[Sunnyvale, CA] Dumpling Depot

[Mod note: split from Dumpling City discussion]

Husband and I visited both Dumpling City and Dumpling Depot, because Dumpling City only had frozen dumplings for sale, so they referred us to their sister location Dumpling Depot.

When we arrived at Dumpling Depot (which used to be a Chinese vegetarian joint decades ago) at 7pm, we were starving! Unfortunately, we had to wait outside with a half dozen other people who were also clamoring for some dumplings.

The restaurant was a pretty standard Chinese restaurant with seating for about 50. They’re fairly new, about 4 months old and clearly have some kinks to work out. That is, they were severely understaffed. 2 wait staff for 50 covers? They need to hire more people.

Despite the wait time (both to get seated and to get served), we were not disappointed. This place is legit. Here’s what we had:

  1. Chilled Noodles - I was expecting hit-you-in-the-face flavor, but I found it pleasantly mild and refreshing. The noodles had good chew, which is essential in this type of dish.
    http://www.tastytime.com/system/fotos/files/000/008/070/front_page/IMG_20170816_194807.jpg?1502938089
  2. Vegetarian Dumplings (because I’m vegetarian) - Perfect skin. Great chew. The filling was very good. Again mild, but in a good way. It can improve, but very good.
    http://www.tastytime.com/system/fotos/files/000/008/071/front_page/IMG_20170816_195445.jpg?1502938486
  3. Salt Pepper Tofu - Perfect. Love the thin crisp layer from frying and the soft tofu inside.
    http://www.tastytime.com/system/fotos/files/000/008/072/front_page/IMG_20170816_195557.jpg?1502938559
  4. Vegetarian Potstickers - Same filling as the boiled dumplings, but different shape and cooking method. Well executed. I chuckled when it came out as you see in the photo. There was zero presentation effort, but that’s okay. It was delicious.
    http://www.tastytime.com/system/fotos/files/000/008/073/front_page/IMG_20170816_195726.jpg?1502938648
  5. Green Chive Dumplings w/ Egg - This one had a lot of Chinese chive flavor and if that’s your thing, you’ve got to order this. I really enjoyed it. Here’s a picture of the inside filling:
    http://www.tastytime.com/system/fotos/files/000/008/074/front_page/IMG_20170816_200337.jpg?1502939018

All in all, it was worth the drive down to Sunnyvale and the wait in line. One caution, though, it’s not as cheap as I’d expect a place like this to be, but its quality makes up for the extra cost. Definitely worth a try.

Here’s their menu: https://www.dumplingdepot.com/menu

Have a tasty time!!:fork_and_knife:

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Great report. I tried eating there twice and had yet to succeed. The first time they told me there’s a 15 minute wait and wrote my name down for me on the wait list. We showed up and there were 5 parties in front of me waiting for table in a restaurant with like 8? tables? The second time they told me about something similar over the phone and I just headed elsewhere.

What’s the filling in the veggie dumplings?

@sck The veggie dumplings was a plain mixture of egg, vermicelli, and I think napa cabbage. I think the filling could’ve been improved. I would’ve liked to seen shiitake mushrooms and maybe carrots or something. Their strength is their execution on wrappers and cooking it just the right amount of time.

We bought two bags of their frozen Zucchini dumplings and cooked them today. I personally wasn’t attracted to the idea of zucchini dumplings, but I think of the 3 dumpling flavors we’ve tried, it was our favorite one, despite our guesswork on cook time (their label didn’t have any instructions on how long to boil them… after some experimentation, it’s between 3-4 minutes and you have to make sure to use a large pot of water).

Anyway, I don’t want to hype up the restaurant, but it’s worth trying. Maybe you’ll have better luck on a week night. Good luck and let me know what you think when you do try!

Thanks. I will give their vegetarian dumpling a try when I have a chance. These days getting into a relatively decent Chinese restaurants in the South Bay is challenging to say the least with all the waiting.

2 posts were split to a new topic: SF Bay Area vegetarian recs?

Do you know If their “QQ noodles” are hand-pulled or hand-cut?

Their noodle dishes are home made noodles - not hand-pulled, but probably hand-cut.

But if you’re asking about 水餃湯粉絲: Dumpling Soup with QQ Noodle… from the menu, it is actually NOT noodle, but the “glass noodle” or mung bean-based clear noodle.

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