Lilly's Dumpling House — Restaurant in Fairfax

One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. The waitress’s attitude was abysmal. From the moment I walked in, she was curt and dismissive toward me, but I couldn’t help noticing she was all smiles and attentive when serving customers of a different race. Watching her put genuine effort into helping others while treating me like I was an inconvenience was upsetting and unprofessional.

The food was just as disappointing. The dumpling skins were so thick they overpowered the filling, and 6 out of the 15 dumplings were broken and falling apart when served. On top of that, it took over 25 minutes for my two dishes to arrive — and one of them was only an appetizer.

Bad food can sometimes be forgiven, but discriminatory service cannot. I won’t be returning, and I hope management takes a serious look at how their staff is treating people

Update: they overcharged my card $5 and gave...

Finally, a place in NOVA with legit buns that is not $$$$. You can see all the aunties in the back making buns real time, it’s FRESH! Pan fried buns are not the Shanghai type I grew up eating but they nailed the seasoning of the pork! I got them fresh out of the pan, sizzling hot and juicy *chefs kiss, only $7 for 6 pork buns?! it’s a no-brainer. I also ordered scallion pancakes to go,very fresh, I wish there’s more scallion in it but I’ll still buy it again, it tastes great with my fermented bean paste (黄豆酱） 10/10 will go back again and order all the other buns! (And the...

This place is amazing. Their Pan Fried pork buns (shengjian bao) are truly amazing, and definitely one of if not the best in northern virginia area. Other places don’t get it as juicy as this one, and it’s now our family’s goto.

Honorable mentions are the green onion pancakes, which they have 2. The “small” ones are different and more bread-like instead of the thin crispy ones. The “large” ones are the thin ones, but take extra time to cook (pictured is the...