Dumpling Bowl & Bubblicity Tea Shop — Restaurant in Ottawa

The employees don't pay attention to the customers. The restaurant was literally empty and we had our hands up trying to get their attention for the longest time and they still didn't notice us. We obviously had to get up and get their attention to give us water, even though we had asked them for it while taking our orders.

In terms of food, it was really disappointing. The dumplings tasted frozen and the meat was basically overcooked, rubbery and flavourless. The skin on the dumpling was extremely thick and soggy, but what do you expect from dumplings that are boiled. They should really try to make steamed dumplings instead.

The only saving grace is the bubble tea because it tasted pretty good. But what's frustrating is that they got our orders wrong. We wanted jellies instead of tapioca. There was literally no one in the restaurant and they screw up anyways. We didn't bother complaining and getting a replacement but still, the overall service is terrible.

I wouldn't waste money on boiled dumplings there and the service was mediocre. I might come back for bubble tea and give them another chance at getting the...

The food was pretty good, however it was quite expensive, and the service was awful. We had a platter with some different types of meat dumplings. They had excellent skin texture, decent tasting filling, and were nice and crispy. The menu says the dumplings include special sauces, but those are apparently just the sauces already on the table.

If it was just price and good quality, this place would get four stars. However, it has literally the worst service I've ever experienced at a sit down restaurant. The guy at the front was surly, and acted mad at us interrupting him by entering the restaurant. He got annoyed when we asked where to sit, and actually turned several customers away once we were there because the restaurant was "full". About half the tables were empty. Maybe they were reserved, but still. Just say that. He wouldn't give wait times, and just generally couldn't be bothered. This was our second time coming here, since the first time the same guy turned us away. I had assumed it was an isolated incident, but apparently not.

Unless you're absolutely craving good, but overpriced dumplings, I'd...

With a name like "Dumpling House" one would expect the establishment to serve decent dumplings. We opted for beef and chives fried (extra $1.50 to have them fried) and pork, shrimp and chives (one of the house specialties). The dumplings were not horrible but far from tasty; I'll say about at par with the selection at T&T, but at 2-3x the price. The ambiance was laughably horrible; about every 2 minutes the man behind the counter would turn on the blender that caused us to yell at each other in order to be heard. The water came tepid and was served in mason jars. Dumpling sauce was nothing more than commercially available sweet chili sauce served in tiny little dish that someone decided was sufficient for 15 dumplings. Given the number of restaurants in immediate vicinity serving better food at lower prices one has to wonder not how do they stay in business, but rather how much longer until they go away.

TL/DR: Food 3 out of 10, ambiance...