I thought that the XLBs at Dough Zone were just OK. I figured that these wouldn't make the cut the moment I tried to pick one up. An authentic XLB should be lifted off the paper with utmost care, since the wrapper would otherwise rip. However, Dough Zone's managed to come off the paper way too easily, signaling that either: 1) the piece of meat is too small, 2) there isn't enough soup, or 3) the wrapper is too thick. In this case, it was all of the above. Next, upon first bite, the soup should still be so piping hot that you'd likely need to blow several times before slurping it up. The steam coming off the soup should be visible, but this wasn't the case. Finally, after gulping the soup, your palette should be coated with a savory pork-y aroma that is quite distinct to XLBs. However, I thought the flavor was a bit bland. It needed some help from the dipping vinegar to have a bit of a punch. read more

Highly recommend to put your name down on the waitlist through Yelp. Make sure you are around the area and be at the restaurant as recommended time through the alert message because they will remove your name in five minutes if you don't show up on time. We ordered sweet & sour cucumber, braised tofu, pan-fried Berkshire-Duroc pork buns, fried wonton with spicy garlic sauce, cold noodle with Szechuan sauce, kale salad in sesame dressing, and non-spicy beef pancake roll. Personally, I love the cucumber, cold noodle, and their fried wontons. I visited during hot summer days so some of the dishes were refreshing. They were fast with their orders and the servers constantly check on us to make sure we got everything we needed. The sauce on top of the cucumber was sweet and spicy, which makes it so addicting. I wish the braised tofu had more flavor. I was not amazed by the pan-fried pork buns as I wish more of the edges were fried and add more texture to the dish. The fried wontons had chicken and veggie filling which each bite was juicy and flavorful. The cold noodle with Szechuan sauce was so good that we ordered another one to share. The sesame dressing in the kale salad was amazing but I wish there were more texture to the kale salad. The beef in the pancake roll was too dry for me, which almost tasted like beef jerky texture. Overall, I had a wonderful experience with their dishes. Personally, I think they serve one of the best dumplings/wontons in the area and would love to come back! read more

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Strolled from downtown Seattle and made our way to the International district (kind of far) so of course we arrived hungry. Fortunately we also arrived in the mid-afternoon to no line! After seeing pictures on Yelp of what the line "could be", we were so glad to try it out without having to wait. My kids first time eating XLB - they really enjoyed it! I was surprised because they don't typically eat dumplings. My advice is to stick with the XLBs though. Our other dumplings and our beef noodle soup were meh (especially the beef noodle soup - super plain - don't order it!). Service was friendly and fast. I'm not sure if it's the same during rush hour. Worth a try if you're in the area! read more

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Good dim sum. Clean restaurant. Good service. Highly recommend. Reasonably priced. Parking may be challenging.

One of my go-tos for takeout when I'm craving xiao long bao. My usual is the pork and shrimp soup dumplings and an order of dandan noodles. They usually take a while with my takeout orders because they're consistently pretty busy. Also, as a tip, you can order takeout online on their web site. I like ordering takeout online so I can time my arrival appropriately and not wait too long or keep my food waiting too long. I've only dined in once. It was alright. They were busy, we didn't wait too long, but we were seated in a corner where it was hard to get servers' attention. The food is always top quality and there's something addicting about their dandan noodles. I get food from here maybe once a month and don't see myself stopping any time soon. read more

