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Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Parkside
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Small hole in the wall with super friendly staff (I think family owned). We wanted dumplings so this place was perfect. Overall, great food, reasonably priced, friendly, and they live up to their name. You can also buy their frozen dumplings to cook at home.
- Shanghai Dumpling: good soup/meat, skin thin but too thick on top
- Chicken Chive Dumplings: dry, kind of plain, had to slap on a lot of hot sauce
- Beef Noodle Soup: delicious soup (like how my parents make it), full of flavor, noodles okay, beef very tender & good. i think it would have been better with rice noodles
- Onion Pancake: very doughy, thin
- String Beans: light, good flavor, lots of garlic
Xiao Long Bao & Onion Pancakes.
Probably the best Xiao Long Bao in SF.
But, beware of your orders getting multiplied.
Make sure you say, "one order of Xiao Long Bao" and gesture too.
Otherwise risk getting that order multiplied by the number in your party.
I was in debate with myself about whether or not to give Kingdom of Dumpling 4 stars...these were the deciding factors:
- tofu noodles; I know this place is all about the dumpling, but I've never had anything so delicious in my life! noodles the texture of firm tofu in a light sesame dressing. soo good. and to think I wouldn't have even thought about ordering them if the owner/waiter hadn't talked us into getting an appetizer. haha
- the misspelled menu; took me back to China and I couldn't help but want to order the dumping soup.
- family vibe; I kinda have a thing for little mom&pop places. Here the dad was the waiter & hostess, daughter brought us our food and I could only imagine that there was a mom and grandma folding dumplings in the back.
it took us a little while to get a table and get our food, but you can't get mad when you're in a tiny place held down by a family. the dumplings were actually delicious and you can even get them frozen to take home and enjoy. I'm getting cravings right now.....this IS the kingdom of dumpling!
I LOVE this place, but every time I go in there, I feel like I'm cheating on Taraval Okazu-ya! It's a weird feeling...
Anyway, we go here when we need Chinese comfort food. We always get the chicken w/ chive dumplings and the chicken chowmein. Sometimes, we get the beef pancake, or string bean w/ garlic. It's not fancy, it's authentic. This is one of those places that I taste perfection in EVERY bite. It really makes my soul sing :))
The only reason why it's only four stars is because you have to have TIME if you eat here. The service is friendly, but sometimes hard to find. Just expect to wait because the food is damn worth it!
FOOD - 5 stars - Food is super yummy. Dumplings, potstickers, chow fun, and onion pancake are all good...but they have the best xiao long baos (soup dumplings?) around SF.
RESTAURANT - 2 stars - This place is TINY tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny. You will probably have less than 1 foot between you and any other table. Definitely go with as few people as possible. And there wasn't a line when I went there, but there were always people waiting as soon as I sat down.
PRICE - 4 stars - Definitely reasonable priced. I went with 6 people and bill was $10 per person including tax and tip.
I came here with a few friends with a craving for some dumplings and the Kingdom of Dumpling did not disappoint. Keep in mind that this place is REALLY small (maybe 20 seats or so), so I wouldn't come here with a group larger than 4.
The food was solid. As someone who doesn't eat meat or seafood, I had plenty of options. My favorite dishes were the salt and pepper tofu (YUM!), chive pancake (sooo good but probably not the healthiest), and the garlic green beans. My friends devoured the soup dumplings which had pork or some sort of meat, and said they were delish.
Overall, I thought this place was tasting and a good bang for my buck.
I came here against my wish since T-28 was full and there was a waiting line. The first time I came here, I remembered I had a delicious meal. However, after this time, I will most likely not come back.
The restaurant is small with a capacity of about 25; 10 square tables - some connected for the larger groups; not clean - what do you expect from a Chinese restaurant.
It was Sunday afternoon so it was crowded. One waitress, two cooks. We had to wait about 15 minutes for our first dish.
We had an order of the pork and shrimp dumpling with green chives (12), salt pepper tofu, and spicy beef tendon.
The dumplings were just okay - you can't really taste the shrimp. They give you the vinegar but you need to ask for the ginger to go with it.
The spicy beef tendon were a just okay too - definitely not what I expected nor craving for. I wanted the hot chili beef tendon kind with the oil on the plate. This one has nuts and I'm not a big fan of nuts unless it's macadamia nuts.
The salt pepper tofu was a big disappointment. Definitely made me regret not waiting at T-28 for them. Unlike T-28's tofu, there was no garnish (green onion, chinese celery, white onion, etc) and the skin was cooked too much.
