Dumpling Specialist | Parkside - San Francisco

In June I had a chance to check out Dumpling Specialist for lunch. Only 4 small tables and 10 chairs, it had been open for a month.

The internet raves about the sheng jian bao (SJB), but they are NOT good here. Devoid of juices, only lightly crusted with crimp side up, light leavened bread wrapper, plain pork stuffing ... not much to like about them. I pushed those aside because they'd be fine as a leftover.

Much better were the xiao long bao. While these won’t win any beauty contests, the XLB sported thin and stretchy skins and were well-souped with loose and delicately seasoned ground pork with natural sweetness. Black vinegar in a cruet on the table but no shredded fresh ginger. was provided An order of XLB is 5 dumplings, right for a solo diner to eat them hot and fresh.

Cloudy soup stock for the pork/picked vegetable rice cake soup was delicious. Too bad the pork shreds were lean and flavorless “white meat”. However the pickled veg turned out to be special. Crunchy, faint tang, not so salty and bright green, it's housemade.

A mixed bag at Dumpling Specialist, for sure. If I lived in the neighborhood and could walk to this cozy spot, I'd probably have it in my regular rotation when I needed a quick snack. But there's not enough to lure me to drive across the City for another meal here.

What else do folks like here?

Dumpling Specialist
1123 Taraval St
San Francisco, Ca
(415) 640-1403