A cute dumpling shop around the corner from UC Berkeley. I came here when they opened at 11am and there were only 2 other parties. We were all seated very quickly and had our orders taken in less than 5 minutes. The food arrived piping hot. There were 3 sauces to choose from: - soy sauce - chili oil - vinegar sauce (my favorite) There were several items that weren't available but everything else was amazing. Except the spicy chili wontons didn't hit the same as the ones from DTF. The shumai were HUGE. I definitely think you get your moneys worth here. I had 4 different dumplings for only $40! This was enough to share with my brother and we were full and satisfied by the end. The servers were fast and friendly. I will definitely come back here if I'm in the area. Tip* Poke the dumplings with your chopsticks to let the hot liquid/oil drain onto your soup spoon. These dumplings are HOT and loaded. This method will prevent hot liquid squirting on your face and will allow it to cool down enough to eat without burning your mouth. read more

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Dumpling Kitchen is a fantastic casual dumpling spot that neighbors the local university. I have been twice so far - once they took credit card and once it was cash/debit only. Further, once I ordered via QR code and once they took our order in person - so the inconsistency was weird and surprising. I usually slide in when I'm craving fresh XLBs or panfried dumplings. These are my auto go-tos when ordering here. They are reliably tasty and do in a pinch. Are they the best ever dumplings I've ever had? No but they hold their own and are fairly affordable for the area. Specifically, the XLBs are able to produce just over 3/4 of a soup spoons worth of soup which is commendable. Anyway, definitely recommend for your future quick dumpling cravings read more

I was out on vacation out in SF and our party wanted a lite dinner. Yelp search led me here and when we arrived and saw all the college students in the area, I was worried we were going to have a bad meal. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the food. Every item we ordered was tasty and came quickly to the table. The clear winner was the hot and soup. I have to say might of been the best one I ever had. Perfect balance of spicy and sour, hit all the taste buds! The eggplant in garlic sauce was also mighty tasty. Perfectly stir fry with enough wok hey and not greasy. I ordered the pan fry buns and they were so good. Juicy inside and crispy outside.....so yummy. Only down side was parking was rough. Way too many cars double parked to pick up food. read more

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My friends and I decided to try this place. One of my friends loves their SF location so we decided to try this one for now since it is close-by to us. There is not much parking on the street, but there is a parking garage a block down which is convenient and well-priced. Upon arrival, our group of 6 was seated immediately. Luckily, we came around the time it opened so there wasn't many people in the restaurant. The restaurant itself is very small. I was expecting it to be a bit bigger. However, it does make sense since it is Berkeley. What we got: - Shanghai-Style Steamed Pork Dumplings (8pcs)- $9.45 - 3/5- These were their Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings). It was pretty good. It was not the worst, but also not the best I have had. It is good enough if you are in Berkeley craving some soup dumplings. Their soup dumplings had a decent amount of soup, but I do wish they were a little juicier. - Shanghai-Style Pan-Fried Pork Buns (4pcs)- $7.45- 3/5- Our group ordered this twice. We did not know what else to get so we just went with the one dish we felt was good. The soup was good, but there was a very small amount of meat inside of the pork buns. I liked how crispy the dough was, but I just wish there was more meat. However, I do think they are more of soup dumplings than pork buns. - Egg Yolk Baos (3pcs)- $5.95- 3/5- I feel like they misnamed this, I am not sure, but we saw that there was a salted egg yolk custard bao and decided to give it a try. There was a lot of dough compared to other egg yolk baos that I had. It was not as fluffy as I thought. The consistency of the custard felt like melted butter. I am not sure if that was their intention, but it just felt like that. - Vegetarian Chow Mein- $10.80- 1/5- Got this for our friend who is a vegetarian. We tried it and we all thought it was bland. There was just no flavor to it. The noodles just tasted like it had some oil on it and that was it. We tried adding some more soy sauce and chili oil, but it was just not helping. Would not get this again. This was probably the worst thing that we got. - Sweet Vinegar Spare Ribs- $12.80- 2/5- The sweet vinegar just did not taste good with the spare ribs. The spare ribs itself were cooked well, but the sauce was not for me. Overall, it is a good dumpling place for a college town. I think it is a good place for college students to eat at. I do not think that I will be coming back and will most likely give their SF location a try. read more