Decent place to get some traditional dumplings and buns. Prices overall are slightly cheaper than what one would expect from a Din Tai Fung. I tried their beef noodle soup which wasn't the red smoky broth flavor and more clear beef broth. The noodles were pretty tasty. Beef chunks were acceptable. Random tofu slices were served. This was not exactly what I was craving for in terms of a beef noodle soup so may not order this one again. I have had better ones elsewhere. Cucumber salad was decent, interesting way of slicing it. That's probably how they get away with charging a premium because you need mad skills to slice like that. Flavoring was okay. DTF I think tasted better. XLB was okay, skin was thicker than expected. Best XLBs are still going to be outside the US. No one seems to be able to master the thinness of a wrapping here. no one! Tried the beef pancake roll and it was okay. They used smoked/sausage type of meat instead of the typical beef shank slices. The pancake roll was pretty tasty. Wished they served it with proper traditional beef shank slices and it would have been golden. I tried the potsticks, it was okay, nothing too spectacular to brag about. All in all, it was an acceptable place for buns and dumplings. Cheaper than DTF. But if you want the best buns and dumplings, it won't be here. It's just alright in my books. read more

Flew in and out of Seattle the same day to grab my passport from the agency up the street. I had a few hours to kill and found Dough Zone opened at 11 AM so there was no line on this Tuesday morning. The place was very clean and modern inside with plenty of windows and natural light for a meal. Also, it is located across the street from the International District Light Rail station. Ordered the shrimp and crab XLB and shrimp and pork pan fried pot stickers. Everything came out quickly and was very fresh and hot. The crispy bottom to the pot stickers made for a nice blending of textures with each bite. The service was attentive and friendly with three different people helping me at anytime. The price was about average for dumplings. When I left around 12:30 there were about 15 people waiting to get in. I left very satisfied and would definitely recommend this place. Looking forward to trying Dough Zone in the Bay Area soon! read more

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This was our first meal in Seattle when we arrived on vacation at the end of last month (in the middle of the heat wave!) and it was a banger! I'm always on the lookout for great xiao long bao (soup dumpling) experiences stateside, and Dough Zone did not disappoint in the least. My fiance and I split the sweet and sour cucumber, the pork xlb, the pork and shrimp boiled dumplings, the pan-fried pork buns, the beef pancake roll, and the mango pancake for dessert. I loved the look of all the dishes -- the plating and cut of the sweet and sour cucumber really added to the refreshing taste; it was sweeter than I usually expect from cucumber salad, but I enjoyed it a lot! All the buns and dumplings we tried had great soupy and flavorful filling; I really loved that the filling was also less a meatball and more loosely packed. It felt a lot fresher that way, and the mouthfeel was really amazing. Especially loved the pan-fried pork buns, with their crispy bottoms and fluffy exteriors and delicious filling. The beef pancake roll was a bit dry, but the meat stuffed inside was deliciously marinated. And the mango pancake was a nice light dessert even if the portion size was a bit small. All in all, really enjoyed my experience here and would love to see an expansion down south some day! read more

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Feeling hungry after a Sounders game Sunday night, my BF and I stopped at Dough Zone for quick meal. Pro Tip: Be sure to add your name to the waitlist on yelp!! I added our names to the list as soon as we left the stadium and a table was ready right when we got to the restaurant. I saw a bunch of other Sounders fans waiting for a table, so I highly suggest adding your names to the before you get there. Even with only an hour until closing, Dough Zone was poppin. Service was very quick and we received all of our orders within 5 minutes. Dan Dan Noodles: Noodles were very soft and creamy. I was a HUGE fan. Szechuan flavors were just right. Not overly spicy and not too light. It was a good size bowl to share for $5.50. Pork and Shrimp Potstickers: Crispy on the outside, hot and juicy on the inside. These potstickers were absolutely perfect in texture, but could use more spice and flavor on the inside. Q-Bao: THESE WERE AMAZING. Think Filipino Siopao meets soup dumplings. The outside was thick and pan-fried on the bottom. As soon as you bite in, juices from the meat spill out and line the inside of the bao. Meat is very hot and tender on the inside. These buns were an experience to eat! Overall, Dough Zone is a great place for quick Dim Sum. Unfortunately, they ran out of Soup Dumplings that night. Will definitely come back to try what Dough Zone is famous for! read more

