MiPot 小米麻辣烫 — Restaurant in Sunnyvale

Are Top Dumpling, Noodle Talk, and Moomo owned by the same people? Top Dumpling's metal chopsticks and to-go bags say Noodle Talk on them, and there are QR codes to order Moomo.

Xiao Long Bao - too salty and weirdly come with red vinegar instead of black (though there's black vinegar at the table they put the julienned ginger into the red vinegar, contaminating them). At least they're not sweet. 2.5/5

San Jin Bao - too hard on the bottom, too soggy on the inside. Again, at least they aren't sweet. 2/5

Pork and tofu bao - not what I was expecting. Tastes sweet like cha shu bao with firm tofu cubes. I really miss FFY's shrimp and silken tofu dumplings and bao (and everything else on their menu). 1/5

Beef roll - way too much hoisin sauce, making it too sweet. Weirdly heated the cold cuts and raw vegetables inside. Makes me concerned it's microwaved. Yet this took the longest, not arriving until we had already finished the other dishes and were nursing our tea for lack of anything better to do while waiting since it was too loud to have a conversation. 1.5/5

The tea (chrysanthemum, my favorite) was the best part of the meal, albeit expensive for a small pot ($9), especially for teabag tea and not whole flower tea. 3/5

There wasn't much interaction with servers as you order online even when dining in. The person delivering food tipped over my water, caught it by putting his fingers inside my cup, and didn't even offer to replace it.

I didn't like how there was old, moldy food stuck in the slats of the table, or how crowded it was both in the restaurant and the parking lot, or the fact that it was full of screaming children.

I don't understand why it's so busy. The quality of the food was not high enough to make up for the cleanliness, noise, claustrophobia, or parking imho. I prefer the XLB at Din Ding or the new Imperial Treasure.

Also, I was not given the accessible/handicap table and ended up boxed in by the people who were seated at the accessible table after us, making it hard for me to maneuver and exit with my cane. Even if I had been seated there, there was not a lot of room around that...

I was with my three-year-old niece, who is a bit picky about food, so I asked her what she wanted for lunch. She specifically requested "juicy dumplings," which was amusingly precise. Since we were in Palo Alto heading home to SJ, I googled a place and found one with good ratings and a clean interior.

It was just us around lunchtime with a mostly full restaurant of kids and their parents. The parking lot was packed, which made parking quite a challenge as we drove around in circles. I don’t know if there was an event, but there were lots of kids, possibly from a nearby gymnastics facility.

After finally finding parking, we ordered pork dumplings and bao, both steamed. My niece didn't like the bao mostly because she’s not familiar with them, but I found them delicious. Her favorite part was the butterfly buns, which were cute and fun for her. There are no fillings or flavor to them.

The ordering process was convenient—you just order and pay on your phone without leaving the table, although the lack of personal interaction made the service feel less personable.

Overall, I loved the food quality and the option to order smaller quantities, which is great when dining with a toddler. The prices were fair, and I would definitely return with family and friends despite it being a bit far from our home in South San Jose. Good dumpling places are rare in our area, so it’s worth...

Stumbled upon this place during my Sunnyvale lunch crunch time last Wednesday. As someone who's burned out on tech campus cafeterias, here's my real-deal experience:

First Impressions:

The broth aroma hit me before I opened the door - like walking into my Shanghai auntie's kitchen. Counter service was quick despite the noon rush, though I wish they had clearer signage for first-timers.

What Won Me Over:

The chicken broth actually tastes homemade, not like salty MSG soup base

Unexpected gem: their enoki mushrooms stayed crisp, not soggy like other spots

Watched staff refill vegetable bins twice during my 30min lunch - freshness check passed Left without that heavy sodium bloat (huge plus for afternoon meetings)

My Go-To Combo ： Thin-sliced beef + tofu puffs + baby bok choy in original broth. Added their "level 2" spice - just enough kick without napalm-level regret. Pro tip: Let the tofu soak up broth for 2 mins - flavor bombs!

The Real Test: Brought my ABC colleague who usually shuns "weird textures". He cleaned his bowl while muttering "Damn, that duck blood tofu thing is legit."

Verdict: Not life-changing, but exactly what I needed - comforting without being greasy, fast without feeling assembly-lined. Already bookmarked in my "Reliable...