Dumpling Hours-Palo Alto

"Restaurants constantly come and go in Palo Alto. Some aren't missed, but Dumpling Hours will forever be on my mind. We ordered many dishes (not all pictured) along with the XLB. While I've not been to every Chinese restaurant in the bay area this is by far some of the best XLB I've had. Nice and soupy and the meat was so tender and delicate that it fell apart when picking it up. Ask for the vinegar and ginger dipping sauce. XLB spoons are provided ensuring you can enjoy every last drop of the juices. Wings, delicious. Cucumber, refreshing. Green onion pancake with hot pepper oil at the table, worth the morning after burn. Shrimp noodle soup, tasty. Other dumplings were delicious, but I'll keep coming back for the XLB! Staff was very nice and everything came out swiftly, albeit not rushed. Order food on your phone at the table. Alcohol must be ordered by a server. Given the downtown location the $115 bill for quite a bit of food for the three of us is relatively inexpensive. Did I mention the XLB? (see the video for the jiggle)"

"Party of 2 went for dinner on a Saturday evening in July. Service was quick, and the food was delicious. We had the pork xiao long bao, the chicken version, 4 pieces each, the boiled dumplings with shrimp egg chive. This was quite filling. I'm not from the area and we wanted to check out the Juicy Pan Fried Pork Buns, so got an order of that too. They aren't kidding about the internal soup being boiling hot. Will definitely go again when I'm in the area."

"Wow this place has Xiao Long Baos better than Din Tai Fung’s! I was hesitant to try the Xiao Long Baos because they are more pricey per dumpling than Din Tai Fung’s but they are definitely worth the price (8 for $16.95 vs 10 for $17.50). They are bigger than Din Tai Fung’s so even if you’re getting 2 less dumplings than Din Tai Fung’s (10), you may be getting even more in total volume. We also ordered Pork Wontons with Sesame Sauce and Chili Oil and Boiled Pork Dumplings. The Pork Wontons were good, although I think I prefer the Din Tai Fung’s Spicy Wontons just because I prefer just chili oil and not sesame sauce with the wontons. I thought the Boiled Pork Dumplings were also good, but nothing special. So I would definitely recommend getting the Xiao Long Baos from this place. We came around 6 PM on a Friday evening and there wasn’t too many people inside when we came. The service was fast. The wontons came out pretty much after we ordered, and the Xiao Long Baos followed shortly after. I appreciate the fast service at this place because at Din Tai Fung you sometimes have to wait because it is so busy. The inside of the restaurant has a nice modern, but warm finish with Chinese decorations. We also sat at a bright red table so that felt festive. Some logistics: They give you physical menus, but you order online. I prefer that way because with the physical menus you aren’t squinting at your phone screen and by ordering online you don’t need to flag down a waiter and can just order when you are ready. But even though you do order online, you don’t pay online. They just give you a receipt and you pay with card (and add tip after) like at other restaurants. So I thought that was inserting. Soy sauce comes with the table. They serve a light white vinegar with the Xiao Long Baos, but not the Chinese black vinegar. But when we received the boiled dumplings they serviced that with the Chinese black vinegar. This place is Chinese-friendly (which is evident by the Chinese customers we saw there). There are Chinese dumpling makers and wait staff so if you prefer to speak Mandarin you will be able to communicate in Chinese with the waitstaff there."

"Everything was quick yet so delicious. They’re super busy the first day of soft opening but still took great care of every table. I don’t even know how they did it. The Xiao long bao was the biggest and juiciest in the entire Bay Area. My mother who is a expert said so! And I agree. I think Palo Alto downtown just got its new Asian dumpling spot! Steam could NEVER. This place is authentic and so delicious. I’m so excited to see this place thrive! Must order: Pork xlb Pork Crab xlb Cucumber salad Pan fried pork buns Pretty good: The noodles: texture is amazing Beef pockets good flavor but lacking meat"