and they all taste great! Staff is friendly and such a good location. Great place to visit and good vibes. read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Box of dumplings - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

I was with a group for lunch and a few people showed interest in some items here. We originally planned to grab some food and go eat outside down the block a bit in the communal area since we had dogs with us. A few people from our group went inside to order but were told by the staff to sit out on the patio and someone would come help us instead. I wasn't very happy with that but sometimes when you're with a group you compromise. The patio was not looked after. We checked the tables for the cleanest one, but that was pretty much wasted time as they were all dirty. The server did brush the leaves off the table, and then later, after placing our drinks and utensils on the table, awkwardly rub one spot in front of someone with a dried rag. It was almost like he was miming cleaning the table. It was weird. The service was pretty much non-existent other than bringing the food out as the server didn't even say anything to us other than asking what we wanted. The whole thing was uncomfortable. As for the food, I ordered the beef pancake and it was fine but basic. Just meh. I also stole a pork and shrimp siu mai from someone else's plate and it was terrible; it wasn't even warm. Come to think of it, nothing was warm. I also sampled someone's cola chicken wing and it just tasted like soy sauce to me. Nothing was fresh or flavorful and I definitely wouldn't come back here. It's possible that the inside is nice or has a better vibe, but I guess I will never know. read more

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My family and I decided to eat at Serious Dumpling for a birthday dinner and really enjoyed it! The location is great. It's surrounded by bars, restaurants, and dessert spots, which makes it a perfect place to start (or end) a date night or hang out with friends. My family and I ordered quite a few things off the menu, and honestly, everything was good. Our favorites were the garlic noodles, ube XLB, and curry SJB. The food came out quickly, and the servers were friendly and efficient. The interior is modern with seating inside and outside. The inside though isn't the best setup for larger groups. Our group of 5 sat pretty close to another table with just a small divider between us, so it felt a bit tight. Prices are on the higher side, and for the portion sizes, it's a bit hard to justify. Although, that's somewhat expected given that it's in downtown. That's really the only reason this isn't a full five stars. read more

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All the vibes of San Pedro Market, great ambiance, but a cozy inside spot with delicious food and good service. We had pork XLB, pork and shrimp XLB, chicken potstickers, garlic string beans, and jasmine rice. It was a clean sweep of yum. My future SJSU student said she will be back lots next year! read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Pork XLB - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Surprised how much I enjoyed this place, good dumplings at a great price. Soup dumplings are what to focus on.

Came here on a Sunday night with friends and had such an amazing dinner! We ordered the spicy shrimp and chicken wontons, chicken dumplings, pork dumplings, and of course the famous garlic noodles (with spam!!) I had read about online and WOW. Everything came out piping hot and packed with flavor. The service was quick, the food was incredible, and every dish impressed us. To top it off, we grabbed some ube chocolate buns with sweet cream to take home, and they were absolute heaven. 10/10 meal - delicious food, great service, and prices that felt really fair for the quality. Can't wait to come back! read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Garlic Noodles Chicken XLB (6) ( Pork&Napa Dumplings ( - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Fast casual dumpling spot with great food and good service! Definitely going back! We ordered the beef pancake with egg - think Asian burrito the green beans which had an amazing garlic slightly sweet sauce and a fried dumpling filled with meat and broth. read more

Pretty good place to get dumplings! I will say there are a lot of good places to eat in the area which can make it hard to choose but I don't think you'll be disappointed. We got some scallion noodles as well but I personally wouldn't get them again as I wasn't the biggest fan but they were liked by everyone else at the table. Service was pretty fast and the employees were attentive. Overall, I would go again for the dumplings. If you're in the area I think it's a pretty decent option! read more

As an avid XLB enjoyer, someone who tries various dumpling places around the bay, and also a beef noodle soup enjoyer, I was pretty sad about my time at Serious Dumpling. I don't think they were serious about their dumplings, or anything for that matter. The place is actually surprisingly small, with a lot of tables for two and communal style seating. I think it's very unfriendly for big groups, as there's not too much space to eat. The vibe inside is kind of neon hip, modernized for teens. They have some outdoor seating as well. - Garlic Noodles This is their most reviewed item, and their tastiest from our selection. It's a little telling when a Chinese dumpling place's best item is their garlic noodles... Anyways, it was thick, chewy, garlicky, savory, and had a lot of good soy-garlic flavor. It was quite moist as well, and I just wish protein wasn't an extra charge. - Slow-cooked Beef Noodle Soup It was basically beef noodle soup with ramen noodles which is weird. The soup had a french onion soup kind of vibe - a bit too sweet and almost a beef bouillon cube vibe. I don't like the random pieces of cabbage, and the beef slices were very thin. This was not our typical Chinese beef noodle soup, and I would advise against ordering. - Pork XLB They were wrapped in a way where the tip was a tiny hard nub, heh. It was alright, with a smooth meat filling and adequate soup, but quite expensive. We also did not receive ginger to accompany the XLB. I initially wanted to order more, but didn't want to overindulge before testing out their popular items to compare with my standards. I think I made the right choice, because the taste was so Americanized and unsatisfying, that the high prices would have furthered my disappointment. If you want good dumplings, just go to DTF or pretty much most places a few cities north of here. Dumpling Time in SF also does a very similar menu but better, and no I would highly not recommend the giant XLB unless you really need the gram or amusement. I think the only way you can review this place well is if you don't know what Chinese food is supposed to taste like. read more

