Dumpling District — Restaurant in Germantown

Bottom line: Overall a solid place but it depends on what you order. Not as good as other locations but still way better than 95% of restaurants in the region that claim to have soul dumplings.

Soup dumplings: Good depending on flavor. Very big and soupy - which I like! Most flavors are good. Skip the shrimp and zucchini soup dumpling, though: It’s bland and kind of watery. The chicken was surprisingly disappointing; I liked this flavor when I had it at the Arlington location a few months ago but it didn’t taste the same here. I hope the recipe didn’t change and that it just wasn’t a good day.

Appetizers: Good. Cucumbers are a good pick. I want to try the scallion pancake next time - the pictures look really good.

The not-so-good: The crab-pork pan-fried buns. I definitely got pork-only pan-friend buns, despite the dough being marked with the yellow tops. I even sacrificed one to carefully dissect and taste, to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. I informed the waiter and was told that there was no crab in the bun, just “crab flavor”; that didn’t quite make sense to me (plus, it’s contradicted by the item’s description) so I raised the issue again, to which I was informed that the filling may have been mixed unevenly.

I’m sorry, but there are only four possible ways I can interpret what your waitstaff is telling me. (1) The menu makes incorrect claims; or (2) Mixing is so uneven and QC is so bad that one customer can get six buns where not one has crab in the filling; or (3) The recipe has a “La Croix” level of crab; or (4) Most likely, your BOH used the wrong filling for these buns and your FOH decided to downplay my complaint instead of genuinely considering that a mistake may have been made.

Overall, a solid experience. A little disappointing because this is otherwise one of my favorite chains in the region (I think it’s part of the Nanxiang Express group of restaurants?) but it’s still worth a visit I think.

Update, 4/5/25 = Returned and tried the scallion pancake - While it’s quite greasy and you’ll want to blot some of the oil off with a napkin, it’s so good and shatteringly crisp. Probably my favorite menu item. Strongly recommended!

Had the crab and pork soup dumplings, too. The dumpling skins weren’t as good as yesterday (looks like they didn’t knead the dough enough) and three of the six broke while being picked up, compared to zero of six when I was here yesterday. However, the filling was good. Overall, I’d recommended it!

I think across both visits my overall impression is that this is a solid place to eat with some real winners. If it weren’t for the inconsistent quality, I could literally eat...

I am a big fan of this place. I really do think that this place has a great price to feeling ‘full’ ratio. We got the sampler soup dumplings, fried pork ribs (I believe not officially on the menu), chicken pan fried pork buns, pork chops with bok choi, cucumbers, and beef wrapped Taiwanese pancakes. It was delicious and reasonably priced.

Specifically I think that the soup dumpling sampler is a must. In this variety, every single one is hand made and tasty. The flavors are: pork, chicken, crab, pork mala, shrimp zucchini, and truffle pork. The shrimp, pork mala and crab were all delicious. It was filling and all of them were pretty big. Didn’t have any issues with skin breaking either.

I would also of course recommend the Taiwanese garlic cucumbers, and pan fried pork buns. In addition, I’d also highly recommend asking them for fried pork ribs. Again this isn’t an actual menu item but next time you’re there ask them if it’s possible to get fried pork ribs that aren’t on the menu and they’ll know. Absolutely delicious.

The only reason why I don’t have photos attached is because I ate all the food before I remembered to...

A little surprise in the old Germantown BonChon location. Decided to try out this restaurant recently and was surprised at the flavor and quality of the food. We tried the Spring Roll, Pork Stir-Fry Noodles, Beef Scallion Pancakes, and the Rainbow Soup Dumplings (we aren't afraid to eat). Our favorite was the Stir-Fry Noodles, we just couldn't stop they were incredibly flavorful. Made the mistake of attempting to share the Rainbow Soup Dumplings platter by splitting them (the broth in the dumpling is part of the dish), huge party foul on our part letting the broth go to waste. Next trip definitely getting them on my own for the full experience.

Servers were kind and attentive from the moment we walked in, helpful with ordering and answering any questions we had. Great banter with our table as well. Well balanced prices and an easy to pay final bill. I hope to see this place make it in the location, I am looking forward...