While we were waiting for our dishes, the boyfriend also saw a towel burning on the stove in the kitchen.
Kingdom of Dumpling is a restaurant we hate to love. Why? Because the dumplings are DELICIOUS but the restaurant could be cleaner, have better service and... sometimes, something makes your tummy sick later. We wonder if the unsettle/grumbly/greasy stomach you feel later is because of the greasy nature of the dumplings or the suspicious black stuff under the lids of the taaaasty hot sauce. Really... how is that hot sauce so good? Wish they'd clean up things a bit.
Service... not so hot. On our first trip, we waited outside for about 20 minutes to get a table and then a good while to order (which was fine) but we got a little irritated when a Chinese family came in waaay after and got immediate service, ordered and their food after us but then got food before we did, though our order had been placed waaay before theirs. They literally got the same dumplings and soup we ordered. Not cool. We had to sit there watching them eat OUR food because they were at the next table.
Because the dumplings are like crack, we decided to give them a 2nd chance in case that 1st trip was a unique negative experience. On our 2nd visit, the food was delicious again, service was a lil better but still, they only had 1 waitress and 1 cook... on a busy Sat afternoon. Also, we both had tummy aches a lil while after eating again.
All in all... and sadly...
Might see ya there. *sigh* lol
We had planned to go to the sushi place a few doors down, but it was closed [Tuesday!] and so decided to try KoD. So good! No wait after 8pm on Tuesday, nearly full, and ended up sharing our crammed-in-by-the-kitchen table area with some nice gals who'd been before.
Almost empty by the time we left, though -- we ordered a lot AND are slow eaters! :P
We got the chicken wings [sticky sweet sauce, Yum!], the [new item] Boiled Peanuts, the green chive pancakes, the Pork & corn dumplings, and the Lamb dumplings. Also, my fiance got a bottle of the Tsingtao beer, pretty reasonable at $3.25 & a good flavor accompaniment.
The Boiled Peanuts come with cucumber in a vinegar / soy sauce, cold. Tasty and also a great dipping sauce for the dumplings!
(Closer to what my American potsticker-loving palate is used to, compared to the yummy but bitter black vinegar sauce!) ;p
The green chive pancakes are huge! They are like little calzones, there is so much stuffed in! We both liked them, but the garlic was a little strong, and I am sometimes sensitive to that, so stopped after a few bites. Delicious, though.
Dumplings! Both were great. Would order again, but also the gals told us to try the soup dumplings, so we'll definitely order those next time!
It was too much food for us, and we took home leftovers. So delish!
We weren't too stuffed, though, for the complimentary dessert! We were a bit confused by the black filling. The gals sharing the table seemed to be watching for our reaction, and let us know it was black sesame paste.
So yummy! Hints of sugar, and the top is covered in sesame seeds. Kind of like a mini jelly donut, heh. :D
We'll definitely be going back! It has been several hours now and my tummy feels totally fine, btw. :P
A great Shanghai style snack house. Great jiaozi and xiao long bao. We also got the XO beef chow fun (fancy name for "gon chao ngau hor" which Cantonese speakers will know). Even better, it came out to $10/person before tip.
As the newspaper clipping on our table said:
jiao zi you xin, jiao zi yong xin
(The dumplings have (are made with) heart,
The dumplings have (are made with) diligence)
Truer words were never spoken. Too bad it's so damn far from SoMa!
Next time I will try the onion pancake.
When my friends said to me, "Dumplings this weekend?" I almost did a cartwheel at the thought. I love dumplings. All kinds, but I especially love the ones with soupy broth at the center of them: Shanghai Dumplings!
So, then came the day. They picked me up and after 20mins of driving, It finally occurred to me that we were not going to eat in chinatown or even the outer richmond but the outer Sunset, where parking was ample and people were scarce. Except for inside this tiny little hole in the wall of a kingdom of dumplings.
After a 25min wait, we were seated in a small corner and wanted to order just about every variety of dumplings they offered, but we stuck to the basics: xiao long bao (shanghai dumplings), pan fried lamb and pork &chive dumplings, onion pancakes, and beef pancakes. Maybe not so basic, but Damn! They were good! Everything. Lamb dumplings are now officially my favorite. The option of pan-fry or steam is available, I'd stick with the pan-fry. Do try the beef pancake. I couldn't figure out what kind of meat was in there, but it didn't really matter while on the palate.