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After trying Serious Dumpling, I do feel like some of these 2 star reviews are a bit critical and unfair. My experience could not be anymore different. I came for dinner on a Thursday night around 6:30pm and I had a great experience. Ambience and Service (5) Very clean and comfortable. The music was right, the vibe was chill, and the service was great. I found the server very attentive, pleasant, and friendly. The food was paced well and came out pretty quickly. There were about 3 other groups inside, tons of groups outside, and several to-go orders, and one server who did excellent. Shrimp Har Gaw (5) So yummy!! I could have eaten 10 more of these. Pork XLB (4) I wish they had more soup! but they were very very good! I do wish they came with some ginger too! Overall, Serious Dumpling was solid. I enjoyed it very much. Ignore the over critical dude who said it gave club vibes. read more

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We had our group of 18 here for a casual Christmas get together before half of us left the country for a nice Christmas vacay. They were very nice to accommodate us setting up our tables ahead of time. Service was exceptional! Food was super delicious! Sorry no pics because everyone was hungry. read more

Good food and quick service! This was our first time trying serious dumpling and we had the cucumber salad (a staple), garlic cabbage which I thought was delicious, garlic noodles, soup xlb, and the fried xlb (which was the only thing we didn't love). I'd definitely come back! read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Garlic noodles were very tasty! Worth the hype. The two gentlemen were amazing as servers and food came out very quickly. It was a full house but wait time was less than 10 minutes. Portions are on the smaller side but each dumpling was good. Caution though, they are sizzling hot so be wary to not burn your tongue! read more

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I should've trusted the other negative reviews. I genuinely don't understand how this place has over 1,000 reviews. I ordered the beef noodle soup and honestly... what is this? Ramen noodles in a "beef noodle" dish is already wild, but the rest of it was worse. The beef looked like pre-cut packaged slices just tossed in, the vegetables were basically cabbage and chili flakes, and the broth tasted thin and artificial -- more like beef powder than something actually simmered. Look at the photo. Nothing about this says real beef noodle soup. No depth, no richness, no care. Just a bowl of shortcuts. The only decent thing I had were the chili wontons. Other than that, this was a huge disappointment. I have no idea how this place is rated so highly. Please avoid! read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Artificial Slow-Cooked Beef Noodle Soup（红烧牛肉面） - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Dumplings are my staple so we give it a try here. * garlic noodle which originally comes wt only noodle you gotta pay extra for proteins or veggies. Kidding me?! they just only added extra boiled veggie on the dish, not mixing wt the noodle and sauce! I wondered if we ordered extra protein they will execute the same way?!?! It was the sweetest garlic noodle i have ever had in life...idk they cater to the local taste or not but this is not the typical taste you would get from Chinese noodle. This dish was served as the first dish and totally ruined our first impression to this resto. * Dumplings and wontons were ok and XLB tasted ok too but the meat inside was pretty fatty compared with other places. * fast service, and it's nice inside since outside was pretty smelly from the street. read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Garlic Noodles with boiled veggies - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

This was our first time dining at Serious Dumpling, and it was where we decided to celebrate two of my daughters' birthdays that are only one day apart. The service was excellent. Anthony reserved our table and prepped it before we arrived. Once seated, he was super attentive and made sure that we had a consistently positive experience. I cannot rave enough about their quality of food. It's totally hip and a great place for friends and family to get together over handcrafted dim sum and more. Simply delicious! read more

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I love this restaurant! They are food, service, ambiance! I love this place! I love it!

