Dumpling Depot 水饺家园 — Restaurant in Sunnyvale

NEW VISIT

Cleanliness has improved but the food is just, meh.

Spent $20 on Mongolian Beef and potstickers. That is about right.

The potstickers are bland and boring. Quite honestly I get tastier ones frozen at Costco. Potstickers are a dumpling, so I expect that to deliever something special when going to a restaurant. My second item, which actually came out before my potstickers was Mongolian beef. It came with lots of onions, but no heat or flavor.

I want to love small businesses, especially restaurants but they have to deliver the flavor. This place doesn't in my opinion.

-- Place is slow, cleanliness questionable, but had decent food.

Let me explain. Cleanliness first came into question when our server dropped chopsticks on the floor and them put them on the plate and brought them to our table. We spoke up and got another set, but that is no good. Then I started observing more and saw their cleaning towels out, instead of being in a bucket of sanitizer. Other strike. Then I started looking at the soy sauce and vinegar vessels and the could be cleaned as well. I probably wouldnt have observed all these things if it hadnt taken so long to receive our food of Won Ton soup, Veg chow mein and pork pot stickers. It took over 40 minutes.

The plus is that it seems the make their own noodles and dumplings. The won tons had good flavor, but the soup broth tasted doughy ( that was the first impression of the soup). After a few spoons the broth got better, but still wasn't great. The pot stickers were ok. I liked the dough, but I've had more flavorful pork filled dumplings. The best dish of the night was the chow mein, but wasnt worth the wait 40-50 minute wait.

I was hoping to be wowed but was...

The Food The old soup dumpling place I used to frequent closed down, now I am in search of a new, better place. Dumpling Depot piqued my interest when I saw the variety of dumplings they offer. My friend and I ordered a bit between the two of us. Shanghai Soup Dumpling (灌湯小籠包) Pork Pot Sticker (豬肉鍋貼) Pork Dumpling w/ Napa Cabbage (白菜豬肉水餃) Beef Stew Soup Noodle (牛腩湯麵) The Shanghai Soup Dumpling, Pork Dumpling w/ Napa Cabbage, and Pork Pot Sticker were good. The soup dumplings were pretty consistent, and I liked the crispy of the pot stickers. The Beef Stew Soup Noodle had an interesting soup base, not sure how I feel about it. It was not bad, the beef and noodles had a good flavor. I would like to return another time to try some of their other dishes.

The Miscellaneous The restaurant is in a small plaza so there is some parking available. The inside was not as large as expected, but there are still a decent amount of seats. The service for the food was quite reasonable, not a long wait. The staff I interacted with was sincere. They have quite the variety and selection on their menu. If you want to try everything it'll take a few visits. They also had Frozen Dumplings of various kinds, but those were cash only. Their prices are also reasonable when compared to other dumpling shops. Would recommend trying this place out for those that have...

Family owned type of small restaurant near downtown Sunnyvale. Nice service. Visited on a Monday holiday evening, with several tables in use. Ordered chicken dumplings, lamb dumplings, sweet and sour chicken, and a mushroom cucumber dish to go. There was some slight confusion with a few other pending to go orders, so be sure to check your contents before you go. That was easily clears up.

Food packed well with napkins and chopsticks in plastic dishes. Each dish was very tasty and suitably warm after a short ride home

We plan to return to explore other parts of the menu. What you should expect is a home style Mandarin food, as I am told.

The interior is typical of a family owned restaurant. It is clean. But not fancy. There is a glass refrigerator where they keep sodas and water for guests, and some kitchen things visible against the back wall.

The parking lot is small. I accidentally parked next door, and would not recommend it. There is a martial arts school such that crazy driver parents pick up their children when class is over. I risked my life in that wrong lot as I arrived just as a class was letting out.

The restaurant had a poster for an Asian TV channel indicating that they were nominated for a best food type of award in 2017.

We will definitely go back. I enjoy family owned restaurants and the pride they put...