Panda Dumpling

Solid 2.5 stars.
I love XLBs, but this place was just alright.
I judge XLBs on three main criteria:
1) How much broth pours out of the XLB when I take my first bite
2) The thickness of the skin
3) The flavor of the meat
Panda Dumpling def disappointed on #1 – the XLBs barely contain any of the broth; rather, it was dried.
Typical Asian service and small venue. Will not be back.

Everything on the menu is great! I have come here at least 4 times a month since it opened! Delicious traditional authentic Taiwanese dumplings!
Recommendations:
Taiwanese soup dumpling
Spicy dumpling
Walnut Prawns
Ji-​cai soup with bamboo and tofu
Pea sprout with garlic

seriously legit dumplings. nothing much on the menu. wish they had some other things that weren’t Americanized. but the dumpling are worth the price. crab xlb, yum.

I really don’t want to give this restaurant 1 star but yea that’s it for them.
We ordered their pork XLB and it is soo dry. I was expecting alot of soup inside those tiny dumpling but NADA… they were dry… Tried their spicy sesame sauce noodle and they are really really bland. Tried their shanghai fried noodle which is ok. Green onion pancake, and spicy wonton. I only like their spicy wonton thus 1 star.
We haven’t finished eating and they chased us out cuz they are closing. First time ever I am being chased out of the restaurant and it is not like we were there 1 hour after closing but only 5minutes after closing :(.

Some seriously good eating happens here!
My go-​to dishes:
— Pork XLB
— Cold tofu with preserved eggs
— Shanghai thick noodles
— Green onion pancakes
— Spicy wontons
Notable dishes:
— Crab XLB
— Spicy Eggplant
It should be called Piggy Dumpling cuz I eat like a pig whenever I’m here!

So, right around the corner from I Dumpling is Panda Dumpling. I love dumplings, so I met a friend here when I Dumpling was closed. I would say it was my first Chinese New Year celebratory meal for this year. We ordered a ton of food and managed to polish most of it off. The shrimp and chive and the vegetarian dumplings were very good. I was surprised by how good the vegetarian ones were. We also had the cucumber dish, which was nice and refreshing (but strangely enough, I like PF Chang’s version better!). The vegetarian goose was good; I’ve had better, but I love this dish and took the leftovers home. Green onion pancakes were several times better than I Dumpling’s, and my lunch buddy took those leftovers home. One thing neither one of us took home was the hot and sour soup, which unfortunately, was bland and uninspiring. With a better table setting and interior than I Dumpling, I would recommend bringing people to Panda for a sit-​down affair. If the wait staff would attempt to smile and be friendly, this would be a solid 3.5 stars.

This is my favorite dumpling place in Redwood City – it is inexpensive and fast! The soup dumplings are amazing! My personal favorite is the pork mu-​shu and the veggie fried rice. My girlfriend is a big fan of the wonton soup.

The food here is so good. Everything I ordered, even things that other people wanted that I wouldn’t have gone for, surprised me and was very good. The food comes fast. HOWEVER, if you want anything from the waitstaff other than what you initially order, I wish you the best of luck. I ordered water 4 times before they caught me trying to pour my own water. The salty nature of the food makes it necessary! Love this place though.

I’ve been to their San Carlos location and thought it was good for the area. Nice to see they’re doing well enough to open a second location.
It’s a small spot and I only stopped by to try their soup dumplings. Ten dumplings come per order and it was ready in about 15 minutes.
The dumplings are a touch small, but that’s no different than places like Din Tai Fung, etc. What was immediately clear is that the dumping skins are thick, especially on the top where the dumpling is closed.
Soup content was little to none and the pork meat was good, albeit standard. The one positive is that they are served steaming hot.
Overall, I’d go to nearby iDumpling, though their soup dumplings were just a touch better and they’re known for their other dumpling types.
Panda accepts credit cards but not American Express or less than $ 10 bill.

This is the same as the one in San Carlos.
Don’t get the xiao long bao (soup dumplings). The skin is wrong, and taste is wrong. They don’t taste like xlb’s at all. Go to a real Shianghai place for those.
The classic dumplings (jiao zi) are decent. Not as flavorful and the skin is too thick compared to their very popular competitor next door, I Dumpling.
However, I do like their cold cucumber salad. (I don’t think it’s on their menu.)

Oh my god, Panda Dumpling has a chain restaurant! I’m not sure why they put this only a few miles away from the original one, but they seem to be doing well if they are expanding, which is good because I like their dumplings.
Apart from the location (which is in an even sketchier area of RWC/​San Carlos), the menu and service are essentially the same. The waitress was super friendly and kept suggesting dishes to us. This also seems to be a popular take-​out restaurant as they emphasize «take-​out» on the storefront, but there are quite a few tables inside.
I guess this provides another convenient location if you crave dumplings…

The theme of this place should be «thick.» The dumpling skin was too thick and the noodles inside the chive pancake were comparable to small worms (who wants to eat that?). Unfortunately for me, thick does not cut it when it comes to dumplings.
The skin on the soup dumpling should be relatively easy to break and the soupiness should flow easily into my spoon (where the delicious soy sauce mixture awaits). Not here. It was a struggle to break open the skin… and I would sometimes have to resort to the very unladylike technique to biting my dumpling open. The soy sauce mixture wasn’t that awesome either… too vinegar-​y for me. The chive pancake was only okay. The thick cellophane noodles really turned me off.
I prefer the XLB over at the Shanghai Dumpling House in Millbrae. I’ll have to see if their sister location in San Carlos fares a bit better than this one.
Service was great! Staff was really friendly and it always makes me sad when I’d rather not come back to a place when the staff is nice. The location is a little dodgy. I was accosted by a few loiterers outside of the bar and adult shop nearby.

