Dumplings & Beyond

Sweet baby jesus these dumplings were amazing

Food was good. 4.5 stars
Dumplings are very good. 4.8 stars
Kinda surprised they upcharge $ 1.00 for fried dumplings vs steamed.
We ate in. Service was on the slow side and even coming to our table in general was slow. Rate that 2.5 stars. And they were not that busy. Too warm in there also. :-/​
Probably better place to do carry out.

Great dumplings. Looking forward to exploring the menu more — but dumplings delivered is outstanding!!! Between this place and Shanghai Lounge just up the street — you have some great Chinese food in DC (Glover Park)

We were pleasantly surprised with this place.
The food exceeded our expectations. Seriously, the best Chinese restaurant in the immediate area (check out Peter Chang in Arlington and Rockville).
The beef and onion dumpings were delicious. The spicy and savory fish was really good and flavorful.
The crispy beef was good but a little too sweet. The scallion pancakes were my least favorite. They were really doughy. Overall this was super tasty.

At the suggestion of a coworker I stopped in on a weekday evening for some dumplings. Glad I did! My friend and I ordered the House Dumplings, House Rice Noodles (I think), and Yuxiang with pork.
The dumplings were probably the best I’ve had in DC. Stuffed with filling, the wrap was the right texture. Awesome.
The rice noodles were whatever, I wouldn’t get them again, but not bad.
Yuxiang pork was really good. Enough heat to satisfy me, but not too much to overwhelm my friend. Oh! But with the chili sauce they have on the table it was perfection. That chili sauce is exactly what I’m looking for when out to Chinese food, weirdly perfect.

It was O.K. I wasn’t overwhelmed with my dish but I also wasn’t disappointed. I think I might have ordered something like General Tso’s chicken. I would like to go back to try some other items on the menu, especially the dumplings.

Really expensive for not that large portions. Average container cost $ 15 – 20.
Delicious spicy and savory fried fish as everyone said.
Boiled fish in spicy sauce (xue zhu yu) is supposed to be a house special but it was super average. All they did for the spicy sauce is pour in peppercorn balls :\ It was really mild. I judge all Chinese — and Sichuan especially — places by their xue zhu yu and now I know this is not the place for it.
Salt and pepper shrimp was like TWENTY DOLLARS for maybe half a dozen pieces of shrimp. Blerg. No thanks.
Stick to whatever the recs say is the best here — house special dumplings and the spicy and savory fish. Otherwise, its a pass.

So excited to find an authentic Chinese place with the juicy dumplings (steamed pork dumplings) reminiscent of din tai fung and also some regular dumplings (beef and onion) that were quite amazing as well.
I appreciated the mom and pop nature of this place as I saw them rolling our dumplings in the kitchen. In addition, service was super friendly. They held our reservations for us even though we were 45 mins late and very accommodating with our 22 month old dinner guest.
We ordered the special cold noodles which were spicy! Drenched in the spicy oil and delicious. Also got the lightly battered fish everyone raved about and it was on point– not greasy at all and a perfect light crunch. Also got the scallion pancakes which had a nice texture to it and not too oily at all.
I will definitely be back. What a nice surprise to find such authentic food in DC. The restaurant holds probably 40 ppl so I would suggest a reservation if you can.

I don’t know why I never came here sooner. Located on Wisconsin Ave, in a very easily accessible street, Dumplings & Beyond is the only Chinese restaurant in sight, but at least, it’s a good one. :)
I ordered their pork & napa cabbage dumplings — they were great, very juicy, huge dumplings and authentic. I do not recommend their soup dumplings (xiao long bao) — they weren’t as delicate as I would have liked them and some of the dumplings lacked the ‘soup’ that they’re known for.
Overall, a great place for some authentic Chinese food. A little overpriced, about $ 1 per dumpling but what can ya say, the restaurant is in Georgetown and in DC too! Good thing this place is a little bit of a trek from my house or else I’d be here evrryday.

We were searching for a quick bite to eat after spending time at the National Cathedral and walking through Georgetown.
Very casual restaurant with fantastic food. We had their special dumplings, which were great.
I had the Kung pow chicken and my son had the broccoli beef. The lunch items are served with rice and soup.
The hot and sour soup was a little too vinegary for me. The kung pow chicken was different than I expected. The chicken was fried. My son’s dish was very nicely done.
I noticed they had chow fun on the menu, which I probably would have enjoyed better. I think I ordered the wrong thing.
All in all, great place to grab a quick lunch at a great price.

The food here is pretty good. The dumplings are made by hand and are absolutely delicious. In addition, the service is extremely fast.
Unfortunately, the service is also pretty careless and rude at times. For example, when I was seated, the waiter pointed me to a general direction. I assumed she meant the well lit table, but then she immediately corrected me and told me to sit at an unlit table — and the restaurant was mostly empty too! But that was only the beginning. When I asked for my bill, the waiter started collecting all my plates and food, despite the fact that I clearly still had food that I hadn’t even touched! The same thing happened when I went to the cashier. I left my fortune cookie and all my stuff at the table. However, this did not dissuade the waiter from cleaning my table, and she even took my fortune cookie! When I asked for a replacement fortune cookie, the man at the counter just grabbed a cookie and threw it at me without saying anything.
Restaurants are customer service based businesses. Very rarely do I experience such carelessness and rudeness at a restaurant, and I eat out multiple times a week. I will not be coming to this restaurant again no matter how good the food.

