This was my first time ever going to a dumpling focused restaurant, and I will definitely be back.
This is a newer spot in Apple Valley that caught my attention while driving by the other day. Since I had a Tuesday afternoon off, my wife and I decided to stop in for lunch. Overall, I'd absolutely recommend giving this place a try.
Once you walk in, you'll notice how clean, modern, and nice the restaurant is. The space feels very open, which I liked, but I could also see it getting pretty loud when it's busy. Not everyone loves the open concept restaurant trend, so that's just something to keep in mind (EX: if you have kids or older folks in your party and want something a bit quieter).
Since neither of us had ever been to a dumpling restaurant before, the menu was a little confusing at first. Truthfully, I'm still not entirely sure I'm eating dumplings the "right" way. Fortunately, our waiter was fantastic. He was attentive, friendly, and took the time to explain the menu. After taking our order, he even reviewed everything on the tablet to make sure it was correct. Before we paid, he double checked everything again. Just a genuinely great waiter.
The only service related issue was that my water glass eventually ran empty and never got refilled, although to be fair, I also forgot to ask when he stopped by.
We started with the scallion pancakes. These were really good and something I'd absolutely order again. The dipping sauce was fantastic too. You seem to get some variation of this sauce with several menu items. It's kind of like soy sauce, but with more going on. I dunno, it's just really good.
Next, we ordered the chicken soup dumplings. My wife absolutely loved these. I really enjoyed them too, just not quite as much as she did. I'd definitely order them again. I especially liked adding some of the special soy sauce and chili oil that they provide at each table.
We also got the pan-fried pork dumplings. Again, these were good. I thought they benefited from the sauces, and I especially liked the texture.
The chicken Sanji was maybe my favorite item of the meal, or at least tied for first. I loved the texture. The bottom half is fried while the top remains soft, kind of like the soup dumplings. Personally, I think I prefer this style over traditional dumplings, while my wife preferred the regular dumplings.
If you like softer dumplings, stick with the traditional versions. If you want a little more texture and crispness, I'd strongly recommend trying the Sanji.
We also ordered the Piggy Buns. Not only are they adorable, but they're surprisingly tasty as well. We weren't exactly sure what to expect, but they have like a sweet, creamy filling inside. We both enjoyed them and would likely order them again.
There are still so many things on the menu that I want to try. They offer stir-fry, more appetizers, and a whole bunch of other dishes that looked interesting. We both regretted not ordering a beef dish. We forgot about it until our food had already started arriving.
Now for the biggest downside...this place is pretty expensive. After tax and tip, I think our bill came to around $66. That's not exactly a cheap lunch. We ordered quite a bit of food and came hungry, but I was still surprised that we managed to eat $66 worth of food without having any leftovers to bring home.
My only other complaint was cleanliness. The plate at my seat was dirty when we sat down. It wasn't a huge deal since I simply grabbed a different one next to me, but it's still something worth mentioning. The bathroom was also a bit messy. Nothing terrible, but it seemed like it could have used some attention.
At the end of the day, the food was excellent, our waiter was fantastic, and I'm already looking forward to coming back. The price, dirty plate, and somewhat messy bathroom knocked it down a star for me, but this is still an easy 4 out of 5 stars. read more