The xiao long baos and potstickers weren't great. The texture of the dough was pretty thick and chewy and the taste was pretty lackluster. Almost to the point where I didn't really wanna finish it cause of the taste. Super expensive too for the portion and flavor. However the garlic noodles were surprisingly pretty good, just kinda unfortunate for a dumpling spot read more

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Came in around 7:00 PM and it was not busy, but the experience was disappointing from start to finish. Cucumber salad was bland and tasted like it was just chopped and thrown on a plate. Pork wonton in chili oil had no depth, just oil. The XLB lacked flavor and did not have the rich broth you would expect. Table and chairs were dirty when we sat down, and several staff members were on their phones, which made service feel inattentive. Only the busser seemed to care. Not even a thank you or see you again on the way out. Only redeeming part was the strawberry and grape cocktail. For a place called Serious Dumpling, the food was not serious at all. Definitely not worth a return. read more

What a delightful place. The food was great, and very promptly prepared and served. The service was cordial, quick, nice folks. We had a great time, and look forward to returning for more good meals. Ambience was just right, too. read more

The location is awesome. The restaurant is clean and the service was nice. The food was okay. The beef noodle soup was decent but wasn't super amazing. The noodles tasted similar to top ramen. The xiao long bao was just okay the skin was thick and there wasn't much soup. The sauce for the roti was too curry tasting and thick. The chicken and corn dumpling was probably the best dish in my opinion. read more

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A good spot for dumplings and Asian fusion eats right on San Pedro! I loved the Garlic Noodles (rich and flavorful) and the Shrimp & Pork Dumplings -- perfect with the chili oil. Good sides included the Cucumber Salad and Garlic String Beans. Overall a tasty, lively spot if you're in the San Pedro Square area. read more

Came here with my family on a Saturday night and waited around 20 mins before being seated. We ordered a variety of dishes including the pork XLB, curry beef pan fried soup dumpling, wontons in chili oil, garlic string beans, garlic noodles, and more. Everything was yummy, though the portions were on the smaller side. The dumplings came out hot and soupy. My favorite was definitely the chocolate XLB. Toward the end of our meal, we decided to try the ube chocolate buns and were told it'd be a 7 minute wait, but they took closer to 20. Had we known, we probably wouldn't have ordered them. Overall still a nice spot with friendly service. I would return especially for the chocolate XLB! read more

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This is a convenient fun location in down town San Jose, yet I'm sadly unimpressed with their food. With the abundance of Asian cuisine in the area there's lots of competition, and this one doesn't meet the expectations. Food is good for a quick bite, but wouldn't want to have a full dinner here. Prices are high for the lack of flavor in the dumplings. Service is fast, the dining area is cute, but the food doesn't match their other high qualities! read more

This review is seriously overdue. My friend and I were in the San Jose area for Zumba back in November 2024. He had a craving for Chinese food.... so a quick search on Yelp app, and I found Serious Dumpling. According to their website, Serious Dumpling is known for their fresh house-made dumplings, noodles, classic Shanghainese dishes including their "Signature Sheng Jian Bao" and "Xiao Long Bao" in a lively atmosphere with bright neon lights and a fun vibe. I wholeheartedly agree with this description! Between my friend and I, we ordered a bunch of stuff to share: - Original Sheng Jian Bao - Pork & Shrimp Xiao Long Bao - Chicken Potstickers - Beef Pancake (with Egg) - Minced Pork Noodle Soup - Dessert - Ube Chocolate Bun - Cocktail - Lychee Sake - Cocktail - Sake Sangria Everything was delicious! Sheng Jian Bao and Xiao Long Bao are definitely MUST GET items. Dessert & Cocktails too obviously. Service was friendly, quick, & efficient. Ambiance was cute & trendy. ENJOY!! read more

Serious Dumpling 正经生煎 - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here on a weekend before 5pm with a party of 3. We got the following: - Original SJB (Sheng Jian Bao): 5 pan fried soup dumpling with premium pork, pork savory broth and ginger for $14.50. I really liked this one! The soup was plentiful, hot, flavorful, crispy and the dough was just right! - garlic noodles for $13.60. I like my garlic noodles with a lot of garlic so these were just ok. Tasty but with a bit more garlic these would have been good in my opinion. We still finished this though. - Shrimp and Pork Wontons with Chili Oil: 6 premium pork, shrimp, soy sauce, green onions with the chili oil on the side for $8.50. Smaller than the picture and the chili oil wasn't spicy to me but I like my spice with a major heat to it! - Garlic String Beans for $13.50. Whatever sauce they used was chefs kiss! Gobbled up all this and if we had rice it would been such a tasty duo! - Pork XLB: 6 for $12 - Ube XLB: 6 ube with coconut milk for $12.50. The ube was nice but the dough was too thick. There was only 1 server and everybody else was in the kitchen. The food was good and if I was in the area, I would come back again. read more

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First, I had to call them because my navigator said I had arrived, yet I hadn't. The person who answered the phone very patiently gave me perfect directions. His customer service skills over the phone were impressive. When we arrived I realized he was the only waiter on the floor. Again, he was so courteous and accommodating both with seating and with how to order food. Our food was delicious, garlic noodles, pork & napa dumplings,beef pancake and original SJB. Service was outstanding and price was what prices are these days. The whole experience was well worth it. As for ambiance, it is open floor seating ; no complaints. Per my receipt, our waiter's name was Ardan. read more