This little gem is located right above the Georgetown area in Glover Park. A small place but it has some solid food. I haven’t had the chance to try an array of dishes yet — Chinese food is best shared with 5 or more people so you can order a ton and get a good sampling of items to order. From what I did try… we ordered the house special dumplings (pan fried), soup dumplings aka xialongbao or XLB, yichuan eggplant, and spicy & savory diced fish.
Pan fried dumplings — I always judge dumplings by the skin and filling. The skin has «strength» and is chewy yet not too doughy or flimsy. The filling was fresh and had real chunks of shrimp inside — very flavorful. To top it all off — it was pan fried perfectly and didn’t taste oily at all. It also is neat that they put it on a dish that ventilates the steam/doesn’t soak up the oil to keep the dumplings dry and crispy.
Eggplant — this was tasty and had all the elements of yichuan flavor. It wasn’t too oily of a dish either.
XLB — this wasn’t the best XLB I’ve had and I think it could have used more soup inside.
Spicy & savory diced fish — my favorite dish here. The fish was flavored well and the batter was crispy yet not over fried and the peppers tasted like little chips!
Will definitely be coming back. Bön appetit ya’ll!

I love this place! The best Chinese dumplings in DC proper I’ve had thus far. I’m giving it a slightly inflated rating because there are almost no good, authentic Chinese dumpling places in DC. As others have mentioned this is the DC-​spinoff of Mama’s dumplings aka China bistro in Rockville. It’s tucked away in Glover Park which means it is still somewhat of a hidden gem, but I found it through one of those premium delivery services (extra charge totally worth it). I’ve had mama’s dumplings fried, but the boiled version is definitely where it’s at. The prices are a little bit more for the DC location than in Rockville, but still reasonable.
My favorite dish to order is the fish and cilantro dumplings. Not many places have this option but I highly recommend it. Even from delivery they come out hot; you can taste the dough is fresh and hasn’t been sitting out for who knows how long. Of the other dishes, I’ve also ordered the cucumber and garlic sauce (a basic but delicious classic), spicy and savory diced fish, and the chili chicken off the chef’s special menu. The fish and chicken are kinda similar– the fish comes with peanuts, but both are lightly fried and come with cilantro and delicious peppers that have this crunchiness that totally make the dish. Between the two dishes I liked the spicy fish dish flavor better. I will definitely be back to order more!

Ate here three times but have come here for bubble tea more times than I can count. Restaurant area is small but intimate. Their food is reasonably priced and tasty. I admit that I’m not a fan of Chinese food in general, so for me to be able to stomach their food kind of says a lot. And to have eaten here again (and again) says even more. It is really small but I think worth checking out. I would 100% recommend this place in DC for bubble tea. You can just order it to go ;)

I love that delicious handmade dumplings are becoming more readily available in DC. Dumplings & Beyond offers a few tasty dumpling varieties as well as some standard Chinese fare.
The scallion pancake was on point. Crispy, not greasy and large enough for 3 people to snack on… depending on how much you love scallion pancakes. I could have eaten the whole thing but that means less room for dumplings!
We tried the steamed pork bun (aka soup dumpling aka XLB) and the pan fried house dumplings. Both were so good and had the magical soupiness within. The latter was definitely the more impressive one and I would not hesitate to order these again. The XLB were good but I think House of Fortune’s XLB are still much better.
It’s not a fancy restaurant and they have less than a dozen tables but damn they make some good food. This place is worth a try!

I keep coming back here on my trips to DC.
The handmade dumplings are really fantastic and fresh.
The service is quick and efficient as well.
The neighborhood is lucky to have such a high quality Chinese restaurant.
I really enjoyed the pork and also the beef dumplings and I’ll definitely be back.

Personally I wouldn’t come here for dumplings. It’s $ 10 for ten dumplings, you can just go to the grocery store and buy some frozen ones instead.
Their lunch specials are good though, ~$ 7 for a entrée, soup, and rice. It’s typical Americanized Chinese food, similar to Panda Express, etc.

