Patty Chen’s Dumpling Room

Not a huge fan of this place, though wanted so badly to love it! The dumpling skins are really thick and doughy, which is a huge no no in my book, having been assigned the role of dough roller for family dumpling dinners for years growing up. Intriguing concept of Asian fusion, but alas didn’t work for me, unfortunately.

PC’s Dumpling Room was one of my stops on my quest to try all the dumpling spots in Boston. I will say that the host/​only waitress that was working was incredibly nice and attentive. Unfortunately, not too many other good things to stay.
The pot of tea I ordered was good, although they didn’t have the initial tea I asked for. I later heard the waitress give the same explanation to another customer. The dumplings all had really thick and undercooked wrappings. Some were more edible than others, but overall they lacked flavor anyway. Hopefully they make some improvements soon…

xiao long bao’s dough was not cooked through and still raw, had to sent it back to kitchen.
Will not return again.

Careful if you have Allergies.
I called to place a pick up order and when I explained that one of the Pork Bao was for someone with severe allergies of fish, seafood and nuts the person (a man) on the phone was like: «It’s pork not fish»
I had to explain that the restaurant works with nuts, fish and seafood and the possibility of cross contamination. Something that every person that work with food should know.
He didn’t seam to care or to be nice.
I called again to make sure that the dumpling sauce had nuts in it. He said no and when I said ok thank you he just hang up on me.
Very rude… My son loves that dumpling but I don’t think I’ll be ordering from them anytime soon.

Patty Chen’s dumplings are definitely Taiwanese. And they are more new style as compared to traditional. The major failure was the xiao long bao. They are weird; the soup was inside the meat which was inside the dough, instead of resting at the bottom with meat on top and then wrapped up. The dough on top was too thick and not even cooked through.
I would not go back.

This place is great! The dumplings and love noodles are absolutely amazing. Also have dumpling making classes and parties. Definitely deserves more than three stars!

I’ve been meaning to come here for a long time based on the fact that I love dumplings but unfortunately the experience was disappointing and lack luster.
For drinks, I had the Thai iced tea. You can definitely taste the homemade boba which was delicious but the flavoring of the Thai was a bit off.
For starters, we had the PCDR special rice, wonton soup and hot and sour soup. The rice bowl was similar to that of a bimbimbop where you had to mixed in the veggies and meat. Overall the taste was very good. The wonton soup was what my boyfriend ordered. I didn’t try it but he seemed content with the wontons. The hot and soup was not good at all. It seems like they added a lot of corn starch and was think like a sauce and had no heat and too much acidity. It surprises me to say that since I love vinegar but it was just too much for this soup.
For dumplings we had the dumpling room and taipei gotye. Both were decent and tasted fine but nothing that was wow factor and propelled me to eat another other than the fact that I was hungry.
To finish we had the sweet red bean which was just okay.
Overall, nothing really stands and if anything the dumplings are a little over priced. I probably will not be back here.

Good concept, but the execution leaves something to be desired. Dumplings are too pricey for the quality.
Dumplings sauces are weird here — I did not like the thick, goopy dipping sauce I got, and would prefer something more traditional.
Upsides: pretty space, something different

If you are a fan of dumplings this place will satisfy your cravings. Their menu is quite diverse and has plenty of vegetarian options. The place is tiny, a bit of a dive, and the service is just OK. A large party might find it hard to fit in. My favorite was the spinach dumpling, although I liked almost everything. The pepper dusted edamame was a nice touch.

Food 3 stars
Service 2 stars
Can’t see myself coming back. Think it’s more than worth it to try a different place in Central or make the trek to Chinatown.
Bok choy — really good, came with tofu, great flavors. Pricey, considering cost of bok choy and tofu.
Bruce Lee (soup dumplings) — the vinegar sauce was red which kind of freaked me out, but the taste was right. The dumpling itself was fine, I would say below average for soup dumplings tho =/​
Came here on a Sunday around brunch time, maybe 1pm ish. They weren’t that busy when we got there, but they definitely got a lot busier after we sat down. The employees kind of run around looking/​sounding stressed. I think I got stressed from eating here.

