Panda Dumpling

get number 1.
no ac so its gets hot
kinda pricey. just get dimsum and rice.
we just got water and three plates
30.00 and good service. fast

Xiao long bao review:
Pork Taste– ³⁄₅. Not very gingery and too much «five spice» flavor.
Skin– ³⁄₅ too thick!
Explode in your mouth– ⁴⁄₅ good amount of juice.
Other stuff:
String beans were good! Sesame chicken wasn’t as sweet as I was used and a lot of the pieces were just batter and not much chicken. Cucumbers would be so much better if they were crushed instead of sliced so all that oil could seep into each piece.
Service was nice and the place was clean though!

Not bad. Clean place and friendly staff. The dumpling wrappers are rather thick and starchy. The bees fried rice was delicious and we enjoyed the hedgehogs for dessert!

The food is very different from real Chinese dumpling. It tasted very strange and poor quality.

Panda Dumpling fills a certain hole in mid-​peninsula Chinese restaurants. Sometimes you want more than I Dumpling’s limited menu or want some carby options that Hot Wok Bistro Too doesn’t offer. The menu at Panda Dumpling is large, and they cook up some tasty items.
The staff is friendly and hilarious. If you come during off-​hours, don’t be surprised to see the chef sprawled out across three dining chairs taking a nap. There is also quite a large number of staff for such a small restaurant. Most of them are just snacking in the back or chatting with each other. But man, they move so quickly. Our dishes started coming out within a few minutes after ordering. This would be the perfect place if you’re in a rush or on a boring date.
FAVORITES
— Green chives with pork dumplings
— Spicy wontons– they use a peanut-​based chili sauce, so it’s a little thicker and richer than standard red oil, spicy wontons.
— Pan fried pork buns– these buns are pretty hard to find, and they execute it pretty well.
— Cucumber salad– large portion, refreshing and good.
PRETTY GOOD
— Eggplant with garlic sauce– pretty oily, I like Hot Wok Bistro Too’s better.
— Spicy mapo tofu
— Preserved vegetable with tofu

Wait, did I not review this place yet?
I discovered this place when my bf used to live in San Mateo, and we stopped visiting after we both moved to the south bay.
It’s located in a quiet neighborhood of San Carlos downtown, and the place is super tiny with less than ten tables, and half of the restaurant is taken by the kitchen where workers make dumplings all the time.
I like their soup dumplings in general, I would choose this place over Ding Tai Fung. Also, the flavors of the stuffing and soup is very light and refreshing, unlike the soup dumplings at Shanghai dumplings in Cupertino. The only thing I don’t like is that the wraps are not too thin, and they kinda break more easily than the two I mentioned above.
Like the hot and sour soup, hedge hog buns, also the service is friendly.
The amazing thing is that, although this is a small restaurant, it’s usually very quiet even with the place full of people.

We stumbled in at 8:30 and they would only do take out orders since they closed at 9. I’m so glad we ordered to go!
The dumplings were fresh, delicious, and flavorful! I’d highly recommend these piping hot soup dumplings. Fortunately for us, it was a cool evening so the warmth was welcoming!
The salted pork spare rib fried rice was probably one of the best I’ve ever had. It had a good ratio of rice: meat:veggies. Although it looked very plain, it was full of flavor.
Can’t wait to dine in next time!

I’ve been missing Chinese food lately and I was salivating over the Unilocal page for Panda Dumpling that my date had sent me. I couldn’t wait to try it out.
We got there late-​ish for a Chinese dinner on a weeknight. We ordered: XiaoLongBao (5*), Beef Pancake (5*), Steamed Dumplings (3*), and Pork Chop Dan Dan Noodles (1.5*). Since my date always pays, I figured I could treat him for once to this classy Chinese dinner.
I take full responsibility for ordering the terrible Pork Chop Dan Dan Noodles. You see, there’s a place in Rowland Heights that I used to love to go to for Dan Dan Noodles but this version is a total disgrace. It’s too liquid and the sauce is not spicy. It’s also kind of bizarre to put pork chop on top of it but the pork chop was the only edible part of this dish.
Next came the star of the meal, the XiaoLongBao. Out of the ones I’ve tried in the Bay Area, the XLB here are the best. None of them broke and they were all very juicy. The flavor of the filling was a little bit different than what I expected but overall, I was very pleased.
The steamed dumplings looked very promising but they were somewhat of a letdown. They were extremely boring and you could tell that the dumplings were pre-​frozen.
The Beef Pancake was surprisingly tasty and extremely juicy as well. I would’ve preferred if they hadn’t cut into the dumpling as the juices started to escape.
All in all, the lesson here is to stick to the Bun and Dumpling section of the menu if you do not want to experience deep disappointment.

Can’t get enough of these dumplings. I’ve been working in San Carlos for 4 years and once you get the hunger for these. nothing else will do.
Green onion pancakes and Shanghai Stir Fried noodles are great additions to the meal, but the Xiao Long Bao are a must.

I sometimes use the laundromat next door and they ALWAYS let me use the restroom, no problem, whether they’re still prepping but not yet open, or have a packed house.
Please eat here!

I was searching for a good dumpling house on the peninsula during a business trip and decided to check this place out. Really disappointed in almost everything I ordered. Here’s why:
XLB — decent, as others mentioned the dough is thicker than you are used to but what threw me off was almost an «Italian» sausage taste. Wasnt impressed.
Braised Green Beans — awesome! Sweet greasy goodness. Ate the whole plate
Vegatable and Pork Buns — Horrible. They were huge, and the flavor was just off. I didnt finish one.
Spicy wontons — Oh man how could you ruin these?!? They did! Peanut sauce? What tha??? Just add a lil sesame oil to a regular wonton and I’d be a happy camper but I couldnt eat more than one of these. They were sopping in a creamy peanut sauce.
Service was terrible. Water glass was empty. Noooooooo thank you.

