Dumpling & Dough — Restaurant in San Carlos

Saw the "Soft Opening" sign and with high hopes decided to drop in for dinner one night. While the food was overall good, it wasn't great (except for the potsticker) and certainly did not feel worth the price.

We ordered the black pepper beef dumplings, garlic cucumber salad, potstickers, and the green onion oil noodles.

The dumplings were solid. Not outstanding, but certainly good. However, if I had been served these without knowing what they were, I would not have guessed black pepper beef. Honestly it reminded me of corned beef.

The cucumber garlic salad was also good, but that's par for the course. Haven't every found any of this that's bad, but I can't imagine how anyone would make it mind-blowing.

The potsticker, for me, was easily the best dish. I liked how one side was crunchy, the other soft and doughy. The filling was flavorful and well cooked. Each dumpling was 3 good bites, though I stretched the 3rd and final dumpling out to 4. They were very good dumplings.

The green onion oil noodles were disappointing. It was a small bowl of seemingly plain noodles, with an afterthought of some greens added. There was oil to be sure, but I detected no meaningful flavor from it.

And from here we get into the larger issue with Dumpling & Dough: that small bowl of noodles was $13 or $14. At half the price for the portion, I wouldn't have minded the value though still would wonder what is was supposed to be. At twice the portion for the price, I'd still have been disappointed. The dumplings were good, but on the pricier side of what I've seen around. Same for the salad. The potstickers were great, but you only get 3 for the price.

It's a lovely, cozy, freshly remodeled interior with lots of lighting and a minimal but tasteful decor (beautiful plates and dishes!). The service was attentive but not overly so. In this, compared to the other dumpling-focused option in the area, D&D shines brightly. However, when it comes to the food and value, the comparison is much less favorable.

Best of luck with the...

Vibe- 3/5 . small but modern and clean. Good for solo dining or small groups 2-4 / families. Food- 2/5 based only on the beef noodles soup Soup was salty ( a bit oily, taste of soy sauce, no complexity in the flavor profile, for $15.95, 75% of the volume is noodles, 20% soup , noodles texture no bounce, not much different than ones bought in Asian grocery stores ). The beef was super thinly sliced, more like shaved beef - didn’t amount to more than 2 or 3 oz of beef. There were some Chinese greens. Maybe Chinese spinach. Service- 4/5 my server was a nice non Asian male- friendly, attentive. He noticed I stopped eating but the bowl of noodles soup still almost full, and asked if everything was alright. I nodded, trying to keep my criticism to myself and not make a big deal). The fact he asked was a good gesture. I appreciated that.

Final thought- this a good spot in downtown San Carlos for solo dining if you’re in the mood for simple northern style Chinese food. Not sure if I will return but if I do, definitely will skip the beef...

When I arrived for my pick-up order, there was a worker in the front rolling out fresh dough into rounds. My order was ready, and the host was friendly, and bonus, I think most everything came in compostable packaging!

We ordered Xiao long bao, pan fried pork dumpling, Cucumber salad, spicy wanton soup, and the scallion oil noodles. The noodles had just the right thickness, and the mild flavor contrasted the dumplings. The dumplings were each both good, but my favorite are the pan fried - I wish I'd gotten two orders. Cucumber salad was, well, cucumber salad. Nothing life altering, but very solid, quality dumplings.

The real star was their chili oil. I'm not sure if they make it in-house but it's pretty bomb. I piled it onto each Xiao long bao then drizzled over dumpling sauce....