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Great and lively place for dumpling! The atmosphere is upbeat and welcoming. This place can get busy but the wait is not that bad. The customer service was great. The servers were friendly and attentive. We came here to snack on dumplings and were pleasantly satisfied. The dumplings and other dishes came out fast and fresh! We had the beef pancake roll. The flavor was good but it was a bit dry. I feel like it needed a dipping sauce. We had the pork and crab soup dumplings which we love. The burst of flavorful soup was perfect. We had the pork and shrimp dumpling. I love the crispy starch at the bottom of the potstickers - it gave a nice crispy texture. The pork wonton with chili oil was ok. It could used a bit more seasoning. The pan fired pork plains were decent. It crispy bottom made the dish. We also had the vegetarian Dan Dan noodles which I didn't care much for. Overall, I am glad we dine here. It was a great experience! read more

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Great food! Definitely rivals Din Tai Fung if not even better! I will for sure be back!

I made my way to Dough Zone fully intent on some extraordinary soup dumplings. Let's just say my mile walk through some shady parts of town wasn't worth it. It's near the baseball stadium, so I got an opportunity to see that area, but otherwise I left feeling underwhelmed. Blah in taste, not hot liquid pouring out and the overall flavor was just okay. It's probably because I've had amazing ones in Chinatown in NY and theirs no substitute. The pan fried pork buns were nothing exciting either. Long wait for mediocre food. read more

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Deff left with a full happy belly Fast service super nice and professional Place is never empty read more

food comes out fast and hot. i've never had a bad meal here. try their soup dumplings and the sweet and sour cucumber!! read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Beef Pot Stickers - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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The best chicken soup dumplings in Chinatown district. Spacious space but parking can be a little hard on the weekend .

I don't recall what we had as I left everything up to my niece and nephew whom we were visiting from Detroit. They ordered a lox of several dumplings and I requested the pan fried specifically. We totally pigged out and enjoyed and for a feast like this I was impressed we got out for like $130 for all 4 of us with eating enough for 8. read more

I was a little disappointed when they told us they sold out of their Q-baos and Pork Xiao Long Baos. Those are supposed to be their signature dishes so I'm not sure how they could let this happen! Other than that, it was a pretty good experience. I would highly recommend the Dan Dan Noodles. It contains the Szechuan numbing spice but it wasn't too strong and was very enjoyable. The Spicy Beef Pancake Roll was mediocre and on the salty side but I really enjoyed the crispy pancake they used to wrap it. Would definitely recommend Dough Zone! read more

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I've always wanted to visit this location and I finally did just this afternoon! We were automatically seated, I love the interior, very warm, cozy and kid friendly. Our seats were not bad, could've been better but we made do and everything ended up alright. We ordered the Ma La Noodles, very oily but yummy, the Chicken Dumpling Potstickers which were so delicious, the sauce it comes with is simply out of this world. My friend also got the pork potstickers he liked them a lot. Their dumplings are so much cheaper than Ding Tai Fung!! Service was amazing, our food did not take that long to come and we loved everything about Dough Zone, will definitely come back again! read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Ma La Noodles - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Half the price and tastes just as good if not better than Din Tai Fung! We got a bunch of stuff but heres our favorite to least: - Xiao long bao - G Bun? (Which ever says must try on menu) - Pork wontons in spicy chili oil - Shrimp and pork wontons - Beef pancake roll - Pan fried veggie dumpling - Brocoli read more

This is the third Dough Zone I have been to, and I am starting to notice some differences between the locations. Overall, it is my least favorite of the locations, but even still, the service and efficiency was great! The main difference, and why I didn't give this location five stars, is that the food was much less flavorful than I've had at any of their other locations. It seemed as though ingredients were left out, and things were not prepared with as much attention to detail. The cucumber was sliced into bigger chunks and was covered in oil, but lacked any of the sweet and sour flavor. Usually it tastes like it was marinated in the sauce, but this time it was a sliced cucumber in a bed of oil. The cold Szechuan noodles I always get, were also more oil than spicy delicious sauce. I got to try the onion noodles for the first time, so I have nothing to compare them to, and the flavor was really good, but quite salty. That may be normal, and so people love salty, but my sodium swollen face and I don't get along with salt, and that's unfortunately a Me issue. That being said, some of my favorite restaurants have had off days, and I don't want to make a complete judgement off of one experience. read more