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We were in the mood for dumplings and were in the area, and since I had this bookmarked, thought we'd give it a try. Hubby and I arrived Wednesday 5:30pm. Since it was on the early side, there was one other customer dining in, but there seems to be quite a few take out orders being bagged. We ordered fried rice and XLB to share. The dumplings were on the bigger side. We love the soup in them and the meat wasn't fatty. Vinegar always compliments these steamed buns. The fried rice was really flavorful too. Generous portions. Friendly service. Note- we sat in the dining room but it was near the entrance. Since the door is left open, there were a some little flying bugs that was buzzing around. Sadly, one landed in the vinegar dish but thank goodness we were already done. read more

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I don't think I've ever felt like i've overpaid for something as much as I have here. Granted, the total meal was not a lot but principle-wise, it was a rip off. I will caveat that I think I ordered the wrong items so read this to know what NOT to order or you're basically throwing money in a trash can. Everyone was raving about their dumplings on Yelp but I wasn't craving dumplings. My theory was "well everyone here seems to have good things to say about it so that must mean everything can be trusted". W R O N G. I ordered the beef roll pancake ($7.45) and if you look at the picture, you quickly see many things wrong. (1) Meat was insanely thin (2) They gave me exactly 4 meager of meat, and so I basically paid $7 for a green onion pancake that was questionably homemade. You could buy a pack of 5 frozen green onion pancakes and STILL have spare change. All they did was give scraps (?) of BBQ pork, slap on some extra BBQ sauce on the green onion pancake (which i will say was good but not $7.45 pancake good), and then plopped it in a takeout container. The green onion pancake was thick and flakey but again, NOT worth the cost (and not to mention I waited 30 min for this). Next tragic item I ordered was the egg yolk buns. As a fellow person from HK, I can spot an egg yolk bun from its first bite. And this. is. not. it. fam. At best, this was a hybrid of an egg yolk bun and a custard bun. The egg yolk did not ooze. It barely tasted egg yolk-like. Like what am I eating that cost $6? I do not know. P.S. I will say, this place was crowded and understandably so as they do have great deals for their lunch menu (which is more homecooked chinese kitchen food like eggplant or broccoli with chicken etc). Will I come back? Sad but not really sad to say that no i will not be, because i'm stubborn for how I wasted stomach space and money at this place. read more

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More often my go-to than not! The food has only gotten better over time! Responsive staff, clean environment and chill/homey vibes. They play jay chou and eric chou and more pop songs as of late. Both the soup dumplings and pork buns are sooo juicy. My favorite actually ended up being the wontons in chili oil. The eggplant is a bit too sweet, same with the spare ribs (tender nonetheless). Definitely get the custard buns, they are SO worth it. Sometimes there is a line; they have seating in the back as well. So close to campus -- definitely at least try it once! read more

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Solid, I have no complaints tbh. Actually, I LOVE IT, my family love it. We ate it up. Maybe Its just bc I loooveeee all wontons and dumplings and not picky. Wontons in chili oil, braised pork, shomai, and hot and sour soup was very good. Did not induce a food coma hence the 5 stars LOL. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - ate this up - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

The staff are super nice and helpful. They even offered me a bag for stuff I was holding that I didn't receive from them. Their Xiao long bao is a must try! They're juicy and delicious. Their spicy beef salad is a bit salty for me, but I would go back for the soup dumplings. I definitely will go back to try more! read more