Call me Asian-​food spoiled, but I think in order to make dumpling fusion, you need to first get the fundamentals down.
It was a very meh experience.
Service: My friend and I were the second group in the restaurant, and still it took forever to get anything.
Food: Meh. Their dumplings weren’t amazing. If you took the dumpling apart, there wasn’t one thing you can point to and say, «That’s what makes this so great.» The flour was alright. The meat was average. Not impressed.
Would I come back? Maybe not for a very very very long time, but I would give it another try.

In summary: You have a unique culinary idea coupled with a not-​so-​unique food experience.
Me and the boo had high hopes for this place, as it looked unique, and we loved dumplings. Me especially, with my shrimp dumplings hard-​on, was looking forward to what type of combinations they had to offer to amaze me.
Well, let’s just say although the variety was exciting, the end results weren’t as much. This place has plenty of great ideas of different dumplings, but the two we sampled didn’t impress. The pacific dumpling was undercooked, and the filling was too pastelike to be any good. The emperor dumpling was a bit better as it was fried, and at least cooked better, but also lacked anything special. Both dumplings were fairly small as well, and for the premium this place is charging for it’s dumplings, I had expected better. Otherwise, I’d rather go to my local Chinese place, and just get some peking raviolis. We also tried their love noodles, which weren’t bad, but also didn’t come out as we expected based on their description of hot peanut sauce. We thought it would be more of a thicker, creamy peanut based sauce, but it was more of chili chunk/​oil sauce with peanut bits. Not too bad, just unexpected.
On the plus side, the décor is nice, albeit small, and if it’s your first check in, you get 15% off, so it’s an incentive to trying this place out at least once.

I love this restaurant! Which was dangerous when i lived just down the street.
It’s cheap and the food is very fresh and tasty. One order of dumplings looks like it isn’t enough food, but beware as they are each dense and will fill you up quickly. My favorite was the emperor dumplings.
They have super fast service and I would call in my order ahead of time and it’d be ready within 10 minutes. They deliver as well. The actual dining area is quite small so I’d suggest take out or delivery.

Not so great :/
It’s pretty small, conveniently located by Central station, but the food isn’t great. My noodles were undercooked, the dumplings were too salty, and the overall feel to this place is too small.
Worst part are their plastic chopsticks. Too slippery to actually hold the food on them.
So, all in all, I’d suggest finding another place.

Stopped into Patty’s after the wait at Naco Taco was too long. I was a bit wary that the place was so empty at prime dinner time on a Friday — but I was pleasantly surprised at the dumplings. We split three different kinds and they were all pretty tasty.
The cilantro shrimp dumplings were tasty — though the accompanying aioli was a bit weird. Beijing pork dumplings were great as were the pan-​fried pork bao dumplings.
I had the Thai iced tea bubble tea, which was just fine. The boba was perfectly chewy and pleasant. Hubs got a diet coke, which was a 20 oz bottle that they charged $ 4 for… questionable.
The service was pleasant, though a bit discombobulated, which was confusing since we were literally the only other 2 top in the place. Our server also forgot to order the bok choy tapas for us, but we were perfectly full from the dumplings so we didn’t say anything.
All in all — an average experience.

Everything taste like frozen stuff, the waiter is so rude and not attentive too. Seriously nothing taste right, the pork bao sucks, the soup dumpling (Bruce lee dumpling) was small cute looking but taste so bad, I feel bad for Bruce Lee! They Named such a shitty dumpling after him!
Please do not go if you have any respect for real authentic Asian food.