Half the fun of eating xiao long bao is the challenge of getting the dumpling dipped in the sauce and into your mouth before it bursts and the broth is wasted on your plate. Haa, it's so much fun!
The Outer Sunset will be seeing more of me!
The Dumpling Kingdom Dump!!!
Dumpling Heaven!
There are vegetable dishes too!
Cucumber Salad. Crunchy, Refreshingly Fantastic!!!
Steamed but not over cooked Buk Choy was great.
The Dumplings here are all good and fresh hand made.
But,......
My 1st favorite Dumpling is .......
The Shrimp Dumpling w/ green chives(12) 6.95
I really like the crunchy texture of fresh chives with juicy shrimp flavor inside of the nice chewy not too doughy dumpling. Awesome!
My 2nd Dumpling is, Pork Dumpling w/ Chinese spinach(12) 6.95
I could tell the Chinese spinach wasn't over cooked. juicy minced pork and fresh Chinese spinach. Great combo.
My 3rd, Pork Dumpling w/ green chives(12) 5.95
My 4th, Pork Dumpling w/ napa(12) 5.95
And,
there are another my favorites.
Grilled Lamb Skewed(4) -6.95
Green Chives Pancake(2) - 5.95
Onion Pancake - 3.95
Beef Pancake - 5.95
There was such a sweet waiter who got such a stinky fish breath.
Yes, there was.
But, he gave us great service and he was working really hard.
He had to go to a pizza place cross the street to get more chairs.
But, go get a mint or mouth wash, will you? Please?
The Dumpling Kingdom Dump!
A Great hole in the wall place.
Let's make a fun of COP (Chinese Old People), shall we?
NO! HELL NO!!! PLEASE DON'T.
If you would, you…
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Where have you been all my life?!?!?!
Started off with the sweet soy milk & fried chinese donut - took me back to breakfast in beijing and shanghai. The soy milk was nutty and warm and just really good.
Also had the Shanghai Soup Dumpling (aka xiao long bao) and pork and shrimp dumplings. The gold standard of a good xiao long bao is how much soup there is in the dumpling - you should be able to fill your soup spoon and slurp the yummy broth before eating the dumpling. Kingdom of Dumpling's xiao long bao passed the soup test with flying colors.
Homemade pork and shrimp dumplings were so good, you could tell that the wrapper was hand made and rolled out individually.
Bite after bite I loved my food. I ended up taking home as many frozen dumplings as I can carry and cram into my little freezer.
Did I mention...I ate all that food by myself? I rolled home. It's 10:36 pm and I'm resisting the urge to pop open my freezer and cook me some dumplings. Mmmm. It's that good.
Thanks to Ada and Sachin for introducing me to this place!
This used to be the home of David's Kitchen. The odd thing is on the outside restaurant front windows, they kept the menus and reviews of David's Kitchen. I think it's very misleading if you happen to be out there looking at the menu. Because you'd think you can order Asian curries and the likes when really it's mainly soup dumplings. Oh well.
What started as a somewhat negative beginning turned out to be a positive evening. Our tea was watered down and bland. I opened the teapot and saw a limp teabag inside. They reuse the same teabag for each visitor. We asked for a new teabag. The waiter just tossed a new teabag into the pot and added more hot water. This new teabag puffed up while soaking in the hot water and floated at the top of the water line. While the old teabag was flat and half drowning in the water. What can i say? Sometimes you just have to be Asian to understand this. Hahaha!
Stick with the dumplings. Just stick with the dumplings. I wanted beef chow fun. It wasn't good and it was $7 for a tiny dish. There was only a few small slivers of beef. Thumbs down.
You must must try the lamb dumplings. Oh yummy in my tummy. The prices for the dumplings weren't bad. Around $7.95 for 12. They have so many different kinds for you to choose from..
It's a tiny restaurant. I think there are about 10 (4 seat) tables inside. And people just kept coming in and waited for a table. Come early to avoid the dinner rush. There was only one waiter when I went. I'm not sure if there are more on other days and times of day.
I would come back here when I want to eat some somewhat cheap and yummy dumplings.
Cash preferred but accepts Visa and Mastercard.
This place is a real gem. It's literally a hole in the wall, very tiny with crappy chairs, dirty floors/walls, and scented with the aromas of a bathroom (according to my bf, not me) but the homemade dumplings are FREAKEN DELICIOUS. SERIOUSLY.
