Well, perhaps this shouldn’t be a “circling back” post since the last time I was here, waaaay back in 2014 it was under the previous ownership. And then at the end of that year, the family that used to own Minh Ky (which changed hands in September of 2023) took over the “old” Dumpling Inn and created Dumpling Inn and Shanghai Saloon. So yes, that was over 11 years ago! I really wasn’t interesting in seeing the “new” DIaSS…..
But, on this day, much like happened with my long overdue revisit to El Borrego, fate intervened. I was late shopping at Nijiya and for some reason decided to head up Convoy. I had my mind set on revisiting Ju Feng Yuan for my jiaozi fix, but then I thought that I needed to finally try the chicken at Zhengxin. I saw ample parking available so I pulled into the lot. Unfortunately, there was a line at Zhengxin???? I’d already gotten a parking spot and even though El Viejon seemed like a good choice, I kinda wanted some jiaozi….so, Dumpling Inn it was.
Walking in, I noticed that even though the place was buzzing, there were many seats at the bar. So, I had a seat there.
The interior looks pretty good; it sure doesn’t look like the old Dumpling Inn to me. The customer base was mixed; though mostly non-Asian. The gentleman working the bar was really nice and handed me a menu.
I ended up ordering the Pork Dumplings ($15) and the Pig Pork Ears ($8.50). I was brought the sauces.
And yes, I’d forgotten…even at the old Dumpling Inn, they bring you white vinegar…I asked about black vinegar, but was told they were out??? Sigh…..
Anyway, my “Stewed” Pork Ears arrived.
I put the “stewed” in quotes as this was full on “rubbah”…..while I always enjoy a nice crunchiness…there’s usually “layers” of that texture along with some more gelatinous textures. This was simply just hard. It also lacked any pungency and herbaceous/anise tones. I did add some white vinegar just because I needed something other than soy sauce.
And then the jiaozi.
Well, these looked ok; but the wrappers were waxy-hard, too thick, needed some pillowiness-stretch to them.
The filling had decent sesame-soy sauce flavors, with a hint of porkiness.
But was basically a hard, dense, ground “meatball”. Which would have been ok in a won ton; but has no place in a jiaozi.
This was pretty disappointing. Meanwhile, I saw a Chinese couple (I heard them speaking Mandarin…really loudly) bust out their own bottle of Chinkiang Black Vinegar! I had to crack up.
In the end, perhaps I should have expected this. I guess some egg noodle won ton soup a la Minh Ky would have been a better choice? You know I’m really not going to go for the XLB, Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Beef, etc….
Unlike El Borrego, this didn’t quite work out. Well, at least I gave it another try after all these years. I’m headed to Ju Feng Yuan for my jiaozi fix and making sure I don’t get distracted!
Dumpling Inn and Shanghai Saloon
4625 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Sun, Wed, Thurs 11am – 230pm, 4pm – 830pm
Fri -Sat 11am – 230pm, 4pm – 930pm
Closed Monday – Tuesday