Dumpling in the City - Kingdom of Dumpling

Mijo and I seldom go to Taraval St. in the Sunset neighborhood of the city to eat. Though we like dimsum, we seldom eat dumplings.

The stars and planets were somehow aligned one night last week and we decided to go Kingdom of Dumpling  on Taraval St. to sample, what else, dumplings.  We truly enjoyed it!

I subscribe to San Francisco | The Official Guide in Facebook. I am not sure which or if a magazine company moderates that FB account but one of their posts last week was about a dumpling renaissance that is sweeping the city and they listed their favorites. I noticed most of the restaurants in their list are located on Taraval St.  The area is definitely not touristy.  I am not sure if Taraval St. even has a single tourist attraction at all so I wouldn't expect tourists and out of towners venturing this far. This is absolutely as San Francisco local as you can get.

Anyway, I convinced Mijo to try out Kingdom of Dumpling on Taraval St. in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood for our usual Thursday night out. Mijo obliged and it made making the decision even easier since our favorite Thursday happy hour spot, Hog Island Oyster, is currently closed for renovation.

I was ecstatic when I saw the place accepts credit cards. This meant we'll be less worried about trying more items especially I only had $20 in my wallet that night. The place is small, steamy and the aroma of dumplings in the air. Groups of people were huddled together on small tables covered with colored plastic covers. The scene instantly transported us somewhere in Asia.

We first ordered pork and chicken dumplings with chinese spinach. An order comes with a dozen dumplings and a spiced soy sauce. They were very tasty and not salty at all so you can taste the flavors of the dumpling fillings. The taste is hightened by the dipping sauce. We took half of the dumplings home later that evening. As you can see, we got carried away ordering dumplings.

Aside from dumplings, I read the restaurant serves good pancakes. Not your usual pancakes, the pancakes are savory with meat or vegetable fillings. We decided to get the Sesame pancake with marinated beef. It was very good and flavorful. We finished this one.

We needed vegetable so we ordered this Garlic bokchoy. It is amazing how a dish as simple as this one can pack a lot of flavors. I can eat this vegetable just as it is. Absolutely, one of the favorite veggie dishes.

Mijo and I were also happy about the service at the restaurant and the quick turnaround serving the food. The price is unbeatable as well.

Dumplings are easy to like and get addicted to. I am guessing, dumpling will be for us what ramen was a few years ago.

~rl