Town of Dumpling

We went here after church for dinner on a Saturday night. We had the pork dumpling, the shrimp dumplings, the chicken skewers, the Shanghai dumplings, the pot stickers, and the green onion pancakes. The total for a party of 9 was $ 76. It gets 4 stars for the good value. Fyi– this is cash only

My secret spot for some comfort Chinese food.
My personal favorites are:
XLB
Sesame marinated beef with green onion
Dumplings. (Any)
Don’t expect fancy décor and bring CASH.

After a dismal experience with a different restaurants delivery, I begrudgingly logged into doordash to find something else to eat, and much to my ecstatic joy– I saw a place available that hadn’t been before, this amazing eatery.
Those who are familiar with the food delivery woes, this wonderful culinary rogue delivered soft, pliant, still steaming chicken and green onion dumplings. The smiling delivery lady seemed distressed at a bit of spilled soup, but oh what spilled soup it was. A truly delectable concoction of soy, mushrooms, egg, and whatever else is in the perfect hot and sour– not gelatinous at all!- the pot stickers sang in my mouth, a song of perfectly tender steamed pork and vegetables, seasoned perfectly with their tangy hot sauce. Don’t even get me started on the fried rice, usually a greasy and/​or overcooked nightmare on delivery orders, but from here, oh no, it was crispy and cooked to perfection. I highly recommend this place to anyone seeking food cooked by people who obviously love what they do, and make every effort to deliver a high quality product!

Outstanding variety and cuisine specializing in Northern Chinese dumplings but familiar to all regional Chinese cuisines. A large variety of dishes can be sampled as many are available in smaller portions. This is a neighborhood type of place, crowded with ambience and outstanding dishes too many to mention. Great for those who know Chinese food and reading menus in Chinese is a plus, but not mandatory

I ordered the Shrimp Dumpling with green chives, there was hardly any shrimp in it, and the dumplings were very watery from the inside. The beef pancakes too had very little beef, it tasted more like just a pancake!
Their chow mein however was very tasty, the chicken was a bit overcooked but the noodles were yummy!

Town of Dumpling offers handmade dumplings with an assortment of Chinese food, it is one of the few locations around the area that escapes what I call the «San Carlos mark up,» this place is to put it plainly very affordable with a huge selection of items which are also extremely delicious! I usually order 1x Shrimp dumping with Chives, 1x Pork Dumpling with Napa Cabbage, and 1x Shanghai Soup Dumpling. The total cost of this? ~$ 20 dollars. You get a total of 12 dumplings per order with the exception of the soup dumplings only being six. That’s 30 dumplings! It is definitely bulking food for sure!

I haven’t had freshly made dumplings in so long! The options aren’t insane like the fast food, to-​go ones like the ones I’ve been to prior to this, but their other dishes were surprisingly amazing.
Feasted on:
— Spicy Tendon: dude, it’s a nice solid, gooey like cartiledge that doesn’t melt in your mouth, but it tastes soooo good! The «spicy» name is a bit a of a false statement. It had flavor, but spicy was no where in sight!
— Beef Tendon Nooodles: can you tell? I have a thing for tendons. The beed and tendons were still on the tough side. For a stew, it didn’t seem to have stewed long enough. The noodles however were perfectly cooked! Broth itself was on the bland side— This was more of a filler for dinner.
— Shrimp and Chive Dumplings: Lots of chives, really fresh dough for the dumplings– the shrimps, very minimal in here, sometimes there were no shrims in my bites at all. It’s not translucent like I’m used to with my shrimp dumplings.
— Beef Pancakes: have you ever had one of the Cambodian sausages (twa koh) that was what it tasted like. It was good, I wished I had some kind of rice dish to eat with it. But the Pancakes were nice and crunchy.
Parking: I came at night, if it wasn’t lit from the other local mom and pops around here, I wouldn’t have seen this place. Just a stones throw away from the CalTrain stop.
Customer Service: The younger gentleman did assist us with out orders, his English could’ve been a barrier, but he demonstrated a lot with his hands. Granted he didn’t realized we asked for both Green Onion Pancakes and Beef Pancakes– «we said we’ll take both» so that was our fault. We should’ve kept the verbiage shorter. The iced tea that’s in Chinese is pretty good. I actually thought he called it ‘rice tea’ he was just saying iced…

Great veggies. Braised string beans is always a hit

New owners make some fine vittles. Home made noodles are chewy good. Their hot sauce is killer. Yeah, one lady their is really rude but all good so long as the food is yummy :)

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet. I come here all the time. In spite of the many Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area I haven’t found any that serves what these folks serve.
Basically everything is homemade and really good. I particularly like the stir fried shrimp. Of course the gyoza and the Xiao long bao are really good.
They have various cucumber dishes too.
I just find this place charming in many ways. It is a find.