Superficially, quite chic: pretty oriental-​style lamps, cool red-​white-​and-​black on the walls, a flat LG smart TV in the corner playing amazing tunes on Pandora… but if the look of the restaurant is the best part of your meal, then something’s not right.
The concept is fantastic – I love dumplings! Steamed AND fried! – but when our «happy family» platter came out, sprinkled with enough sesame seeds to cover a family of Big Macs, that’s when I was like uh oh. The skin, because it is hand-​made, is definitely thick as everyone has mentioned. I really enjoyed the Pacific (spicy, seafood, yum) and I think the Beijing, but the vegan was not for me, and the others were non-​memorable. Interesting to note: their ginger was really good!
But what was NOT really good or good at all is, as many have written, were the boba milk teas. The liquid was watery, not very tea-​y, and the tapioca balls were like biting into chewy mounds of fake sugar. Yikes.
Overall, it’s kind of like an impressionistic piece of art: it looks pretty cool from far away (even when you’re perched on a stool inside), but once you get closer, it’s a colorful mess.

Over 3 months ago, I gave Patty Chen’s a meager 1 star. I did this based on taste (though I can appreciate that taste is subjective– just take a look at the 4 and 5-​star reviews), service (we were brought an incorrect item), and quality (refer to comment on boba tea).
Yesterday, I received a direct message (masked as a Unilocal «Compliment») from Patty Chen’s husband: «Grace, you are a piece of rat feces… have a nice day»
At first, I thought it was really funny because I figured it was someone I know messing with me, and then after a bit of digging, I was finally able to connect the dots. Mr. Shulman, I don’t think I need to tell you that your comment and approach were most unprofessional and I and your customers do deserve an apology.
When your business first started, I see you responded to a negative review very politely, which is the kind of feedback from business owners I prefer. Yours was rude and childish, and I believe it only stands to blemish the reputation of your family’s business. I realize that any food business is ripe with challenges, but it’s clear you’ve done a number of things right– for one, the décor and vibe is spot on, you specialize in dumplings, which is of course a good thing, and you do have a number of fans leaving those 4 and 5 star reviews. However, there are a number of reviews so similar to mine, which upset you so, that deserve more consideration than to send a rude and misplaced comment directly to us Unilocalers. For example, if so many of us are complaining that the bubble tea is not quite right, then maybe there’s something to our comments and it could be improved.
Unilocalers aren’t about trashing hard-​working business owners just because they had a bad experience, but we do have this nice open forum where we can be totally honest on how we felt. As a business owner, you may read some disappointing things, but our honest feedback is what helps many owners know what their diners and customers are experiencing and where they can improve. It is my sincere hope, for the sake of the Unilocal community, that your recent behavior will be the last of it and that you will take our reviews with a grain of salt but with a hearty sense constructive criticism. After all, whether leaving 1 star or 5, each of us eagerly entered Patty Chen’s hoping to find what we were looking for. This is an open community, so please treat it with the respect that it deserves and to not feel personally attacked by certain reviews including mine.
Sincerely,
Grace M.

I came here over the weekend with some friends. Overall good place but not the best.
First I will say the best value meal is definitely the pork ramen — you get to try the pork dumplings in the soup which are quite good while still getting a full meal with the noodles, egg, and bean sprouts. I had a hard time finishing my bowl! Not bad for $ 12. The ramen itself was good but not as flavorful as I would have liked — I’ve had better.
My friends got the chicken dumplings as a side dish — they liked them but said the pork ones were definitely better. I thought they were definitely overpriced but I never ended up trying them. My friend also ordered a thai iced tea with boba which she never actually got so I have no judgement on the drinks either.
The atmosphere is cute and the food is good but I’m sure there is better in the area.

Been to PCDR on a number of occasions. The atmosphere is nice with traditional Chinese décor. A good place for a date night or to come with friends (there is one 6 person table but most are for 2 or 4). Service is excellent.
Miso soup and vegan dumplings were light and delicious on a night when I didn’t want anything too heavy. Boba tea is great with dumplings! The banana Nutella dumplings are also delish!
Gluten free dumplings are on the menu too!
Parking can be a but challenging depending on your luck. Street parking is metered. It’s T accessible (closest stop
Central square).
I’m looking forward to trying the dumpling tacos next time!