Delicious XLB dumplings and Shanghai noodles in Chinatown Seattle....another Yelp find. The XLB Dumplings came out super quick, $11.95 per order, super juicy and delicious. I should have ordered two order for my son and I! Loved their Dan Dan Mein, noodles with ground pork and beef noodles with soup. The prices were $4.25+ but the bowls were smaller. Order a few of every noodle dish if you're hungry! My son and I: 1 order or XLB, 2 Dan Dan Meins, 1 Beef Noodle Soup, 1 Noodles with Ground Pork. Yikes! Super affordable though at like $37. :) read more

The Dough Zone is okay, just not great. It wouldn't be my first choice for XLB either. But if I was in a pinch, I'd come here. I'm pretty sure there was a mix up with the dumplings we ordered. I ordered ONE pork and ONE pork with crab and I believe I received TWO pork with crab. I kept asking the servers and they just disagreed. So not exactly sure which was what because they tasted the same. FOOD: Sweet & Sour Cucumber ($3.95) - they were good, just wished they were cut all the way through. It was be a lot easier to eat with a group. Pork Wonton in Chili Sauce ($4.75) - these are mini bite sized wontons. Shrimp & Pork Dumplings ($8.75) - they still had the tails on them. PARKING: there is a metered parking lot in the back by the market or there is street parking around the block which can be difficult at times. NOTE: be sure to join the waitlist via Yelp! This can save you time on getting a table as they get PRETTY busy especially at dinner time. read more

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A good staple for some noodles and baos. Menu is self-check list style, service was good but a bit slow on a Friday night. Make sure to use the Yelp waitlist to save time! Xiao long bao - tasted good, make sure to add vinegar Beef noodles - the broth is a clear broth, not the spicy kind (just be aware) Pork (fried) dumplings - loved the crispy skin read more

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Wow, wow!! That's a well-suited way to describe this dumpling experience! It was delicious from start to finish. I like the ordering process. They provide a menu with pictures of the food and the customer picks out their choices on a double-sided order form. Quick and easy. The food starts coming to your table rather quickly and the joy ride begins! All of the food was good!! Food highlights: the marinated cucumbers, zucchini and shrimp dumplings, spicy chicken dumplings and the hot and sour noodles. High praise for the chicken soup dumplings as well! The service was efficient and the entire meal was fabulous! Any chance of having homemade dumplings is a win, but this went beyond even those expectations! I wish I could do it all over again! But, that will have to wait until the next time I am in Seattle! read more