This place is legite! The dumplings were full of flavor and perfectly boiled. Scallion and beef pancakes were crisp yet chewy. I walked thru the kitchen on the way to bathroom, and I was impressed with the high quality of their ingredients.
The restaurant itself is nondescript and hidden in a strip mall. However, it appeared clean and there were Chinese customers in the middle of a Sat afternoon (a good sign)! We plan on returning.

Just ok – felt a bit underwhelmed by the food. Shanghai dumplings weren’t juicy… Onion pancakes too thin & over-​fried… Just ok with the other two dishes: garlic green beans & tofu; pork & corn dumplings. While they take credit card, they will request for cash… so if you go, be prepared to have it on hand.

Food is quite good. The bill was a little higher than expected, but we ordered a lot of food.
Spicy Tripe: Big plate. Was great.
5 spicy beef: I thought it was cooked perfectly for what what it was supposed to be. The dish is traditionally not that flavorful, but it was exactly what I was expecting.
Pork Dumplings with Chinese Spinach: They gave a lot more than expected. I think it was 12 dumplings. Really good.
Pork Chow Mein: Really good. I would definitely recommend.
Chicken Skewers: Tasted like it was right off the street in Beijing. Really good.
Sesame Beef Pancake: I was pleasantly surprised. It was a thicker scallion pancake sandwich with beef inside. Ended up being a good combo.
Shanghai Soup Dumplings: Soupy. Meat was a little bland, but the overall package wasn’t bad.

I purchased a Groupon for this place so off we went.
The menu is sizable. We ordered a variety of dishes for a party of three. We finished all the dishes and were content about the food quality.
Spicy tendon: there was so much tendon on the plate. It was great. I really like this dish for some reason despite the texture being all jelly like. The flavor was really good, perfectly salted.
Pork dumplings with Chinese spinach: They give you a lot of dumplings for the price and I was pleased, although I’ve had better dumplings. The flavor was OK.
Shanghai dumplings: Good, the dumplings had a lot of soup in it which is my favorite part of the dumpling obviously. They give you a fair amount of dumplings here too.
Five spice marinated beef: I have never liked this dish and I still didn’t like it, but it tasted what you’d expect of it, so if you know what to expect then this dish is good. It just tastes like raw-​ish meat to me.
Chicken skewers: a surprise hit, since I usually don’t like skewers too much. I thought the meat was cooked well and the spice powder they used was quite interesting and unlike most spicy powders I’ve seen.
Pork chow mein: also really tasty. I heard they make their own noodles. The flavor was exactly what I wanted from chow mein noodles. Soy sauce but with other flavors.
Sesame beef pancake: also another tasty item although the sauce kind of gets everywhere if you’re not too careful. The consistency of the pancake was quite good.
I agree that the prices are a little high because the bill came out to be around $ 50 for three people (pre-​Groupon) but the food quality is great. I would come back for the tendon and the chow mein, probably my favorite dishes of the night.

This place is about as good as it gets for home cooked Chinese food and dumplings.
This place has no AC, spartan atmosphere, and largely absent service. You should love it anyways. It’s the type of place where the workers are rolling fresh dumplings in the table next to you and storing them in big dresser freezers nearby. It’s where you get freshly made, authentic chinese food in 10 minutes or less. Many dishes are just like how my mom used to make them, and there’s plenty of healthy options.
In short, I now frequently question myself whether to cook at home or just wander 3 blocks to Town of Dumpling. It’s my go-​to place for a simple meal in San Mateo.

I can’t think of the last time I’ve ever had dumplings besides this place but I love this place, the freshness of the food, the prices are excellent and the portions as well.
It doesn’t make you feel like your in a big town .
Its more like small cozy, comfortable, family, sorta setting.
I kinda liked how I could see them making the food. It let me know hey this food is really fresh check it out.
Them lamb skewers are delicious and I love the soup too.
I saw a coupon for this place but I decided to not even use it because the prices are soo great.
The service is excellent they always cater to my every needs and make sure I am taken care of.
If you don’t check this place out then I feel sorry for you

If you’re looking for authentic Chinese dumplings come here! The best ones are the beef dumpling with carrot, pork with Napa, and pork with celery. They’re all handmade from scratch including the dough so you know it’s good. I judge dumplings if they taste like my mom’s and they do!
Sure it may not be the most up to date interior but don’t let that fool you– the food is delicious! Garlic green beans are savory and in abundance with tofu.
The beef pancake is the bread with a beef filling paste inside which is great, but I would recommend going for the sesame pancake with marinated beef instead if you had to choose. Its filled with slices of beef, green onions and sauce and it’s delicioussss.
Free hot green tea provided as well as Chinese vinegar and a spicy dipping paste for dumplings.
Prices are for the most part $ 6 – 8 per dish but the downfall is that it’s cash only.
Wait time is average and everything is hand made.
If you’re a dumpling fanatic I would definitely recommend coming here and trying any of their dishes.

