Super Juicy Dumpling [Brea, CA] — Restaurant in Brea

In search for the best substitute to Din Tai Fung’s dumplings, we were introduced to Super Juicy Dumplings & their big xiao long bao. This restaurant is located near the Brea mall and is in a very large plaza so you’ll have lots of parking.

The restaurant is also closed during the slow period so it’s best to arrive right when it opens back up for dinner or else it will be a very long wait.

They do NOT seat based on the order you arrived in. They will seat based on party size. For parties of 2, you could be waiting longer than a party of 4. Definitely didn’t like this but we were seated fairly quickly since it had reopened for dinner anyway. *

The service here is very slow and the reason for that is because there isn’t enough staffing to accommodate their business. I saw at most 2 servers and 1 host. They all assisted in setting tables up and bussing them as well. The kitchen is definitely not big enough for the restaurant size but did like that it was open concept so you could see them making the xlb in front of you.

JUMBO PORK & CRAB DUMPLING (1pc, $5.95) -- I ordered this because it was one of the most popular entrees of this restaurant and because it’s the only one in the West Coast that I’ve seen! I was pretty underwhelmed by it. I wish that there was more flavor in it or that they could’ve given me a slightly fatter straw because the crab meat kept getting stuck in the straw which got old fairly quickly for me.

JUICY PORK DUMPLING, SWEET (10pcs, $9.95) -- Definitely a MISS. Perhaps it’s something about being spoiled by dtf that makes it hard to compete with. But good xlb is thicker in skin on the bottom and thinner on top so that it is easy to break open with chopsticks but thick enough so that it doesn’t tear in the steaming process. Several of my xlb’s had already ripped open which did not make me happy but the taste was alright.

SHRIMP WONTON SOUP (10pcs, $10.95) -- Now this is definitely something you will want to try! I had been craving wontons and was very happy with the overall taste and quality of the soup and wontons. They have huge pieces of shrimp inside and the broth is delicious as well.

HOUSE COMBINATION NOODLES ($10.95) -- This didn’t scream amazing but it wasn’t terrible either. Think of this as your standard chow mein dish with beef, pork, chicken, and shrimp in it.

— Overall, I didn’t think that this restaurant was terrible but it wasn’t necessarily one that I would seriously consider coming back to. In its own right, the food is delicious but there are definitely better...

DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT

I ordered 2 shrimp fried rice and 2 pork belly fried rice. The two of us who ate the pork fried rice were fine but the two who ate the shrimp fried rice began feeling ill about 20 minutes after eating. About 40 minutes later, both of them could not stop throwing up. They threw up 5 to 6 times each until there was no more solids to come out.

At the restaurant, after I ordered and paid, I heard them in the kitchen said in Mandarin, "we don't have shrimp any more" and another replied, "let me look, we have to serve it." That should have been a red flag but I trusted that a restaurant would inform me if a certain dish was not being served and I should change my order, however they just probably pulled out expired shrimp from who knows where and served it.

At this moment, the two who are sick are recovering at home but possibly in need of hospitalization. In that case, an investigation will be underway for malpractice of...

We really enjoyed it here. You can watch people make the dumplings which is a nice touch. The restaurant was clean and the service was pretty good. They were poor on refills but that in itself doesnt warrant a star downgrade, just something they need to work on. We ordered too much food but thats all part of the fun and it cooked up well once we were at home. Edit: Have been back two more times and I didn't have a pleasant experience both times. I ordered the ribs, which is one of their signature dishes, and they got me sick. I wont describe it but it was bad. My guest really wanted to go again and I noticed how horrible the service was. Any time we wanted to do anything (order, ask for a fork, ask for drinks, ask for extra napkins, refill, ect) we had to flag down someone for help, sometimes even having to physically stand up as they ignored my waiving arms and pleas for help. I hope none of my friends want to go here again as I do not ever...