This place had pretty good food overall, but I'm docking a star mostly for the packaging. For the price point - it's comparable to a lot of high end xiao long bao places, so I'd expect them to package them well, but the wontons came in a small box all stuck together so we couldn't enjoy them as wontons. It ended up being a ground pork chili salad sort of thing haha. Our favorite items we tried were the sheng jian bao (pan fried pork buns) that come in 4 pieces and the xiao long bao (pork soup dumpling). Overall most of the food was decent, but those two stood out. For the boiled dumpling and wontons though - those were all stuck together and ripped apart when we were trying to grab them, so I would not get those again if doing takeout. Just a reminder that this place is cash only, so don't forget to grab that wad of cash before heading out! All in all, this place has some good food, so I'd come back because of how close it is to me, but they could definitely improve their packaging. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - XLB, Rice Cakes, Salt & Pepper Fish, Braised Tofu with Veg, Spare Ribs, Pan-Fried Pork Buns, Wonton in Chili Oil, Pork & Chive Dumplings - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Truly a great dumpling spot! We ordered the XLB and pan fried dumplings, both of which were juicy and wonderfully savory. The salt and pepper fish fillets were also notable, as the batter and fish were very crispy and tender, and the spices were perfect. Fish is often lacks flavor to me, so this was one of the best salt and pepper fish I've ever had. The beef noodle soup was good, but the noodles were thin and lacked the chewiness I was craving, so it was a bit more disappointing. However the soup itself was wonderful, so depending on the type of noodles one may like, they might enjoy it. Overall great experience, the staff were very active and friendly, refilling water without us having to ask, and grabbing us refills of condiments. Would recommend! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - A1. Shanghai-Style Steamed Pork Dumplings - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Dumpling Kitchen opens in Lotus House's vacated space. their speciality is dim sum, dumplings and northern Chinese eats. limited inside dining. offerings: dim sum, dumplings, soups, noodles, appetizers, rice combos, chef's specialities, vegeterian, desserts. eats: lamb kebab (3/9.45) -chewy meats, lacks cumin and lamb flavor. kao pao chicken (12.80) -has medium hot spiciness with braised tender unbreaded chicken, waterchestnut slices, cabbage, carrots, red & green bell peppers, garlic -nice northern rendition, too much vegetables, limited meats. take outs: -food isn't consistent. some has too much msg, some not so flavorful... -inside dining just 6 ish tables. take out is quicker.... read more

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For lunch, I had the pleasure of dining in at Dumpling Kitchen with my roommate. It was a really familial, warm meal. We ordered our own dishes Mapo Tofu over Rice and Mongolian Beef over Rice and also shared Shanghai-Style Steamed Pork Dumplings. Originally we only ordered one serving of Shanghai-Style Steamed Pork Dumplings, but we really enjoyed it and decided to order another serving. Personally, I like to eat them with the chili flakes and oil and vinegar. To add, it was a great environment to have a nice conversation with a friend. They had lively, peppy music that really brightened my day. The staff are also really friendly and attentive. There was little to no wait when we wanted to order a new dish. I really recommend dining in with a friend and having a nice conversation. Excited to try more dishes and dumplings! read more

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Came here for a birthday, and was pleasantly surprised with the experience after my last review. There's seating upstairs and downstairs, and there can sometimes be a minor wait to get seated. We ordered 4 dishes, and they came out super yummy. Got the: Xiao long bao (Singaporean soup dumplings) - 4/5: A go-to at this place. Pretty much the usual of what you'd expect, but always yummy and a solid choice to eat. Mapo Tofu - 3/5: Spicyyyy! Good usual mapo tofu texture, just a bit too spicy for our liking and hard to really taste it since the spice was so strong. Had to order white rice on the side, and wasn't a huge highlight. Beef Roll Pancake - 4/5: Similar to a chinese scallion pancake but instead it's rolled beef. Was probably one of if not my favorite item we got. Easy to share and came out super crispy yet tender meat. read more

