Qing Hua Dumpling - (ChinaTown & Boul. St-Laurent) — Restaurant in Montreal

Tasty dumplings in a comfy environment -- I can't wait to return. I dined in late on a Monday night, and I loved stepping into a bustling resto after walking through le Quartier Chinois' neon-lit, energetic streets.

It was only a 10-minute wait to be seated, and then I was digging the youthful vibes around me: a combination of twentysomething and thirtysomething hipsters; young, middle-aged and senior couples and solo diners like myself. All of us hungry!

What I didn't like was watching servers skip me to take orders from a few groups of three diners -- that caused me to have to wait a half-hour for a server to take my order. Not good. And all I had during the waiting period was a pitcher of water with lemon wedges. Then, once my order -- pan-fried pork and chive dumplings (I didn't mind the $1.50CAD extra for pan-searing) -- was taken, it took more than a half-hour more for my meal and a can of Coke to arrive.

Was my plate of pan-fried dumplings worth the excruciating wait? Yes, oui et si! I was so hungry that I used only soy sauce, but I ate a few of the porkilicious morsels naked, and they were divine! Next time I'll try some of the condiments that are provided at every table. But yah, I left satisfied both in belly and wallet. As a U.S. citizen using a credit card, I benefited from the exchange rate and zero international fee (merci, Capital One!), so I didn't even feel the tiny extra cost for selecting the pan-fried method over the (default) steamed method.

I must mention that having the choice of using a major credit card or some of my CAD cash was a really nice surprise, as I'd "misremembered" that Qing Hua Dumpling House didn't accept credit cards. The restaurant does accept credit cards. As this was my first night out of seven on my Québec province vacation trip, I decided I'd better hold onto my Canadian cash a bit longer.

And I was smart, because some eateries in Montreal -- from Chinatown to La Petite-Italie -- don't accept credit cards. In fact, midway through my vacation, I needed to visit a currency exchange office (in Québec City) because I wanted to make sure I had enough CAD cash (including those helpful loonies and twoonies) to leave tips: for housekeeping in the hotel rooms, for doormen and concierge at hotels, for tour guides and the drivers of those tour buses, for donations at houses of worship (although I hadn't planned to visit any, I went to three, including St. Joseph's Oratory in MTL), and for food from food trucks and carts at the Just for Laughs Festival in MTL.

So, with major credit cards and CAD cash on my person next time I'm in Canada, I'll be stopping by Qing Hua Dumpling House when I reach Montréal. Not only do I love its cuisine and its operating hours, but I also adore its overall vibe. The front-of-the-house employee (not sure if he's the manager) was so welcoming and kind, just one of the coolest businesspeople I encountered on this trip, that I'd return to Qing Hua Dumpling House to experience his sophisticated and charming blend of hospitality ... even after a 13-hour rail trip to MTL from NYC.

S'il vous plait, incloyez la Maison Qing Hua dans votre prochain visite au...

We came here on the night if labour day. We saw the 4 star rating and wanted to give it a try but was unfortunately disappointed. At first the place seemed nice and clean. That is all the positive things I can say for this visit. We were seated at a table which was directly under a vent with water or condensation dripping down. We originally ordered 3 trays of dumplings (to be shared between 4 ppl) and (10mins) later ordered another 3 items. The food took forever to come. We did later find out the dumplings were made fresh hence the delay. However, when our first 3 trays of dumplings finally arrived, 2 of the 3 trays had dumplings that looked undercooked from the outside with patches of white floury parts on the skin. We asked for them to be sent back to be cooked a little longer. The 2 trays didn't come back for a very long time. At this point we were just sitting there (after devouring our 1 remaining tray) and playing the waiting game. We didn't think it would take another 20 minutes before we would get them back. After they were returned, the white patches were still there. =(

Other cons: we had to ask for the chopsticks. Our group was separated into 2 tables and my friends at the other table actually ended up just eating with their hands because they were very hungry at that point.

The dumplings itself tasted okay. The skin seemed a bit too thick. My husband ordered dumplings in soup and that apparently tasted better than the steamed ones. I didn't personally try it though.

No tissue/napkin were given to either of our 2 tables

staff didn't seem familiar/well trained at waiting tables. My guess is the waiters/waitress were perhaps son and/or daughters of restaurant owner(s)

toilet was out of both toilet paper and paper tower

From our experience, although the dumplings may have been made fresh to the order, I personally (and the rest of our group) wouldn't go back after all the waiting and the disappointment with the food even after all...

I never wrote a review but I felt like I had to share this for future clients. This review is not to hurt the business but to address publicly the concern my group had in a constructive way. We ordered the pickled cucumber dish, sweet and sour soup and dumplings. First, the cucumbers were really soggy and tasted expired. Then the soup tasted like it was diluted in water and has a weird after taste that happens when you leave the sweet and sour soup for a while in the fridge. Finally, after more than 30 minutes of wait for the dumplings, we saw other tables that came after us getting served. They forgot the dumplings for our table. With the bad quality of food, I told the waitress to give me the bill for what we partially ate but she pressured us with a broken English that the plate was coming out any moment and that we shouldn’t leave. She then got a gentleman at the cash involved (maybe the host or manager?) he asked me if I wanted it to go. They wouldn’t understand that I just wanted to pay and leave so I waited another 10 minutes. They literally forgot our order for all that time... Once the dish was out we ate, the dumplings were not bad but I had better luck with frozen dumplings than the ones at this resto. We didn’t finish the dumplings because the spoiled cucumbers and soup we ate had cut short our appetite. I felt bad so I told her that I will pay for the dish but it wasn’t really good. She didn’t even ask me what was wrong. I really do hope I am an isolated case and others will have better food quality and service than my group. Also I’d be curious if they would pass the quality test with a...