This place has my Asian parents’ stamp of approval. That’s darn good enough for me!
We had:
Black Fungus with Fresh Cucumber ($ 5.95): No, this isn’t the kind of fungus found on stanky feet, but rather wood ear mushrooms. True to its name, the ingredients tasted fresh, and were topped with a light sauce.
Fresh Cilantro Salad with Bean Stick ($ 5.95): Not really a salad; more like tofu skins topped with cilantro. Not bad if you like this sort of thing.
Green Onion Pancake ($ 3.95): Get this! Every bite was perfectly crispy, something that other places tend to not get right. Would’ve been perfect if it wasn’t slightly on the oily side.
Beef Pancake ($ 5.95): Enjoyable, but not as good as the green onion pancake. Nicely toasted sesame seed pancakes with slices of beef and flavorful sauce in the middle.
Fish with Pine Nut Sauce ($ 12.95): On the special menu. Despite being drenched with sauce, this fish had a nice crunchy texture. Very enjoyable.
Chicken Chow Mein (Free with Unilocal check-​in): Alright, but the chicken was a little dry.
Pork Dumpling with Chinese Spinach ($ 6.95): Not too memorable.
Chicken Dumpling with Corn ($ 6.95): Also not too memorable; the meat was a consistent paste but wasn’t extremely flavorful.
The bill for five people was $ 67 before tip; not too shabby considering we were all full and had some leftovers. Service was friendly, and unlike one reviewer, we weren’t asked to pay with cash for using the Unilocal check-​in offer. But we were with some family members who come here all the time, so YMMV.

I have been quite lackluster with my Unilocal reviews lately, the reason being I have an unhealthy addiction with Netflix. There is nothing more satisfying in life than binge watching a show and grabbing some Chinese after. This is what I imagine life is like when I retire, totally gross I know but might as well live up the fantasy while being unemployed. Despite how perfect a bowl of String Bean Chicken is at Panda Express, one can only ingest so much before craving for variety. So, I used my trusted Unilocal app and decided to knock off one of my bookmarks.
Town of Dumpling, dumps all day son! Like that imagery? In all honesty, picked this joint due to the close proximity from my house, from my room, from my bed, from my computer, from my phone, from my physical body.
I came here noon on a Saturday, this place was crackin’ like the MFCNY, always a good sign for a restaurant I have never tried before. Obvi, the first thing I did was check-​in on Unilocal.With a single swipe, I noticed the first time check-​in reward: FREE CHICKEN CHOW MEIN.
FREE CHICKEN CHOW MEIN. I read that twice.
I noted there were no fine prints. Because after watching Daredevil, I learned that people that are blind are not blind and people that are not blind are usually blind (This only makes sense if you watched Daredevil). As eager as I was to order my food, I presented my phone before ordering as appropriate. The lady didn’t even flinch before mentioning «only if you order $ 30 or more». I am not sure about Unilocal policy, as there were clearly no fine prints on the reward. However, I was hungry and honestly did not care to argue.
Her next statement did leave a bad taste in my mouth, when she said «Cash only, since we are giving you the free chow mein», even though credit card minimum is $ 10. The whole ordeal felt like a shady drug deal, as if I was reenacting a scene with Madame Gao and the flour in the window were suddenly heroin. This is what happens when you spend an inordinate amount of time binge watching Daredevil. Best believe I made it rain, challenge accepted. Though, I always feel confused as to owners that put rewards on Unilocal when they clearly don’t want to honor.
I waited close to an hour before food was ready. I ain’t even mad because by then I wasn’t hungry no more. All the dishes were pretty mediocre, especially the chicken skewers which were flavored exactly like popcorn chicken instead of satay. Ironically, the free chicken chow mein was the most flavorful. Maybe it is true, the best things in life are free. Except, this isn’t really free is it? By ordering more than $ 30, I probably covered more than enough overhead to pay for this chicken chow mein. If there are any takeaways from Daredevil, you’ve got to feel what’s not there as much as what is and not everyone who is supposed to be good actually is.
I apologize for all these references, but really though… How dope was his costume in the last episode? That was fire. Don’t even get me started on the romance between Wilson Fisk and Vanessa, them couples were cute as baegals. Obvi, Netflix and food go hand in hand.
BBL, bagels.

The place is hidden in the side roads of San Mateo. You can pass by it and not notice it. It’s small and fits only a small number of people.
That said, the food is here is real good! Been in the bay area for over a year now and today was the first time R & I have really tasty dumplings actually tasty food in general.
We kinda went over board when we ordered as we wanted to try a little bit of everything. We had the lamb skewers to die for, some great sesame beef pancake, jelly fish and cucumber (which was not real jelly fish to our disappointment but mushroom) and 3 types of dumplings:
–Beef and shrimp combo: very very good.
–soup dumpling: filled with absolutely delicious soup and beef.
–Chicken and corn; kinda sweet but very tasty.
–Lamb dumplings: these babies were the highlight of the meal. If you are a fan of lamb you are gonna love these!
We also got a free chicken chow mein unlocked from Unilocal.
The whole meal was really enjoyable, the lady serving us was very friendly and always smiling.