It’s Sunday afternoon around 2pm and I need lunch. I’m tired of eating sandwiches all week, trying to avoid fast food, and don’t want to eat too much as I’m going home for dinner within a few hours. Lunch by yourself can be an awkward affair, better suited to grab and go, but you get used to it after a while. If you want good food, you figure out how to be comfortable eating alone. I had been wanting to try Dough Zone to see how they compared to the gold-standard Din Tai Feng for soup dumplings and this seemed like the perfect time to do it.
Dough Zone was still a zoo at 2pm with a 20 minute wait for a table. The fortunate part about dining by yourself, is that they can squeeze you into the counter.
soup dumplings – I loved these first of all, they had all the hallmarks of a good soup dumpling – plenty of fillings, they poured juice when you bit into them, the skin wasn’t too chewy and they had decent flavor; Din Tai Feng still holds the crown on these though – theirs are more delicate in the wrapping and have a bigger oomph on the meat flavor; however, these are only $9 vs. their $13 and doesn’t have the benefit of being a worldwide phenomenon
green scallion pancakes – pan fried layered dough with scallions, decent as they didn’t taste like yeast like they so often do, but they could have been thicker and needed a little more salt; I am spoiled by my dad who makes these at home… $2.50 – a good deal for carbs and classic Taiwanese food
I didn’t get to try a lot of their menu because my stomach is only so big, but I came here for the soup dumplings and they didn’t disappoint in that area. They’re not Din Tai Feng, but that’s okay – it will do for a simple and quick meal. There’s a lot fewer tourists and the wait is slightly shorter than Din Tai Feng and it’s also a less expensive. A little crazy with maxed out servers, but I was able to sit and watch them make soup dumplings the entire time from my seat. I also need to try the shen jian bao next time. Give it a try, see what you think!
SUMMARY
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: soup dumplings
Footnotes: there is quite a wait for a table, so try to go during off hours as the restaurant only seats 50 or so; sit up at the bar to watch them work their magic making the dumplings; expect a bit of chaos so you’ll have to be patient with the wait staff, but it’s worth the wait; known for their shen jian bao (pan fried buns)