For those who love China Bistro in Rockville, Dumplings and Beyond will be your new BFF. This is the sister restaurant of China Bistro, opened by their owners and situated in the populous neighborhood of Glover Park. Even some of China Bistro’s staff have migrated here.
Given the heavy price tag of this neighborhood, the prices of food here are a tad more expensive than at their mothership. Whereas the Mama Special at China Bistro is $ 9.50, the House Special (same thing) is $ 9.90. 40 cents more but 6 miles closer so it’s all negligible.
We ordered the soup dumplings as an appetizer, plate of the pork and chives dumplings, and the Sichuan cold noodles. Also ordered some milk green tea bubble tea.
Boba was a little harder than preferred, but the milk green tea taste was prominent. A little too much ice which sort of waters down the taste.
Sichuan cold noodles were decent but it’s not as spicy as the China Bistro location. Still, the flavor is there and if you’re in the mood for some cold noodles, this dish really hits the spot.
Soup dumplings. Now, DC unfortunately has very few soup dumpling offerings. Dumplings and Beyond’s soup dumplings are surprisingly not bad. Sure, they’re not like Din Tai Fung on the West Coast or Joe’s Shanghai and Nan Xiang in New York City, but for the DC area they are on the better side of the spectrum. I like them even more than the soup dumplings at Shanghai Lounge. The wrappers aren’t too doughy but just chewy enough, there’s sufficient soup, and the filling is delicious.
The dumplings are just like China Bistro’s. Yum! Like I mentioned, it’s a little pricier here but the taste is just as satisfying.
Service was a little slower than I anticipated, definitely not as great as China Bistro. We waited awhile to get our orders in and for our check, and I noticed that it took them for awhile to clean up tables. Hopefully as time goes on, they work out the kinks of a new establishment. All in all, this is a great alternative for those unable or unwilling to travel to Rockville for Mama’s dumplings.

Because being happy doesn’t mean apologizing.
Why do I say that? Because I ordered a lot of food to share with my dining companion and I am not ashamed or sorry for it. The food at Dumplings & Beyond was so soul-​satisfying and tummy-​fulfilling, it makes me want to trek back and eat more at the restaurant even though I have leftovers at home.
Let’s start with seating. We were first shown to a two person table, which is apropros. When the server finished taking our order, she warned that the dishes are large, and I said, «No problem! We might take some to go.» Then she smiled and suggested moving to a larger table, which was good because I whispered to my dining companion, «I don’t know how we’re going to fit all this food on the table.»
The house special dumplings came out first, and yes, they are great! It made me forget that I usually prefer a mix of boiled and pan fried. The default is boiled, and it didn’t even make me crave the pan fried, although I was curious. Next time.
The ma po tofu is standard and delicious. Soft tofu in a slightly spicy peppercorn landmine of a sauce with mushrooms, peas, and carrots.
Soon after, the combo chow fun came out with a mix of shrimp, chicken, beef, green onions, and bean sprouts. The noodles were fantastic, and we think there was some wok hei. The beef was ok, and I thought the chicken was well cooked albeit salty. The shrimp were shrimp-​y (small).
I couldn’t find crispy beef on the menu but knew that was something I wanted to try since down the street at Shanghai Lounge, they offer it. I think this version was a little sweeter which played well to the subtle flavors of the dumplings and the slightly spiciness of the tofu and fish. The crunchy and thinly sliced carrots and green peppers were also delightful accompaniments to the sweet meat.
Next came the spicy savory dished fish. It’s very fried but not super oily which made me curious how they did this. There’s a batter that’s somewhat light and airy on top of the white fish. My dining companion ended up trying the hollowed out peppers and said they weren’t spicy but I’m still reluctant to give those a try. Cilantros and peanuts both heighten and complicate the spice factor on this dish.
Yuxiang eggplant is something I have been trying to replicate at home but not successfully so I enjoyed the opportunity to try the subtle ginger, garlic, chili peppers, etc. concoction. The eggplant flesh was rich, smoky, and creamy all at the same time and the sauce really latched onto its surface.
The one thing I would pass on next time is the xiao long baos (steamed pork buns). We noticed the meat was a little pink, and for me, it wasn’t scalding hot (which is a good thing) but I like when it’s really hot.
I think the server was impressed we ate as much as we did and probably a little annoyed that she had to box up leftovers but in the end, the ability to try all this wonderful food and have leftovers made the end of the weekend all that better.

Finally, a Chinese place that has gotten the ratio of dough to filling right! I’ve had dumpling cravings for about a week now, and I wanted not just any run in the mill dumplings, but authentic hand-​made ones. I came upon this place, and was like «I have to try it!» I did, and got the house special, steamed. The filling is definitely fresh, juicy, and the dumplings are expertly hand-​made, you can tell effort was put into this baby. Most Chinese places around here have thick dough, and not enough meat, but that’s not the case here. The pork, shrimp, napa and chive mix is delicious, and the meat is not old. I suspect other Chinese places just get their dumplings frozen, and they steam them and serve them. Or, they use the old meat, grind it up, and season it so you can’t tell (like Taco Bell).
Dumplings here are their specialty, and they take pride in their dumplings, you can tell. They are not cheap, 10 for $ 10, and they aren’t huge like other Chinese places, but they are definitely quality and so far, the most authentic dumplings I have had, one order was enough to fill me up. Next time, I will get their soup dumplings (yes, they have Xiao Long Baos!), and also their dumplings fried.