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We're in a little bit of a dumpling dead zone in downtown Berkeley, so DK (Dumpling Kitchen) is a welcomed addition. And I'd stick with the dumplings, as the other fare wasn't as impressive as some local competitors. We ordered delivery and were so sad that they were out of the bao and a dumpling order, but all good we ordered a ton of other stuff and honestly the dumplings are pretty meaty and filling. As mentioned, the main dishes we ordered were the mongolian beef which was fine, and the chicken and broc, which was bland and tough and I wouldn't recommend ordering. However, the dumpling array was solid. Get those pan fried potstickers, they be juicy and delicious. The boiled chicken and corn dumplings were solid, although again on that chicken, not the most flavorful. The shrimp and pork shumai were over stuffed with pork, and they were delicious. The Shanghai veggie spring rolls were forgetable; I wouldn't order those again, either. Overall, you feeling dumplings in downtown Berkeley, this will be the spot based on just their variety, alone. I look forward to next time trying some other things! read more

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Dumplings come out very hot and fresh. Great appetizers, smaller portions but good for the price!

Been here a couple of times for lunch and dinner. Tiny restaurants with spicy Chinese Szechuan dishes and Shanghai dumplings. Not everything here is that spicy, so don't worry. Their pan fried pork buns were great. Really busy place. Go early. Service was fine. read more

One of the best Chinese restaurants in Berkeley. Highly recommend their Kurobota Fried Pork Buns and Xiao Long Bao. I feel like these kinda things are their specialities, as I tried their Chow Mein and Mongolian Beef and those were very underwhelming. read more

Dumpling Kitchen recently opened after taking Lotus House's spot! I thought Lotus House just underwent a brand revival, but the menu and ownership changed. The interior of the restaurant is tasteful and modern! Simple designs and plenty of seating. We came on a weekday evening around 7 PM, and the restaurant was bustling! I believe they recently had their soft opening. Was really craving noodles, so we ordered the five-spice beef noodle soup. When it arrived, I was surprised to see the lightness of the broth and the thickness of the noodles! I was expecting the traditional Taiwanese beef noodle soup with the dark, rich broth and thick cut noodles. Nonetheless, just because this broth was light in color did not mean it was light in flavor. The noodles were also perfectly cut; I believe they were made in house! The beef, however, could use some improvement! Some parts of the beef were a bit rough and not the most tender, but otherwise, the richness of the broth and the softness of the noodles saved the day! We also had complimentary tea, and the staff was quick and friendly! I will say that the dish was on the pricier side (about $15 or $16 with tax). read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Small modern Chinese restaurant close to Berkeley campus. Good service and clean interior. Food was delicious! Got the boneless fried chicken with veggie dumplings. The sauce on the chicken was sweet and sour, with a spicy flavor. Although not what we were expecting, it was a pleasant surprise. Tasted more like orange chicken. Was tender inside and crispy outside. Dumplings were really yummy too. Great with the vinegar and chili oil. Would recommend! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Fried chicken and Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings / - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

I highly recommend the Mapo Tofu in this restaurant. These are dishes that we Chinese like very much. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

As I'm finishing this order of Five Spice beef noodle soup, found some extra protein I didn't order. food was tasty until this point. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

We ordered steamed pork dumplings, boiled chicken and corn dumplings, and pan fried pork buns. Despite looking quite authentic, the flavor of all the food was not right, and they definitely used too much MSG. All of the meat could have been seasoned better, as the flavor for all of the dishes we ordered tasted off. There is a good amount of sit down seating, though you can also order takeout. Personally I would not come back again. read more