From favorite to least favorite...
Shanghai Soup Dumplings: The first one I had didn't have a lot of soup so I thought that this would be a FAIL in the making, but all the subsequent ones were full of juice and were explosions in my mouth - the indicator of good shanghai dumplings. Oh yeah, don't forget to dunk them into the soy sauce with ginger. Love the ginger slivers.
Chicken dumplings with napa: Totally looked homemade with tons of flavor. Popped them in my mouth like candy.
Green Chive Pancakes that were basically pita bread looking crispy pancakes STUFFED with chives, bits of glass noodles, meat and egg. hehe...heaven.
Pork & Shrimp Wonton with Wide Round Noodles. The wontons were my least favorite. I also wished the bok choy was cut into smaller pieces. I hate trying to bite into it and get green crap suck in my teeth. The broth tasted a little instant to me but my bf claims it's fresh and made with lotus root. *shrug* What do I know.
Probably the best dumpling place in town. It gets really crowded and the wait can be long. We went around 8:30 on a Saturday and were able to grab a seat really quickly. The owner is also very friendly and seems to really enjoy mingling with the diners. :)
This place is as good as it gets. Whenever I have visitors from out of town, Kingdom of Dumpling is one of the first places I'd recommend. Mom and pop, hole in the wall, but oh so tasty goodness. I come here quite regularly and buy their frozen dumplings to bring home. Come either earlier or later than peak meal times and you'll get seated right away. Come in with a mentality of patience, because the place is small and it's just a wife and husband team cooking and serving the food. Patience is key! You and your stummy will be greatly rewarded.
I love all dumplings, there is no discrimination here. But dumplings that I'd get each visit are:
Pork with corn
Lamb
Chicken with napa
good dumplings (altho im not a big fan, except for Shaghai dumplings) their shaghai dumplings are pretty good.. it is one of the best in sf. The other place i really like it the one in millbrae =D
the price is fairly cheap
I came here as part of my search for the ultimate Xiao Long Bao. In judging Xiao Long Boa, I typically consider the skin, the filling, and the soup. The ones here had excellent skin, of just the right thickness so as to be more than just the housing of the sumptuous center. Instead, the skin here provides a nice counterbalance to the soupy interiors. The filling is average and pales in comparison to the Shanghai Dumpling King. The flavors are uninspired and the filling is a little too soft. The soup is well executed and walks the fine line between being oily/thin and sweet/meaty.
In addition to the Xiao Long Bao, I had the Pork and Chives dumpling. Again, the dumpling skin really shines through at this restaurant. The Chives really stand out and make this dumpling taste as authentic as any dumpling I've had.
The restaurant is very small and the wait staff is reasonably nice. The owner is very enthusiastic--to the point of being slightly awkward. This may be somewhat lost in translation, but a large family was dining there when the owner noticed that one of the diners was taking photos of his food with a nice professional camera. The owner came out and awkwardly chatted him up, asking him about his camera. It got painfully awkward when the owner asked if he could take a picture of the family and if they wanted a picture with him. Surely a lot was lost in translation, but the diner awkwardly finished snapping his photos and waited patiently for his xiao long bao.
All in all, i liked this place.
better dumplings that shanghai dumpling king in mountain view - the bf and i agree, also in the city equals closer to home, so another plus. we tried the shanghai soup dumplings and the skin was okay (not thin like joe's but not thick like sdk in mountain view), and there was enough soup in them but not as much as we'd like (i know, we're picky now that we have everything to compare to joe's). 6 shanghai soup dumplings were about $6-$7 and 4 fried soup dumplings (they call them soup dumplings but there was no soup) $5-$6. total bill = under $14 including tip =)
oh we would've liked more meat too but all in all, tasty and a good light snack for the both of us meaning, we'll be back.
happy campers
My neighborhood dumpling place. It is tiny, but somehow you never have to wait very long for a table. Soup dumplings are great (be sure to let them cool a bit). The pork and shrimp with chives and the chicken and corn dumplings are my faves. Just remember that the dumplings are boiled and you really want the dipping sauce.
The won ton soup is the real surprise. The won ton rivals some of the best I have had. Service can be a little slow, so go over to the store on Noriega if you don't mind cooking yourself. Not much of store though - just freezers and tables in the back for the old ladies making dumplings. The dumplings are exactly the same - one time we waited for the owner to bring back some dumplings from the Noriega store to cook in the restaurant.
