Dian Xin — Restaurant in New Orleans

This is the best Chinese restaurant in New Orleans and frankly I could leave it at that but let's dig in. I went on a Sunday afternoon right as they were opening (3pm) with a large group (7). We arrived around 2:40 and there was already a line forming. We were seated right away and the service was attentive but chaotic. We ordered everything at once basically but it came out sporadically. The dishes we got (and my opinion) *Five Spice Fried Pork Ribs - fine, could use more spice to cut through the grease *Salt & Pepper Squid - same as above *Xiao Long Bao - very good *Crabmeat and Crawfish Bao - not as good as the xiao long bao but a really great local take on the dish. Will surely become a restaurant special *Pork and Shrimp Dumplings - whether fried or steamed they had a great flavor, the mince meat was well seasoned. *Sauteed snow pea tips with garlic - have to have something healthy. Pretty good *Stir Friend Noodles in XO Sauce - good. Much better then the takeout lo mein you may be used to *Walnut Shrimp - excellent *Beef Eggplant - showstopper. An absolutely delicious dish - perfectly balanced spice and tender eggplant. I'd come back for this. *Salted Fish Chicken Fried Rice - delicious. Definitely recommend trying something outside your comfort zone.

With the food out of the way let's address the elephant in the room - service. It's not great. You're probably going to have to wait to get a table, you're gonna have to wait to get food and it will arrive randomly. The above described menu probably took over an hour to fully arrive and it did not come in any predictable way. This is pretty much why they lose a star. That being said - they're brand new! I don't even know why people are flocking here. I think once they hire more staff and figure out the kinks that every restaurant has at the beginning they'll be a true 5 star destination. I already can't wait to go back.

I see lot of people referring to it as a dim sum restauraunt and while they serve a lot of dim sum staples don't expect a dim sum like experience - that is bringing a large group and sharing a lot of plates. It's definitely geared towards smaller group dining. The "mains" are definitely individual entrees. I think this would be a great spot to go with 2-4 people and share some appetizers and get individual dishes.

Finally - yes it's in the quarter so don't try to drive here. You won't find parking. Take a streecar/Lyft/Uber/bike...

This is a 5 star rating because authentic Chinese fare in New Orleans isn't what I was expecting, but here we are. I have had similar meals in NYC but when Chas said he found a Bao spot that was the real deal, I was honestly skeptical. I was wrong. I'll eat that crow...and nearly anything on this menu.

We ordered the Pan Fried Dumplings, Xiao Long Bao, Crabmeat and Crawfish Bao, and the Chicken Jian bing. Definitely will be back to try out some more of the bao and jian bing selections as well as some of the char siu.

The pan fried dumplings had a nice hard crust on one side and a doughy exterior to the other side. Exactly what you look for in an authentic fried dumpling. The pork filling was excellent...rich and savory and was such a nice bite.

The Crabmeat and Crawfish Bao was clearly one of their offerings honoring the area while still staying true to their own history. This was a very good dumpling and had I not tasted anything else here, it would have been good enough for me to come back again. With that said, it was my least favorite item we ordered.

The Xiao Long Bao was incredible. This flavor rivaled the ones i've gotten in NYC and were for sure a true testament to Shanghainese cuisine. The broth inside was extremely flavorful and the meat was so tender and moist. I could have eaten 3 orders of these myself, and I may someday. Don't judge me.

The Jian Bing was exactly what I hoped it would be. Basically similar to a very thin omelet or a crepe, this was stuffed with chicken and chinese vegetables and it was fantastic. We had a plan to Shanghai that got cancelled (thanks covid) but I watched so many videos of people grabbing these from street food vendors and I had such a longing to try it. To say I was happy is an extreme understatement. I'd order this again many many more times.

All at affordable prices, this can't be stated enough...Dian Xin in New Orleans, Louisiana -...

Tried to eat here X2, first time they closed early for Chinese New Year and second time the wait time was too long - so ordered take out X2. Was a little tired of USA food after 2 weeks of driving in the Southern States.

I think this place is very popular with locals, and everyone in the queue would rave about how good it is. As a Chinese who has eaten Chinese food in New York and at home in London, I would say the quality from a purely Chinese perspective is variable.

The steamed 蟹粉小笼包 were not bad at all and would recommend. The plain rice is American long grain so it's so so. The sea food fried rice was not good. The garlic pea shoots were fine. I can make better hot and sour soup at home. They ran out one night of the stir fried spicy cabbage, so kindly substituted for pea shoots. I was told this dish contains pork, which I thought would have been fine for flavour, but obviously not something you'd find in 手撕包菜 it in fact it contains extremely salty bacon in large pieces. I recognise my dish did not have the intended cabbage, but there is no way that would have been nice either. The bacon made the entire dish salty beyond belief and far too meaty to enjoy. Would have been better without meat altogether. The green beans weren't good and smothered in sweet sauce.

So in summary, I think this place is fine for people who do not know what good Chinese food is and what it's supposed to taste like, but not great for an actual Chinese person. However, if you're craving a change from the usual USA and Cajun fare, I think it's in a great location and it is certainly very edible. I will end on the fact the xiao long bao are...