Decent dumplings - my partner and I were hanging around Berkeley on a Saturday afternoon and we needed something quick and not too big a meal - and we saw decent reviews on YELP and a few folks waiting on line so we ordered takeout at the entrance on the iPad and 15 minutes later we had our juicy dumplings (4/$8) 4/order and an order of steamed pork buns (3/$7) and sat down in the nearby tables to chow down. Sadly the juicy buns had been sitting out and cooling while they waited for the steamed pork buns so they were a little cold and tougher to eat but the steamed pork buns hit the spot. Solid dumpling and dim sum at about what we pay in China town - so hard to complain. Will go back and try some other dumplings next time.....solid for the area. Worth trying. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Juicy Kurobuta Pork Buns - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Small humble location for Shanghai food close to uc Berkeley. Food: i ordered the panfried pork bao. Its not a bun like I thought it was. Shanghai cuisine does have a fluffy bun that is pan fried. Tasted good. Ambiance: casual quick dining. Self order kiosk with credit card or order with waitress. Seats 20 inside. read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Panfried bun is not a bun its more of a potsticker. - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

This is a small shop located on the second story near Telegraph. I've been coming here for 3 years and am glad that it has become so popular amongst the community. It's amazing to have soup dumplings and Chinese beef wraps near campus when wanting a change of place from other casual eats. The quality tastes amazing, but the only issue is that sometimes the sauce containers are a little bit dirty read more

Filling comfort food but nothing particularly memorable or outstanding about this place. The price is reasonable and serving sizes are decent. The ma la wontons were quite ma la so I appreciated that. read more

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My favorite dumplings in Berkeley! Everything tastes so good, the service is quick, and the food isn't too expensive. Would definitely come again! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - E1. Kurobuta Pork Soup Dumplings /, D2. Pan-Fried Pork Pot Stickers /, A1. Cucumber Salad /cucumber - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

so good!! food is delicious and for a pretty good price! i loved the peanut noodles so much, def was my fav! also got the pan fried pork soup dumplings which i loved, they're so big and juicy! would definitely recommend. you order on your phone and service is pretty speedy, but the pork dumplings took a little longer to come out. that wasn't a problem for me though! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - pork C3. Szechuan-Style Wonton in Chili Oil / K2. Dry-Braised String Beans / H8. Szechuan Style Noodle w/ Ground Pork in Peanut Sauce / - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Walking around on a rainy night and saw this ticked off a side street. Got seated immediately by a nice lady! The place was bustling with people, you could tell this was a spot to be. We ordered the soup dumplings, fried rice and Steam pork buns. Everything was so delicious! I wanted to go back bebe we left but didn't get a chance. I'd definitely would next time I'm in Berkeley! Great place and great service and fantastic food! read more

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I was recommended Dumpling Kitchen by a coworker. I get weary now-a-days because of flavor, portion, and price. But...Dumpling Kitchen hit on all 3. I was the only one dining so I can wait to come back and try other selections from rice to noodles. A lot of people around me were eating the soup entrees. The service was quick, they will seat you and you use your phone to scan a QR to order your meal. I used Yelp to help with pictures. They have a dining area in front and also a little area in back which is great as I didn't have to wait but I can see it filling up quickly. They have three different sauces which complemented the food very well. The nice lady kept my water refilled the whole time. read more

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Dumpling Kitchen is a cute little shop in one of the busiest parts of Berkeley, in the space formerly occupied by one of my favorite student hole-in-the-wall restaurants, Lotus House (RIP) The ambience could use a little work, and the space is kind of stuffy, but the food is the real winner here. I'm pretty sure my group tried 80% of the dumpling and bao options on the menu, and they all had really great flavor and respectable portions. (Especially considering that it's hard to find a decent dumpling in Berkeley at all that doesn't taste like fast food or those bagged frozen supermarket dumplings.) My group also got the eggplant in garlic sauce, which was a solid rendition of the dish. For dessert, we really enjoyed the salted egg custard bao - nice yolky, salty custard that packed a flavor punch. read more

Great ambiance, very good vibes. The service was decent, we weren't checked on many times other than refilling water once. Food overall was pretty good, but kind of a hit or miss. Wontons in chili oil were my favorite. They were fantastic. The chow mein was disappointing. The noodles were too thick for my personal taste and lacked a lot of flavor. The chow mein came with pork but not much was found in the dish. Soup dumplings were also pretty good but nothing too special. Egg rolls were just bad all around other than the fantastic crisp around the outside. I do not recommend getting them. The filling was oddly slimy and soggy? No flavor and the sauce they came with was just confusing. I have no idea what I ate. I wanted to keep going because that crispiness was to die for, but I had to stop myself. It was a decent meal overall and I don't regret going, but I probably wouldn't go back. read more