We just happened to drive around the neighborhood and we were looking for a place for us to munch on... of course I pulled out my nifty Yelp app to see what's hot around the area and this place came up #1. So we stopped by and this place is a hole in the wall. Seems to only seat 15 people. They have awesome dumplings tho! Yummy!
The soup dumplings are delicious and the soup oozes out once you bite into it. They also have freshly made dumplings and potstickers. You can really tell the difference between the skins. Sooo good! The green onion pancake is really good too!
The only downside is that the restaurant is super small and it's a pretty long wait if the first seating just sat down. So most of the time you'll have a wait unless you come late night.
I'd definitely come back here again. Esp. they had a breakfast menu that I wanted to try! :)
I'm ashamed to admit it, but, I have paid three visits to Kingdom of Dumpling last week.
Why?
Kingdom of Dumpling may quite possibly produce the best tasting xiao long baos in SF. The onion pancakes and pan fried dumplings are exceptional as well.
Note: Despite the fact that I absolutely ADORE the xiao long baos here, I only gave Kingdom of Dumpling 4-stars because I had Joe's... Joe's is REALLY, REALLY good.
I went to Kingdom of Dumpling last weekend with friends and we ordered a whole lot of food to share for brunch.
crispy lotus root - fresh, subtle nutty flavor
cucumbers - like how they were not cut with a knife but mashed up a bit
chinese donut - yum, but the sweet soy milk was a bit too watery
shanghai soup dumplings - my favorite
pork and chive, pork and shrimp, chicken and corn - awesome but I like the pork ones a bit more
meat sandwich with plum sauce - tasty, not sure if this was beef or pork
tofu noodles - nice texture but the flavor was a bit bland
The owner came out and gave us a creme brulee dessert, with the torching at the table and all.
Solid, home style cooking, but this is not high cuisine in anyway. A great place for brunch with a whole lot of Asian friends who love eating dumplings for breakfast!
I would have never discovered this place if my friend Natalie hadn't brought us there to eat. It is definitely a hole in the wall place but that is usually where they have the best stuff.
Xiao long bao is SO amazing here. It's comparable, if not better, to the ones I had at the Little Shanghai Restaurant.
The onion pancakes were SO good. Restaurants usually serve really thick onion pancakes - mainly just flour/dough. They would not have much flavor to it, be soggy or too burnt. But these... these were perfect. They were thin, crispy brown, and chewy. I wanted MORE!!!!
We also had the lamb skewers which you should all try. Very flavorful and not burnt unlike other places I've been to. The tofu noodles were very refreshing.
I really enjoyed my time here. I was getting pretty full but I just wanted to order more onion pancakes and xiao long baos and stuff my face!
The service wasn't too bad, though they did take forever to refill the teapot even though there were only one other table in such a small area. But besides that, I really enjoyed my time there. Very quiet and chill place to be with family or friends.
Until next time tasty dumplings.
I've been going through xiao long bao withdrawals, which was one of the reasons why we stopped by Kingdom of Dumpling a few days ago. It was already almost 2:30 by the time we got here..so we just wanted to snack before eating having a good carb filled dinner before drinks later that night. We finally decided on of course xiao long bao & an order of the shrimp & chive dumplings.
There were only 6 xiao long baos ($4.95) but they were yummy! The skins were in tact and the nice, hot juice oozed into my mouth. I enjoyed the shrimp & chive dumplings too as they were tasty, but of course the xlb is the winner! Thirteen dollars & change for our bill, not bad.
Tiny hole in the wall, with one waitress & owner helping out occasionally, so you may want to try take out. I also thought it was funny how they offer creme brulee for dessert, is that why someone also put Asian Fusion as the cuisine type? I was hoping for try those sugar puff thingies, but I don't think they had any that day. The menu is also kind of limited, but now I know one place in the city to get some JUICY xiao long baos!
kingdom of dumpling (i like that "dumpling" is singular, heh) is literally a hole in the wall - it's tiny, tiny, TINY. it's a bit cramped in there, but you really cannot go wrong with the food here. the dumplings are delish of course, but their soup noodles are yummy as well. i LOVE the pork and corn dumplings! service isn't all that great (but i wasn't expecting much anyway), but you can't go wrong with the price - $10 for dinner, including tax and tip!!
i used to live down the street from this place, and i used to always come in for frozen dumplings - they're $7 for about 2 dozen.
i miss living right next to kingdom of dumpling. it's good stuff.