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This restaurant is often likened to Din Tai Fung, but cheaper! Get your XLB, noodle, wonton, and dumpling fix here. It's located in China Town, but still rather done up for the area. I was actually pleased by the Pork XLB (10 for $11.25); they were doughy, stayed put together, and possessed ample savory soupyness. Perhaps they could have been hotter; my only small gripe. The Minced Pork ($5.25) and Pork Wonton with Hot and Spicy Sauce ($4.25), on the other hand, were a little too oily. The noodles in the minced pork were otherwise very fragrant. The wontons in the spicy 'sauce' were of a decent size and had a tight wrapping. But, WHY did I receive a hot and spicy SOUP!? I was expecting a SAUCE -- as it was clearly depicted in the menu -- and NOT a soup for my wontons to be drowned illegally in. An AWFUL amount of oil in this dish and it was far and away unappreciated. We were seated at the 'bar' which really was just a long communal table. I appreciated the baskets under these high chairs to hold your belongings. Also, I liked the 'Live Wait Time' feature presented on Yelp. Did NOT like the bathrooms -- they give you this long 6 digit code that is hard to remember, then the bathroom stall doors don't even close, or if they did, would bang open when neighboring doors were shook closed. read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Pork Wonton inside hot and sour sauce - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Nice & friendly staff - Great service, and amazing food. The soup dumplings, both the pork and seafood were fire! Also tried their DanDan noodles, you would love it, has just the right amount of seasoning Sichuan heat and nutty & firm noodles. Yum. Also tried the Kale Salad, not a fan of kale but loved this salad! It had a miso garlic peanut dressing that is bomb. Try a bit of everything.. way better than Din Tai Fung. Prices are affordable and the food is amazing. read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Soup dumplings, yum. - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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TLDR; great Chinese food for a good price. There's a wide variety of noodle and dumpling dishes. I thought the XLBs were comparable to Din Tai Fung. I was pretty skeptical about eating here because I thought the food would be mediocre. Glad I was proven wrong though! From what I can tell there's only metered street parking around the area. We got lucky and snagged a spot right outside the restaurant. There's a live Yelp waitlist, which we didn't know about, but luckily, we only had to wait about 20 minutes. When we came back to be seated, there were tons of groups waiting outside the restaurant. We decided to do family style and split everything. The workers drop off a pencil and an ordering sheet and you just mark down what dishes you want and the quantities. We felt like the prices were cheap enough to order a bunch of different dishes for the 4 of us. A choy w/ sesame dressing: A choy is such a traditional Taiwanese appetizer. When I ordered it, I was expecting it to come out cooked a different way so I was a little disappointed. But it was still good. A choy has such a specific flavor...I can't really describe it but it went well with the sesame dressing. Beef pancake roll: I was kind of disappointed with this. I'm not sure what kind of dressing they used in the roll but it's not what I'm used to. But I did like how crispy the pancake part was. Comes cut in half. Pork and shrimp potstickers: Pretty standard. Nothing bad but nothing amazing about it. Comes with 6 pieces. Pork Xiao Long Bao: These were pretty good! The dough wasn't too thick and each piece had a good amount of soup in it. Wish we got one more order of these. Comes with 10 pieces. Q-BAO: The difference between this and potstickers is the dough that they use. Potstickers have thinner wrappers and the Q-BAO is more of a steamed bread...like the BBQ Pork Buns at dim sum. Pretty good, the dough is pretty thick so it filled us up. They made these so perfectly round too! Comes with 5 pieces. Beef-Stew Noodle: My guess is this is supposed to be like a Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup but without the soup part. Which worked for us...it made it easier to share. It was so cheap but the portion was small and we were debating if we should get one more order of it. Noodles had a good chewy consistency and the beef was tender. If you're looking for something cheaper than Din Tai Fung, I would recommend coming here. But use Yelp's live waitlist to avoid the wait! read more

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Good alternative to Din Tai Fung. Tasty dumplings, portions seem decent and certainly tasty. Green onion pancake was a little greasy though so would suggest a bao instead. Good service and atmosphere. read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Beef stew noodle, pork and crab dumplings and green onion pancake - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The dumplings were okay, this was my first time here and the staff weren't the friendliest. I felt forced to order quickly and I wasnt able to order the soup dumplings. My favorite thing that we did order was the spicy soup wontons. read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I will forever recommend this place over DTF. This dumpling house has so much to offer. Even though I am not well-versed in dumplings, I was not intimidated by the menu, and felt comfortable ordering whatever I wanted. This is a great place for sharing or when you just can't decide. Between my 2 friends and myself, here's what I would recommend based off the 12 dishes we ordered: q-bao (soft in texture buns with the most delicious pork filling), the sweet & sour cucumbers (fresh, crisp, and a great palette cleanser between bites), and those dan dan noodles (should be renamed to damn damn noodles, because they're damn good). Chow down, and cheers! read more

