88 DUMPLING HOUSE — Restaurant in Houston

I wanted to like this place, but the service received was very unpleasant. I ordered their weekday lunch special, which was advertised as $12.99 on the automated ordering kiosks, but the final charge was $16 + tips. Since the difference was only a few dollars more, I didn’t think much of it, but the place is definitely lacking price transparency.

Once I grabbed a table number and seated, the food arrived relatively quickly. From where I was seated, I could see that the fried rice was premade and kept warm in a rice cooker. The hot and sour soup came out next and likely was also premade in batch. The beef entree and the fried dumplings took a while longer, so I assume those were made fresh to order. While waiting, I had a bit of time to observe the surroundings. Since I visited in the mid-afternoon, it was relatively empty restaurant with just my table and the staff. I noticed that one of the staff was coughing and seemingly feverish as she slouched her shoulders and walked sluggishly around the restaurant checking on the utensils stand and wiping down other used tables. Later while eating, I overheard the staff tell the floor manager in Chinese that she wasn’t feeling well, which confirmed my suspicion. Toward the end of the meal, the floor manager was close enough to my table, so I waved her to my table and recommended that the sick staff wear a mask if she’s not feeling well given that’s a health hazard to visitors of the restaurant and the many medical professionals who also order takeaways from this location. The floor manager pretended to not know about the other staff member being sick and asked how I knew, to which I responded with the symptoms that I observed earlier. Then she shifted her tone and seemed to acknowledge the feedback given my descriptions, but as I observed for the next 15 min, she did not approach the other staff member at all to confirm nor address the situation. I was very disappointed in the way the situation was handled, and it left me with unease as I finished the remainder of my meal.

Once I was done, I stood and asked the floor manager what is the process for handling the table cleanup, since all the food was served in disposable containers but there was no trash bin in my line of sight. The floor manager smiled at me mockingly and said “of course you have to throw everything away and then we can wipe the table when you are gone”. I asked where the trash bin was, and all she did was point to the back. Even when she saw me pile up all the containers between my hands, she did nothing to assist nor even verbally offer assistance even though there was no one else waiting on her for anything. I ended up leaving my own belongings at the table to carry all the trash in one attempt.

As I approached the back, another staff walked into the restaurant with the emptied trash bins, so I stood to wait until the bins were placed back into the box. While waiting, the large fan next to the trash bin almost blew some of the napkins and wrappers out of my food containers. I walked back to my table to grab my belonging and provided the feedback on the fan placement, and again, the floor manager merely nodded, not offering any apologies for the experience despite witnessing the whole scene.

Overall, the food portions were large and the quality was good, but it’s not worth it for the unpleasant dining experience, especially if there’s nothing to demonstrate that they place the same emphasis on...

Me and my friend were first timers and decided to try this place out after seeing it on TikTok, they have bottled drinks, free water and you order through an ipad at the table or at the automated kiosk The food we ordered was actually very good, everything was fresh and flavorful. I highly recommend the shredded veggies, smashed cucumbers, hotpot xiao long baos and the four color xiao long baos Now, the thing that could be driving customers away for them is the service, we weren't made aware of what to expect when we walked in, we got sat and given an ipad to order after waiting for other patrons to finish ordering on the kiosk, there is a self-serve station with napkins, chopsticks, sauces, bowls and cups with a water container for us to serve ourselves. If you want ice you have to ask the lady standing by who I assume is the main server/manager.

The food didn't take that long at all but when we finish our food I didn't know if we dispose it ourselves or leave it there. As I got up the "manager" followed me with her eyes and I thought she was just being nice so I smiled at her and left but then my friend talked to her and apparently we had to clean it up, my friend asked "we're supposed to throw it over there?" pointing to the trash can, the lady gave my friend a smirk and nod, giving "yes duh what else were you supposed to do" kind of look, which really was odd and giving me a very bad impression.

After we left I was in a bad mood but I feel bad because the food was actually good but with that kind of service and attitude I'd rather just try other places and get better sevice than come back.

We ended up going to the Baker's son after and our mood was instantly lifted because of the welcoming and friendly atmosphere and service!

Management please re-train that one manager and maybe we can come back. Until...

Heard about this fantastic little place by accident while searching for something else. After looking through the menu and seeing some pictures, we decided to check it out. Just one block away from NRG stadium, the dumpling house is pretty easy to get to, and we had zero trouble parking.

The restaurant itself is a fairly new and updated space that used to be part of an Asian market. The smells when you walk in are amazing, and the temperature and atmosphere are as well. They have a selection of soft drinks or waters you can choose from, as well as teas and boba choices.

Ordering is very simple through the touch screen kiosks they have. You can order dine-in or takeout, and there's a picture next to almost every single food item available. Everything from small, simple appetizers such as sesame balls to family meals and frozen dumplings you can take home and save for another day.

The dumplings and buns come with anywhere from 3-12 pieces depending on the size and range in price from 8-17 dollars, so if you want to get a good variety, be prepared to spend a little money, but I would say once you find that thing you cant stop thinking about (thumb sized pan fried buns!!), I find that everything is fairly reasonably priced. Everything we got that day from our boba to the dumplings were to die for. So full of flavor, hot, and cooked perfectly. I can't say enough good things about this place. Oh, and be sure to add or dip them into the homemade chili...