The name of this place got me, I love pandas and I love dumplings.
The restaurant is cozy, almost like walking into your aunt’s house for dinner. The strings of Christmas lights and tv mounted on the wall add to the at-​home feel.
Four of us shared the Wonton Noodle Soup ($ 6.50), Soup Dumplings/​Xiao Long Bao ($ 7.65), Potstickers ($ 6.50) and Shanghai Stir Fried Noodles ($ 8.50). It was enough food for us especially since everything was rather doughy.
Their wonton soup needed more flavor and the wonton skins were too thick for my taste. The xiao long bao came out hot and the soup inside was flavorful. They were good, but the skin was on the thick side. The stir fried noodles were also pretty thick, but the sauce was tasty. The potstickers were the only dish where I enjoyed the thicker skin and they were pan fried with nice crispy bottoms.
I’ve had better versions of all the dishes we tried, but this is a nice neighborhood restaurant where you can get some homestyle cooking for a reasonable price.

A good xlb gets me every time. Fresh, tasty scallion pancake and xiao long bao (soup dumplings) — soup/​filling on xlb on point, though skin could be a tad thinner. Fast, friendly service on a weekday. Hit the spot!

I never really go out to eat Chinese food without my mom because she always knows what to order, but my friend wanted to go and I saw pictures of hedgehog buns to this place and was sold (no joke).
We got 4 items to share and had a decent amount of leftovers.
— Mapo Tofu: usually not a huge fan of tofu, but the tofu was really silky and the sauce was really good. Good kick of spice.
— Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings): this were pretty good. I love the soup in side. Wasn’t the best I’ve had though.
— Spare rib with veggie in rice in clay pot: Anything in a clay pot taste so much better, and this was no exception. The spareribs were really good and flavorful and they rice and veggies helped make it a complete meal.
— Hedgehog buns: to be honest, I only ordered it because it was cute. I’m not a huuuge fan of red bean (which is inside), but it surprised me. The bun was pretty good and the red bean was lightly sweetened and had a good creamy/​pasty texture (that probably doesn’t sound appetizing.) but I assure you that it was actually pretty good. Eat it when it’s still hot!
Overall, it was really good meal. Portions are good as well.

Ordered through door dash and was pleasantly surprised by the food.
the food:
— mushu chicken w/​tortillas: definitely getting this one again, SO tasty. loved the sauce and the textures with all the vegetables/​mushrooms/​etc
— bok choy with mushrooms: pretty good, typical corn starchy sauce but nothing special
— chicken dumplings: a bit too much onion in these for me, didn’t really like the texture of the wrappers that much
— pull apart bread: was a little dry, and the stringy interior was bigger than i expected
Overall, really enjoyed the mushu chicken. Would love to get again through door dash.

The Xiao Long Bao had a not-​too-​thick chewy skin and a porky broth.
The Pan Fried Pork Buns is a pork Bao with a crispy fried bottom.
The whole bit wasn’t too pricey and you may have to share a table.
«I love that I have room for dessert.» –Wife
Three Stars!

After having to work Christmas Day, husband and I were looking for a good spot for dinner after a visit to San Carlos Christmas Tree Lane. This place popped up on Unilocal and was a great choice! We had the XLB which I loved. We weren’t wow’ed by the hot and sour soup despite others raving about it, but it was sufficient to warm us up after a cold walk down the street full of lights. We also had green beans (standard Chinese dish, but done well here) and our favorite, the kung pao shrimp. The flavor of the sauce was delicious and I liked the assortment of fresh veggies (bell peppers, zucchini, onion) which were cooked to the perfect texture. We also had a green onion pancake: delicious, greasy, crispy goodness.
I would convince husband to drive over the bridge next time I am craving those dumplings. :)

Delicious XLB (soup dumplings) – perfect Asian comfort food for a rainy day. 4.5 stars
Food: 5, Service: 4, Atmosphere: 3
Cost to worth it rating: 3 (~$ 9 for 10 dumplings)
Return worthiness: yes!
Highlights:
— XLB: standard pork and liquid packed in a lot of flavor. Bonus that it came in orders of 10 in large bamboo steamers.
— Spicy wontons: boiled and topped with a peanut butter sauce. Skin was a bit thick and sauce a bit oily but I still enjoyed them.
— Hot and sour soup: audible when ordering and I really liked this version. Peppery, not too vinegary, and packed with strips of chunky tofu.
— Hedgehogs: just too cute not to get for a little sweet.
Midlights:
— Pork and crab dumplings: same as the standard with some additional crab. I preferred the standard.
Lowlights:
— Small place so I could see it getting crowded.
Their XLBs were solid and I would come back for more of those plus a few other things on the menu.

I don’t usually have a large opinion on Chinese food. I can tell when it’s bad but otherwise it generally all tastes good to me. This place was exceptionally tasty though! Even though it has dumpling in the name, I would have to say the dumplings were my least favorite dish — still good just expected better.
The kung pao, broccoli beef, and the pancake dishes were really good. They were able to accomadate our table’s gluten free and peanut allergy requests.

Stopped by on a really hot summer day and it was 3x hotter in the restaurant! Surprise — no air conditioning! The restaurant is small but it was packed! I thought, ok… this is a good thing! Of course, I immediately changed my mind when we were seated far, far from the fan. They primarily serve a variety of dumplings, some in broth and others dry. They were delicious and so was the red bean (hedgehog?).

fukin goood