Panda Dumpling took over the Beijing Kitchen/​Hawaiian Drive Inn spot. place looks brightly lit and clean. menu also has some northern dishes from hunan and szechwan. not sure about shanghai though.
eats:
–xiao long bao (10/7.6)
good sized, lots of juice, flavorful meat,
juice tasted of chicken broth flavored msg
–pan fried pork buns (8/6.5)
skin nice texture, nicely browned
nice portion of meat inside
leftovers:
–not sure of rest of menu.
–xlb had too much msg, wouldn’t reorder.
–very considerate, thoughtful service.
–3.5 stars.

Just down the street from I Dumpling in downtown Redwood City and up there with them as one of my all-​time favorite dump spots. The classic Pork & Chive here explode with savory juices and are easily the most flavorful I’ve had to date. The skins are a bit above average and not overly thick, though they don’t hold a candle to those at I Dumpling.
The XLB actually came as a surprise as the flavors were markedly different from the classic preparation. Pleasant gamey notes came through and my best guess was that the chefs here use a blend of pork & lamb.
Service was nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s worth noting that the interior is exceptionally clean. Totally worth a try for any and all dump fans.

What a gem in Redwood City! Came here with a friend for an afternoon delight… I mean afternoon snack.
We got an order of chicken dumplings and an order of potstickers, and both were amazing! What gets high marks for me was the texture of the dumplings and potstickers — you could tell the wrappers were homemade, and the fillings were no slouch either with great flavor.
And you know the experience is good when you and your friend are the only non-​Chinese people there, so you know the place is legit.

This place opened recently in Redwood City and I’m a big fan. Though I usually place an order for take-​out, the one time we’ve dined-​in we were treated to super nice and attentive service. Love their signature soup dumplings and, of course, the hedgehog buns (just a red bean bun shaped like a hedgehog). And yeah, you can’t really beat the price. Highly recommended!

Very oily combination fried rice, but I was so hungry so I ate it. Hit the spot. Not really that great though… must try other dishes. Will report back as soon as I do.
Horrible location unfortunately. Don’t see them lasting without proper parking spots.

Hmm, kind of a mixed bag.
I ordered cucumber salad and shrimp dumplings. I checked with the waiter to make sure that the shrimp dumpling were «just shrimp, no meat» and he said yes, «no meat.»
Cucumber salad is hard to mess up as it’s basically just cut up fresh cuke with lots of raw garlic, salt, and sesame oil, and it was pretty good here. However, this one had an unbelievably high amount of MSG, to the point that I actually crunched on a few crystals of it. I don’t have an MSG sensitivity or anything, but it was just really salty.
Despite checking with the waiter that the shrimp dumplings contained no meat, the filling was a mixture of shrimp and pork. It was well made and the dumplings were juicy, but they were the opposite of what I’d asked for. Had this meal not been my first meal in twenty-​four hours, I would have sent it back to the kitchen.
In spite of the problems the food was overall fresh and well-​made, and I’m curious to come back and try other things, which is saying a lot considering this experience.

Great little place to have some easy dim sum or a number of Shanghai style dishes… love the soup dumplings!
No-​frills place, but clean and comfortable, just like their sister location on Laurel Street in San Carlos. I could eat dumplings all day every day, so my review may be biased. As for the rest of the menu items, the missus had the Kung Pao chicken and was pleased with her meal. Potstickers were meaty and I thought better than the average chinese food spot. The absolute standout for me was the soup dumpling (xiao long bao). Would happily sit there all day eating those dumplings and sipping Tsingtao beer. Really happy there is a Redwood City location!

We bought take-​out from here. We ordered wanton noodle soup, beef and broccoli, and sesame chicken. It was quick service, everything was made in 10 minutes of ordering. The place looks clean and spacious.
The wanton noodle soup was very large in portion. I could have easily shared it with another person and it was only about $ 7. The filling for the wantons are pork and chives. It’s not the Hong Kong type where there’s shrimp. This place’s wantons have thick skin that is similar to the ones on potstickers. I think there were about 5 or 6 wantons and a whole lot of noodles. The noodles are the thick egg noodles.
The beef and broccoli was good. The sauce is not very thick. I didn’t really care for the beef since I am not a big meat eater. However, my boyfriend seemed to really like it. I like the broccoli a lot. It has a «garlicy» taste to it and it’s not overly cooked.
The sesame chicken was very flavorful. It was still crunchy by the time we brought it home. They sprinkled the sesame on top. The sauce they used was slightly sweet and tangy.
The service was fast and pleasant. Even though the waiter didn’t seem to speak English very well, he was still very attentive and made sure he wrote down the correct order. I think we’ll go back here again and order other items.
Overall, we liked this place and will come back.