Sister Liu's Kitchen — Restaurant in Durham

Ordered online for pick-up, First time there. I was pretty confused with where to go and it took a moment to find someone who could communicate with me. They told me to go to the other side so I did but then they came to hand me my take out food. It was a really nice day so i ate on the picnic table outside. I didn't mind the set up but I could see how it might be inconvenient if or when it gets busy or the weather is not nice. I parked easily right in front but there were few spaces.

The food: I wanted to like it but I just did not. The dumplings (pork/chive) were mediocre at best. Very little filling to dough ratio, they were extremely fragile, and the filling had almost no flavor somehow. It needed salt/spices, and it was pretty dry. The sauce was equally lackluster and had almost no taste? Unclear how dipping sauce can be under salted lol. I hoped that dipping them in there would add some flavor but it just didn't unfortunately.

I also had a pork bun. The bun looked beautiful and really well done so I was really excited for it but again, it fell flat. Very little filling to dough ratio and it was just bland-- the quality of the meat seemed off somehow.

Side note: I pan fried the leftover dumplings later at home and made my own sauce, and they were much better.

I have traveled extensively and lived in several countries in Asia and I have a culinary background, so I'm not seeking waterdowned Americanized food or rating them against unrealistic expectations. I was really hoping to find a nice authentic Asian restaurant where I could go regularly, but sadly this just wasn't it. The search for the best dumplings in the triangle...

Food is usually worth the wait but you have to check your order down to the ingredients--the wait is never as short as they say online, and they often mess up orders, so I always check ours before I leave. But we keep going back because their dumplings and sandwiches are so incredibly good.

Update 11 Jul 2025- They messed up order again for what the 5th, 6th time and we can't even get it fixed without going back since no one speaks English well enough to fix it. How infuriating. My husband picked up order instead of me so he didn't check it close enough and they gave us vegetarian noodles instead of the ones with the pork. When we went back, spoke with owner and not the guy who answered the phone. She was very apologetic and acknowledged the order was incorrect and did make it right. She also mentioned she knows she has to do something to eliminate this issue but is still figuring it out. All I can say is food is excellent but carefully check the order down to the sauces you get.

Overall rating due to these repeated issues went from 4 to 1 and then 3 stars. We will still go because food is excellent, but we will be even more diligent checking orders...

Nope. Really wanted to love this place. The food is quality, just not the level they're charging for...at all.

Love that they serve handmade, veggie (vegan) dumplings. They're well made, tasty, and consist mainly of mushroom and crumbled tofu. The spicy dipping sauce while good, is not exceptional.

The veggie noodle salad was sadly disappointing. The thick rice noodles were good and well prepared, but the whole dish lacked flavor. There was a very light seasoning, but aside from the shredded lettuce atop there really wasn't anything else. For that price at least throw in a steamed vegetable or something. I didn't venture to try the vegan "burger" but from the photo it appears to just be shredded cabbage or radish in a pocket bun. Good grief.

Maybe it's just the veggie options, or that I'm spoiled from Sunday dim sums in the city, but being better than most Asian restaurants in the South isn't a high bar. And the food certainly doesn't warrant this price. $65+ for 3 people to eat 4 dishes, 2 of which were just dumplings for brunch take out. ...