I had lunch with Jenny and Dylan today at Dumpling Depot in Sunnyvale. We'd been there recently for the first time and came away impressed. This visit was no different--Dumpling Depot thrilled us again.
Over our two visits we had lamb, pork and zucchini dumplings. These standard dumpling orders come at a dozen to a plate. See menu below. We also tried the xiao lung bao ("Shanghai Soup Dumpling"),Yes, the filling in each case was terrific--Jenny especially liked the crunchiness of the zucchini dumplings and hence those were her favorite. But, the skin and the hot sauce are what really make the experience special.
The skin was chewy, soft yet impervious to the juice inside the dumpling. That said, the skin for the xiao long bao was on the thicker side. That other special quality of Dumpling Depot, the proprietary homemade hot sauce, offers a hot, creamy taste but doesn't have the irritating bite you might get, from say, a habenero pepper. The sauce even looks great.
There's nothing to dislike about Dumpling Depot--even the service is exemplary. Both times we were there, the staff made rounds from one table to another making polite, easy conversation, yet are senstive enough to know if you want to be left alone.
Both times we ate at Dumpling Depot we came in at about 1:00 on a weekday. Both times, there was plenty of seating available. Make the Depot your next stop. This is precisely the kind of establishment the Bay Area needs more of.
Dumpling Depot
www.dumplingdepot.com