After we ordered our food, our owner/waiter says, with a sly but friendly smirk, "OOhhhyouhavelotsoffoodverynice...doyouwanta7upsod abeerrrrr?"
After we're done with our meal, our owner/waiter says, with a sly but friendly smirk, "Didyouenjoyyourmeal...doyouwantsomecremebruleeeee ?"
The food is awesome. The restaurant is small. The service can be slow as there are not many staff on the restaurant floor and lots of hungry patrons waiting impatiently for their dumplings... but you're gonna wait because the food is worth waiting for.
Get their soup, shrimp & pork, lamb dumplings. Get them panfried - I think they taste better that way (you get less in your order but you get crispiness in exchange). Get their dry-fried string beans. Get their beef pancakes. Get there early to get some parking and a table.
Thanks to Ryry's friend for sharing this hidden gem with us =)
It's a hole in the wall. I counted, they only have 7 tables. 4 out of those 7 tables only seat 2. It can get crowded fast. The staff is very accommodating. But usually there's only one waitress or waiter and you need to flag them down. The owner will come by and see how you are doing. Nice personal touch. Not much ventilation in there, so it gets hot, hot, HAWT!
What started as a normal dinner quickly became a food challenge. Who could pound back more of these delicious mouth watering Shanghai soup dumplings? Me or Geoff? We had 4 orders of the soup dumplings (6 for about $6) and 1 order each of pork and shrimp dumplings, pork with napa dumplings and pork with corn dumplings (the best in my opinon). As newbies we also got an order of onion pancakes. It was good, but just got in the way of my dumplings. You can skip that. The soup dumplings come with the amazing vinegar ginger sauce. Might as well ask for extra sauce, I know you'll need it! The dumplings are homemade. Point, point, point!!
Challenge came to a tie. The dumplings are just too good to say no to. Careful not to put the whole thing in your mouth. They're hot!
At the end of your meal, if you haven't
A. Removed an article of clothing or
B. Stepped outside to cool off
you didn't do this place justice. Go back and eat more!
It's da Beef No' Guy again!
I had a craving for grea$y $alty and M$G filled Hong Kong style hole in the wall skanky but delicious low brow cafe food and the obligatory HK milk tea, but other plans got in the way for Saturday lunch, so the appetite went very far north instead.
Time was running short, and the standard tried and true Kingdom of Dumpling was within reach. Luckily we scored the last table in this hole in the wall joint.
Since my last visit, they've added a weekend brunchfast menu, and that is the typical Northern breakfast fare, e.g. soymilk (hot or cold) and I believe they have the salty version as well, yoh tieo (cruller/fried donut stick), siao bing (the sesame flatcake) amongst a few other things.
So some soymilk with ma dumplizzles sounded like a good idea.
However when David (of former David's Kitchen) came in with a new tray of freshly made Yumplings, we saw him take out a half gallon container of what appeared to be soymilk.....doh. So word to the wise, your soymilk fix may be DIY-able at home, and thus you may have to hit up some other Shanghainese joint to get the grounded from beans prep.
The brunchfast menu also included a cong you bao bing or green onion flat pancake. Now I have no idea how this is different from their "green onion pancake" but this was a very enjoyable toasty roasty piece (although not crispy). And as the kitchen is as small as a Chinese grandma's place, get your orders in all at once (otherwise you'll be in for a longer wait while your stomach growls for more).
Now as far as their noodle soup, we got the spinach and pork won tons (hint, actually pronounced huan duan, closer to Shanghainese style) with mushrooms and a wonderous natural tasting broth. And yes noodles instead of ho fun/rice noodles. While beef noodle soup here is still purty sexay (especially the tendons which most pho restaurants should try to emulate that texture and knifework), the won ton noodle soup is no slouch either.
I keep also forgetting how tasty KOD dumplings can be with only using decent black vinegar as a dipping sauce....
Cheap (but not fast), tasty, and good.
What mo' can a beef no' guy ask for?
Now what I don't get is why this place is good but reviews of their other noodle adventure or venture, King of Noodles, isn't as so...
Awww yeah you know you love da Beef No' Guy long long time!
