Urban Stomach

Steam Rises From The Shanghai Soup Dumplings

Sometimes, it’s fun to go to a restaurant without having heard much hype from friends or blogs. Last Friday, needing a quick and cheap bite near Stonestown (is there a worse food court?), I hopped on Yelp and found Kingdom of Dumpling on Taraval. They specialize in, you guessed it, dumplings and also own a small factory on Noriega where they make frozen dumplings. You gotta love a place that calls itself a “kingdom” yet consists of seven tables. The wall decorations are notes from local kids. But I don’t come to places like this for atmosphere. I come for dumplings.

Pork And Corn Dumplings

Two dishes stood out. The Shanghai Soup Dumplings are now my favorite in San Francisco, barely knocking off Shanghai Dumpling King on Balboa. Eating soup dumplings can be tricky as you have to gently bring each morsel to your mouth with chopsticks while holding a spoon underneath to catch the soup should a disaster occur and your wrapper breaks. At Kingdom of Dumpling, I was well rewarded for my work. The wrappers were just thick enough that they never snapped and the liquid inside was plentiful and piping hot. We devoured two servings of six and I wish that we had ordered more. The Pork and Corn Dumplings were a first for me (well, the corn part). They came twelve to an order and tasted of the sweet corn as much as the pork. Really tasty. Whoever is steaming the dumplings in the kitchen is clearly a “Dumpling Natural” as, like the soup dumplings, the wrappers had a wonderful texture and only added to the overall flavor.

Fresh Cilantro Bean Noodle

We were fascinated by the Fresh Cilantro Bean Noodles as they were on every table and looked so vibrant and fresh. If you love cilantro or bean curd, you’ll love these. Otherwise, I’m not so sure. We weren’t blown away but I would definitely try them again. My family thought that the onion pancakes were tasty but I couldn’t get over their flimsiness. My piece drooped so much that it hit the bottom part of my hand. I also wouldn’t order the Pan Fried Shanghai Dumplings again. On paper, these sounded amazing but, in this rare instance, frying actually didn’t make something taste better. Instead, the dumplings were bland and the soup effect was lost. On my next visit, I want to try the Lamb Dumplings and the Shrimp Dumplings. I would highly recommend Kingdom of Dumpling if you want a cheap meal and you love dumplings. Besides, how often do you get to hang out in a kingdom?

Kingdom of Dumpling
1713 Taraval St
(between 27th Ave & 28th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94116
415-566-6143
Shanghai Soup Dumplings $4.95
Pork Dumplings With Corn $6.45
Fresh Cilantro Bean Noodle $5.95