Are These the Best Dumpling Spots in the Bay Area?
Dumplings! We know them, we love them and we all have our favorite spots for them. What constitutes a dumpling, you ask?
Dumpling (n.): a rounded mass of steamed and seasoned dough, often served in soup or with stewed meat.
Many cultures have their own types of dumplings. According to Wikipedia, even ravioli and tortellini fit the basic definition of a dumpling — David Chang even covered this revelation in his show, Ugly Delicious!
When Bay Area Bites tackled the topic of dumplings in the Bay Area before, it was mostly the Chinese version of them. We tried them in the East Bay (Oakland and Berkeley), in San Francisco and south of San Francisco.
We’ve even shown you how to make them at home — this recipe is pretty timeless and is great eaten by itself or in hot pot. And yes, as many of you stated, mom’s homemade dumplings will always be the best, but when you’re far from home or there are no ingredients on hand to make some, it’s good to have a place in your back pocket.
We recently asked you, the KQED community, to share their favorite dumpling spots, and we’ve compiled the submissions into this handy list for you! Most of the comments suggested Chinese restaurants, but shout-out to the Pushkin and Mama Papa Lithuanian lovers out there.
As always, our guides are by no means exhaustive, so, if we’re missing a dumpling eatery that people should try, let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
San Francisco
- China Live
- City View
- Ton Kiang
- Hang Ah Tearoom
- Dragon Beaux
- Dumpling Specialist
- Shanghai Dumpling King (Watch the Check, Please! Bay Area review)
- Shanghai House
- Makli
- Kingdom of Dumpling (Watch the Check, Please! Bay Area review)
- Dumpling House
- Dumpling Kitchen
- Harborview Restaurant & Bar
- Shandong Deluxe
- Good Luck Dim Sum
- Good Mong Kok Bakery
- Yuanbao Jiaozi
- Mama Ji’s
- Shen Hua
- Shangri-La
- Red Jade (Read the Check, Please! Bay Area review)
- Yummy Dumpling
- Pushkin
- China North Dumpling King
- Yank Sing
- House of Pancakes
- Dumpling Alley
- Chili House
- Henry’s Hunan
- Dumpling Time
- Z & Y Restaurant (Watch the Check, Please! Bay Area review)
- Xiao Long Bao
East Bay
- Peony Seafood Restaurant (Oakland)
- Shandong (Oakland)
- Oramasama (Pop-up)
- Great China (Berkeley)
- Sichuan House (Walnut Creek)
- New Dumpling (El Cerrito)
- Hong Kong East Ocean (Emeryville)
- Good To Eat Dumplings (Oakland)
- East Ocean Seafood Restaurant (Alameda)
- Bing’s Dumpling (Fremont)
- The Yin Yin (Livermore)
- Shanghai Bistro (Newark)
- Din Ding Dumpling House (Union City)
- Shanghai Dumpling House (Pleasanton)
- Full House Dumpling (Fremont)
- Qi Dumpling Lounge (Oakland)
- House of Dumplings (Union City)
- Mama Papa Lithuania (Alameda) (Watch the Check, Please! Bay Area review)
South Bay/Peninsula
- Dumpling Garden (Mountain View)
- Dumpling Empire (South San Francisco)
- Dumpling City (Palo Alto)
- Cooking Papa (Foster City, Mountain View, Santa Clara)
- XLB Kitchen (Cupertino)
- Panda Dumpling (San Carlos)
- Joy Restaurant (Foster City)
- Dumpling Depot (Sunnyvale)
- Tasty Place (Millbrae)
- Red Circle Dumpling (San Bruno)
- Town of Dumpling (San Mateo)
- Shanghai Dumpling Shop (Millbrae)
- iDumpling (Redwood City)
- Oriental Garden (Campbell)
- Tong Dumpling (Cupertino)
- Din Tai Fung (Santa Clara)
- Full Steam Dumpling (Santa Cruz)
- Dim Sum King (Sunnyvale)
- Grand Palace (South SF)
North Bay
- Harmony Restaurant (Mill Valley)