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This is the best dumpling place I've ever been to. The staff are extremely friendly, so service is great. We used Waitlist to get in line for our table and were seated within 45 minutes. The food there was excellent. They hand you a paper like in Dim Sum restaurants, but when you hand it in, that's your dinner order. (Of course you can add on if you want more). The soup dumplings were delicious, I loved the pan fried dumplings (shown below - it's their special), but the chili oil wontons were my favorite! They came soaked in a spicy, slightly sweet sauce. I'd highly, highly recommend going! read more

Dough Zone Dumpling House - Seattle ID - Fried Pork Dumplings - Shanghainese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Tan tan noodles were so salty it was inedible. Order two dumplings- such small portions it was a joke! Would not recommend

Hit up this place on our first night visiting Seattle and we loved it, We got the pork xiao long bao, q-bao pan fried pork buns, Pork and Shrimp Pot Stickers, Sweet & sour cucumber, A-choy with sesame dressing and for dessert the Mango Pancake and Banana Naan bread It was busy but staff was so kind and quick!!! read more

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Dough Zone in SoDo near Lumen field is a great experience before or after a game. Their items are freshly made, come out fast and piping hot and taste delicious! Use their online waitlist to time it just right and avoid the wait. We always come here, and highly recommend! read more

First off, join the waitlist at least 15-20 min prior to you getting there. The line is out the door and the place does not have a lot of seating. The food here is delicious!! There are so many different options to suit anyone's liking. My sisters and I had so much and we loved it all! Shrimp & pork dumplings, chicken potstickers, noodles, wonton soup, congee, pork dumplings with chili sauce! We ordered two of each because we loved it so much. The wait time for the place is long but it is definitely worth the wait! The food comes out really fast anyway. I highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Seattle! read more

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Service at Dough Zone by Lumen was terrible. Really long wait. Then wait for food unsatisfactory.

Recommend making reservations on online so you don't have to wait as long... parking can be a pain in international district. Unfortunately we came when most of the their menu items had already sold out. However, everything came extremely quickly and piping hot. For the price and taste, totally worth it. Recommend their soup and steamed dumplings, Q-Bao, Dan Dan noodle, pan fried chive dumplings, and marinated pig ear. Wouldn't order hot and sour clear noodle again. Wasn't expecting it to be bland and oily. read more

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(Vegetarian review) 5 stars just for the vegetarian Dan Dan noodles. I've been thinking about those a few days later. The schezuan spice and the amount of dryness/gravy made it just perfect. The only complaint was the portion for it was criminally small. A few mouthfuls at best, so we had to go for a second round. We tried the ma la noodles too, which were similar but more soupy like pho. No comparison with the dan dan noodles though. The vegetarian dumplings were alright, the noodles overshadowed them so I don't even properly remember how they were, they didn't blow me away. read more

First time trying dumplings like this and it's was amazing! I'm absolutely obsessed! I loved the texture of the noodles and my absolute favorite was the chicken dumplings! I can't wait to come back with my boyfriend. All the employees were really nice and our food came really fast. read more

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Dim sum style dumplings. Passive aggressive servers that ignore you and glare at you while you eat. Food was delicious. As long as you don't have any misconceptions of having servers smile at you and check in on you, you will have a wonderful experience. We used the waitlist and then waited an additional 30 minutes to be seated. I understand it is difficult to time how long people take to dine and that we are only on 50% capacity. Wasn't upset by it. I get it. The waiting area was HOT. So when I had my temp checked, I was too warm. So I had to go outside to cool off for 5 min. Temp rechecked,we were seated quickly. The food. Worth the hassle and wait. Get their Q Bao. Perfect pillows of steamed buns that were crispy on the bottom. The pan fried dumplings were perfectly fried. Crispy on the bottom but tender on top. XLB had nice skins that held the broth and meat in a perfect bundle. My fav was the scallion pancake!!! Flaky tender and crisp without being greasy. So so delicious. I could have just eaten that all night. For dessert, the banana naan bread. It was probably the only thing that wasn't stellar. read more

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