What time is it? It’s Dumpling Time!
Blending traditional cuisine with modern twists through crispy gyozas, handmade dumplings and innovative sweet baos, Dumpling Time, newly opened this month at the Stanford Shopping Center, is offering its take on Cal-Asian dishes.
General manager Nghia Nguyen said in an email to The Paly Voice, the restaurant decided to expand to Palo Alto, its fifth location, because the Dumpling Time team wanted to reach new customers and bring them together through its food.
“We chose to open our new Dumpling Time restaurant in Palo Alto to introduce our brand to this vibrant community and share our passion for handcrafted dumplings,” Nguyen said. “Our goal is to bring people together over great food and a welcoming atmosphere, offering a fresh and memorable dining experience that reflects both tradition and innovation.”
Dumpling Time is a part of Omakase Restaurant Group, a parent company founded by CEO Kash Feng, owning renowned Asian-American cuisine restaurants, including Prelude, The Third Floor, Omakase, Okane, Niku Steakhouse, Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhouse, R&P and Live Sushi Bar.
Michelin-starred chef Dustin Falcon, corporate culinary director of Omakase Restaurant Group, brought his expertise in fine-dining to Dumpling Time’s Palo Alto location.
According to Nguyen, Falcon made changes into the preexisting menu, adding a twist on traditional Asian dishes.
“Falcon played a key role in revamping the Dumpling Time menu across all locations, including Palo Alto,” Nguyen said. “He introduced an exciting lineup of new dishes that elevate our signature style while staying true to our roots in bold Asian cuisine.”
With bright neon lights and colorful furniture, the restaurant boasts a playful environment as customers chat comfortably. Ample seating is available, both indoors and outdoors, on plush sofas and chairs.
Nguyen said the restaurant’s interior was specifically designed to create a transparent and welcoming atmosphere for its customers.
“Dumpling Time offers an interactive dining experience that’s as fresh and flavorful as the food itself,” Ngyuen said. “With an open kitchen and vibrant, street market-inspired design, every visit is a front-row seat to the art of dumpling-making, served with a side of California flair.”
Alongside the pleasant atmosphere, service was quick and the staff were attentive to all our needs. We had dinner on a Thursday night, when the restaurant had plenty of customers yet still many open seats. Here’s what we tried:
Shrimp toast — $14
This appetizer consisted of a stick of fried Chinese doughnut, also known as youtiao, with a paste made from minced shrimp on the top, finished with a drizzle of spicy mayonnaise. The crunchy doughnut made for a good pairing with the soft shrimp, providing a flavorful contrast between the two. Although the doughnut was fried perfectly to a crisp, the shrimp interior lacked flavor, making the overall dish underwhelming. For a shrimp-centered dish, there could have been a stronger seafood focus.
Chili Pork Dumplings — $15
Bathed in chili oil and hot peppers, the juicy xi’an dumplings delivered a mouthful of spicy flavor. The dish itself was presented with various spices, as well as providing an adequate amount of sauce that bursted in flavorful heat. The portion was generous with six large dumplings, however, we were disappointed with the ratio of filling to wrapper, as the dough of the dumpling was too tough and chewy with little pork inside.
10 Pieces Combo Xiao Long Bao — $26
A combination of two of each flavor: (XLB) pork belly, red vinegar, (Tom Yum) pork belly, coconut broth, (Pho) beef, spiced broth, cilantro, lime, (Kimchi) pork, korean chili, (Wagyu) black truffle, mushroom. (Sophie Zhang)
The combo order came with two soup dumplings of each flavor, perfect for offering a variety to indecisive customers. Despite the assortment, we couldn’t taste a distinctive difference between the XLB, Tom Yum and Kimchi, all offering a similar filling of pork belly. The Pho flavor offered a milder taste, only having mellow notes of lightly seasoned beef. The standout flavor was the Wagyu, as a burst of rich black truffle aroma delivered intense notes of umami. The pungent flavor may overwhelm those with a more sensitive palate. Considering the price, these bite-sized dishes were not highly impressive and did not justify the cost, aside from the Wagyu flavor.
Bao Trio — $9
The colorful dessert featured a trio of three visually appealing baos: a white bao with a salted egg yolk in the center, a bright pink taro paste bao and a green tea bao with coconut filling. Warm and pillowy, the bao buns had a soft texture and were easy to bite into. The pastes inside the baos each had a distinctive flavor true to their name, though the green tea coconut had a considerably noticeable artificial taste. The distinctive sweet flavors of the buns make them an intriguing dish. However, a better pairing than green tea and coconut together would have further elevated the dessert.
While we would not recommend Dumpling Time as our first choice for Asian cuisine, its inventive menu makes it a restaurant worth checking out.