UPDATE:
Finally tried beef tendon noodle soup here last Saturday lunch (yes after having Arby's for…
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My husband and I always pass by this place and see a line out the door, so we decided to visit them. The food and service didn't really impress us the first time we went, so we decided to go again with a group of friends, so we'd have more choices and feedback. I guess the second time around was a little better because the server was more attentive, but still, the dumplings didn't exactly blow me away. The reason why I said the server was more attentive the second time is because he was listening to his ipod when we dropped by the first time, so everytime we wanted to add to our order, we had to wave him down. (The place isn't big, so for him not to hear us, that's pretty bad). Honestly, the frozen dumplings I purchase from the Chinese supermarkets tastes just as good, but cheaper.
Kingdom of Dumpling
Your xiao long baos are really something.
So soupy and delicious
the long distance away from you is vicious.
For your delicious dumplings I yearn
which will always make me return
Worth a try, but I probably wouldn't come here over Shanghai Dumpling King mostly due to distance.… Read more »
This hole in the wall has the best dumplings in San Francisco.
Ok the bad stuff first. The place is a dive; it is stuffy, small and the seats are squished together. The layout of the seats are horrible and I've seen couples stuck behind a table in which they couldn't get out. Talk about claustrophobic. They have no ventilation to speak of so every bit of smoke and smell comes out of the kitchen directly to the dining room which btw is only separated by a curtain. Having said all that, this is a MUST VISIT for anyone who loves dumplings.
I've tried basically all their dumplings, and all are pretty good. I'm partial to the pork dumplings since I think they have the best meat to veggie balance. The pork dumplings with napa, green chive and celery are all excellent. I usually get 1 to 1.5 orders per person, so go with friends and grab 4 or 5 orders. The XLB is ok, but not as much soup filling as other places so I don't get it anymore. But for your first visit, go for it.
The appetizers are awesome, I recommend the farmer's cucumbers (marinated in a savory/sweet/vinegar sauce), the chicken wings and the cilantro bean thread. Last but not least I highly recommend the beef stew with noodles. The soup base is scrumptious.
I would stay away from the fried noodles and fried rice. They are ok but save your appetite and order more dumplings. The owner is super friendly and will sometimes throw in a free pastry dessert if he recognizes you or if you talk him up.
Yum Yum Yum!! This place has influenced me. I've never really been into Chinese food, including dumplings. But their dumplings are really really good.
Try the Shanghai Soup Dumplings, these are my favorite here. 6 pieces for about $4.95.
Chicken Dumpling with Chives is my second favorite. 12 pieces for about $6.45.
Also tried their tofu noodles; I didn't see it on the menu but my Chinese friend ordered it and they taste okay with hot sauce. It's the dumplings though that bring business.
However, this is not a fancy place, very small and not good for groups over 6 people. They need to make the inside of the restaurant more eye pleasing. The windows are dirty, and their signs are so old the tape to hold them up are yellowing with age. There's dust on the bottom of the windows. If you sit near the kitchen, it just steams out hot air so try not to sit in front of their kitchen door.
4 stars for the food, minus one star for the atmosphere.
Amazing pan fried soup dumplings. Other dumplings were also good. Plus, they believe in large pots of tea.... always good. I only wish it wasn't so warm inside. Still, so amazingly good.
It's a tiny restaurant. The service was a little alarming. Before my friend and I could place our order, our server had basically decided what we wanted to eat. I felt like I was talking to a car salesman.
Firmly, we placed our order.
My friend loves this place. I, on the other hand, was pretty underwhelmed. We got the chicken & corn dumpling, which was tasty enough. The other dumpling we got was the vegetarian pot stickers...but it was AWFUL. I have no idea what kind of vegetables were in it but it was pretty bad.
based on other people's reviews, perhaps we didn't order the right dishes.
The ambiance of the restaurant was really nice and homey. To be honest, I wouldn't go again. I guess I missed out on the hype by not ordering the right thing. Oh well.
"Hi Mr. Li!!!"
"Hello my friend!!"* hug*
We really feel like we've come over to our uncle's home (and we're not even Chinese).
"1 order soup dumpling, 1 beef pancake, chicken and corn dumplings, and green beans." and then he adds something like he did 2 weeks ago, "how about some cucumber"
and just like he is our uncle, we can never say NO. The whole time I slurped on the cucumbers, "oh my gaaahh. dude. soooo good"
you can imagine what we've said the 50 times we've already been there ordering pretty much the same menu.
Bow down, as Mr. Li is the King of dumplings. San Francisco's finest. If you know what the L Taraval is, you are worthy of taking a seat in this castle.
YUM!