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Our little daughter loves xlb, but she is super picky when it comes to her dumplings. So far Din Ding, DTF, and Paradise Dynasty are her thumbs up places. Today, she gobbled up all of the dumplings from DK! I guess we won't have to drive too far away for her dumpling fix. We ordered 4 dishes and they were all fantastic. The XLB dumpling wrap was thin, the pan fried buns were crunchy on the outside with a good hot soup ratio, and the beef wrap was flaky and crispy. They all hit the spot. The place is a bit small and parking can be tough on weekdays, but we will come back for sure. Tip make sure bring cash! They don't accept credit card! read more

Dumpling Kitchen - Pan fried pork bun - Shanghainese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I was craving dumplings and this place hit the spot. Their xiao long bao was plump, juicy, and the skin was thin and had a good chew. Their pan fried buns were good but there was little filling. Their beef and cilantro soup tasted better than it looks, would recommend. read more

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For a Chinese restaurant in downtown Berkeley, it is pretty solid. I remember when it first opened and I was so excited to try it. I think it used to be an 8/10. However, over the past year, the portions have gotten substantially smaller. My go to items are the sweet spareribs, pork xiao long bao, szechuan string beans, nian gao with chicken, and vegetable dumplings. If I want good Chinese dumplings, I would prefer to drive to Fremont/Union City for House of Dumplings or Din Ding Dumpling House. read more

I grabbed a bunch of takeout for a last minute family gathering, and the order didn't take long to prepare. Too bad parking took a while to find since the restaurant was well situated near the UCB campus. By the time I arrived I think my food was probably sitting on their shelf for sometime. Nevertheless we enjoyed everything. I ordered Shanghai styled XLBs, pan fried buns, potstickers, wonton soup, and 2 veggie dish. The restaurant even gave us two orders of runny yolk buns and red bean buns - so nice of them! My family devoured each of the dishes , and even my picky niece and nephew ate their way around the XLBs. The pan fried buns and potstickers were super juicy! The scrumptious juice shot out when I bit into my pan fried bun. The stir fried string beans were fresh and crunchy; the way they prepared that dish really made the string beans sing. While they separated the wontons from the soup to prevent the wontons from becoming a gooey mess, the wontons kinda got stuck together in their own container unfortunately. The next day I heated up the leftover buns and XLBs, and they still tasted great! I would definitely try dining in next time! read more

Best dumplings ever So delicious and very fast service So good And fresh served I really recommend this place read more

I visited again and while I still enjoyed it, there have been some changes. -The vegetarian baos are lighter in color and have a new filling. -The servings are smaller (although still large enough to share). -They've opened their upstairs section so there's a lot more seating. I also tried their vegetarian fried rice and really enjoyed it. Although I did find a piece of chicken in it (), but I'm not allergic so I wasn't really upset by this. read more

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MENU AND FOOD: Dumpling Kitchen serves a selection of XLBs, dumplings, potstickers, stir fry, fried rice and more! SERVICE AND ATMOSPHERE: Service is quick and efficient. Their indoor decor is plain and simple. They have a few tables indoors, and they do get busy. So, be sure to arrive early. PARKING: Located in downtown Berkeley, they have metered street parking. IMPRESSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: We had their pork XLBs, pork and chive dumplings, fried rice cakes, and honey walnut shrimp, all of which were delicious. Their food is good and consistent. Once, we did have their pork and crab XLBs since they were out of the pork ones; however, we felt they were a bit too fishy for our likings. Also the rice cakes were a bit lacking in flavor. Despite these shortcomings, we'll be back in the future! read more