Fuwa Dumpling — Restaurant in San Francisco

An amazing dumpling restaurant in San Francisco run by an equally amazing family. With a plethora of dumpling restaurants popping up across San Francisco, one may think that competition is oversaturated offering the same kind of food. However, having ample variations of conceptually similar offerings often leads to a continual push for the best dumplings one can eat. Fuwa dumpling makes no mistakes with their quality, price, and flavor combinations. While this isn't my first time here, every dumpling, side, and noodle dish is worth your hard earned time and hard earned money. This time around, I ordered myself 3 side dishes (Cucumber Salad, Bean Curd Salad, Potato Salad), 3 dumplings (Pan Fried Chicken and Corn, Boiled Zucchini Egg & Prawn, and Wonton Soup), and a Beef Pancake.

Cucumber Salad: A standard staple Unlike other restaurants where their sides sit pre-made in the fridge, Fuwa cuts and mixes every plate to order. The cucumbers are equally refreshing, tasty, and a great start to your dumpling experience.

Chicken & Corn Dumpling: Corn is good. Corn is sweet. Corn is life. What goes good with Chicken? Corn. What goes good with Corn? Chicken. What do Chickens eat? Corn. What do I like? Chicken & Corn. It's a match made in heaven. The filling is a harmonic balance between sweet and salty. Please don't change. (P.s. you can buy frozen packs to go)

Zucchini Shrimp Egg Dumpling: Different, but welcoming First time trying a dumpling like this. Unlike dumplings that really only have one mince meat texture, Fuwa flips the script with this dumpling adding zucchini to introduce a different dumpling experience. Every bite is a mix of crunchy veggies, soft eggs, and a hearty little prawn. Would I order it again? Yes. It's atypical of dumplings to be this fun to eat.

Wonton Soup: Ask for a side of noodles please Can't complain about the quantity to quality ratio of wontons. At first glance, you may think that they're like every other wonton with pork and shrimp. Well...that's not the case. It's a northern style wonton with just pork in a seaweed soup. Surprisingly tasty, quite underrated. Please don't expect Hong Kong Style Wonton with pork and shrimp. Appreciate the differences and ask for a bowl a noodles to go with it.

Potato Salad: A unique perspective If you never told me what this dish was, I would have assumed it was a korean style papaya salad. (And I love Korean food and Thai food) But neither gochujang nor papaya's are generally used in Chinese cooking. Shredded Potato salad is a regional dish found in Northern China unlike most of San Francisco's chinese population that's southern chinese. It's a unique dish that warrants a stomach space as it is equally delicious. Not overly spicy, not overly crunchy or mushy. A perfect balance of spice, texture, and sweetness.

Shredded Bean Curd Salad: For tofu lovers It's sliced tofu skin salad. Tofu is the sponge that keeps on soaking. Fuwa's dressing for this dish is the star of the show as they use strong flavors that you can taste with every bite. I honestly don't know the recipe, but I'm 100% sure this is vegetarian.

Beef Pancakes: My new go-to Beef in my pancakes? Yes please! The Fuwa servers (who I think are the owners) let me know that this is a northern Chinese style specialty and without a 2nd thought is probably my new obsession. The dough is light and airy and beef filling is soft and juicy. The dish is handmade to order and all of the beef juice gushes out with every bite for a flavorful filled mess. I love it and would come every time for it.

Thanks to the Fuwa Dumpling family that runs this shop. Please don't ever leave the Outer Richmond. You are a gem with your kindness, hospitality, and...

When I saw that I love Fuwa Dumpling, I mean it very literally - I often find myself daydreaming about how delicious their dumplings are and wondering when I'll be visiting them again. Fuwa Dumpling, true to their name, offers a variety of dumpling dishes with a plethora of fillings and prepared in a number of cooking styles. In addition to their dumplings, they also offer a number of appetizers as well as a fan-favorite beef noodle soup. Just about everything is made fresh and prepared in-house, they even have a little station at the back of the restaurant where you can see their employees expertly crafting the delicious dumplings that they serve (a la Din Tai Fung style).

From the outside the storefront is quite unassuming, but once you step inside the restaurant you're greeted with a clean interior with plenty of seating to sit multiple parties during a dinnertime rush. Service is impeccable as the staff is quick to take your order and just as quick to serve the dumplings straight to your table hot and fresh.

Speaking of the dumplings, patrons can chose from the traditional boiled dumplings, along with a pan-fried option, and xiao long bao too. As I mentioned earlier they have a wide variety of fillings from the traditional napa cabbage and pork, to more modern fillings such as their chicken and corn one. For my first visit at Fuwa Dumpling, I decided to stick to the tried and true combinations ordering their Napa Cabbage & Pork Dumpling, the Pan Fried Onion & Beef Dumpling, and the Pork Xiao Long Bao.

From ordering to dining was about 10-15 minutes (if not less), which in the grand scheme of the meal is practically no time at all! The food was served piping hot and ready to be enjoyed. As I mentioned just about everything is made in house and you can really tell based on the quality. The dumpling skins are thick, chewy, and absolutely delicious, and when paired with their flavorful fillings it's a bite to die for. Personally, the xiao long bao wasn't as big of a hit for me (which makes some sense given that Fuwa Dumpling's special is their dumplings, and although xiao long bao could be considered a dumpling it's still quite a bit different), and I would probably pass on it in the future. Otherwise, everything else about the meal was impeccable.

If you're a dumpling fanatic like me and want to dine on some delicious ones, then I highly recommend giving Fuwa...

When I first tried this place during their soft opening, I was skeptical about whether I would come back because the food was overly salty. However, after we finished our meal, the staff asked us for feedback and I let them know what I liked and didn't like about it. To my pleasant surprise, the next time I came back, they actually seemed to have taken the feedback into account and the food was less salty.

Since then, Fuwa dumpling has quickly become a staple for my family and I. I know it's good cause my first gen chinese parents talked to the staff after our meal to praise the food and to ask them how they nailed the texture of the dumpling wraps (it's a trade secret).

Their menu is simple but delicious and clean to the point I would call it Chinese comfort food. The difference is that you don't feel guilty about eating it afterward, unlike with all the heavy food you get at other restaurants. I usually get the napa cabbage and pork dumplings + corn and chicken dumplings with soup. I would definitely recommend getting the dumplings with the soup as it's pleasantly light and has some seaweed in it. The beef noodle soup is also pretty good.

Basically, both the restaurant itself and the food here are simple and clean. The food is a wonderful combination of tasty, affordable, and relatively guiltfree as far as eating out at a restaurant goes. I happily ate here 3 days in a...