While this place is tiny and seems a bit dirty, the dumplings are worth the grime! We got the Shanghai soup dumplings, Shanghai pan fried dumplings, pork wanton and noodle soup, onion pancakes, and pork dumplings with spinach. The dumplings and soup really hit the spot on a chilly and windy SF afternoon. The soup dumpling breaks delicately and your taste buds are treated to an implosion of savory liquid. The pan fried dumplings are also delicious - though they are more dough-y in texture.
My friends were craving some soup dumplings, so they found this place.
This place is a hole-in-the wall along Taraval and pretty small, but we enjoyed ourselves here. We ordered shanghai soup dumplings, pan fried soup dumplings, green chives pancakes, and beef chow fun (this was especially yummy). Overall, the food was very satisfying and pretty cheap too!
The service isn't exactly super friendly, but very good. We ordered some shanghai donuts last minute, and they ended up giving it to us on-the-house. Woo-hoo!
When am I going to learn to NOT listen to the hype?
Every-time I do, I am SO let down. If I hadn't listened to the hype I would have come here on my own not expected the world and then probably would have enjoyed myself so much more and then given this place a better Yelp review because I would have liked it alot more.
But I came with the preconceived notion that the dumplings were the best I was ever going to have. And they were definitely not, sad to say.
First off this is a cute little hole in the wall and it's two blocks from my house. For that reason alone, you know I'll be back, despite this first let down.
But anyway, back to the broken heart I'm suffering. The dumplings! The dumplings, this is a dumpling house after all, right? Sorry, there was barely any flavor in them. And the little "squirt" dumplings are known for? Barely any in these. And the different kinds: pork, beef and the other ones- they tasted the same. I mean, a dumpling is a dumpling, we still ate them all, but to be honest, the mass produced, overpriced ones at Yank Sing tasted better.
The beef onion pancake, was what I imagine this restaurant sees as their answer to a quesadilla, in that it's flat, stuffed with meet and something holding it together, (couldn't decipher it) and it's cut like a quesadilla if that helps you envision it visually. But either way, it tasted good.
Pot stickers, were perfectly cooked crispy on the outside and warm on the inside.
Chow fun was delicious.
Service was pretty attentive once you got the girl's attention. With only 7 tables in there ( yes I counted) they only had 1 server and she seemed to be flustered, maybe everyone sat and ordered at the same time and it was getting to her. But either way, though the wait between dishes was a bit long, once you got her attention she was great.
Would I come back? Yes. Would I come back soley again for the dumplings? No way. I would come back though because I was too lazy to drive anywhere else, and because I was crazing greasy Chinese good, and because I'm not a huge crazy dumpling fan and can live with or without these anyway and eat something else on the menu that is better.
It's just sad when you advertise a "KINGDOM" of anything and that one specialty you have, it's just not so good.
Again, had not ever heard of the place this review would have gotten a star and a half more. And yes I'll be back because the food is decent and pretty good, and it's close to home. But again, I was so jaded by my preconceived notions I could only get let down by this review. So I ask those reading it to please when you dine somewhere or go see or meet someone, even if you have a preconceived notion of the place or person, which most of the time you can't avoid, as everyone does this, and we all judge others without the facts, can you please try and at least try to keep yourself on track to remaining impartial? If I had done this, maybe I wouldn't be so unhappy with my meal now, even though the rest of the food after the first dish was really really good.
"Yoo rike-a crem bru-ray????"
Gotta love these last words uttered from the mouth of the used car salesman-like owner who knows all too well how good the food is at his establishment. For a place with such phenomenal and authentic fare, why the frack would you serve creme brulee?
Anyhoo, the soup dumplings are to die for. Big, soupy, hot and addictive. These are a must-have. I also recommend the following:
more soup dumplings
tofu noodles
cucumber salad
scallion pancake
veggie dumplings
more soup dumplings
The place is a total craphole so don't expect anything better than a dingy, carpeted shoebox that probably has a health code rating in the negatives. But don't let that prevent you from savoring all they have to offer. It's tiny and cramped and the setup is really weird and uncomfortable.
I sat wedged between the wall and the door that opened inwards, so I played doorman throughout our entire meal. "Welcome, many happiness..." "Thank you, come again....."
Alas, we didn't get any kind of discount, let alone a thank you, for my services.
Prix-Fixe Dinner
Neighborhood: Financial District
OPEN on Thanksgiving Day
Neighborhood: Mission
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Ethnic Food
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Parkside
Category: Seafood
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