If you’re looking for a Din-Tai-Fung experience in greater Sarcramento area, your search ends at Uncle Dumpling!
Uncle Dumpling is an authentic Shanghainese restaurant focusing on fresh hand-made dumplings and noodles.
Soup Dumplings, known as “Xiao Long Bao” (pronounced “She-ow”), originated from Shanghai, China. Uncle Dumpling started in 1997 in Shanghai and owner Chef Lee brought Uncle Dumpling to Roseville in 2023.
Uncle Dumpling is unique for their hand-made dumpling in house, where you can see live the dumpling being made. This is the closest experience you can get to Din Tai Fung in Sacramento.
Location
Uncle Dumpling is located at 1485 Eureka Rd STE150, Roseville CA 95661 in the cozy Stone Point shopping center.
Parking
Parking is plentiful but can get busy during dinner time.
Reservation
A reservation can be book for a party of five people or more at reservations.
Cool tip: Once the table is reserved can track it live on Yelp app.
Ambiance
Uncle Dumpling has modern, cozy Asian theme. The place is well-lit. There is also a cool “Welcome to Uncle Dumpling” neon sign in the back. The place is decorated with various Asian motifs such as Chinese handfans and dumpling steamers. What is really cool is that you can see the dumpling being made live, such like Din Tai Fung.
Good for date night. Family and large group friendly.
Service
We were immediately greeted when entering the restaurant and were promptly seated after we added ourselves the wait list. We arrived early at 5PM so we were seated almost immediately but the place was pretty crowed by 5:30PM. Table was clean and water was brought out quickly with menus.
Menu
Menu was self explanatory with ingredients in every dish in English and Chinese with the recommendations from the restaurant. Spicier foods were marked appropriately. Vegatarian options are limited but include: Veggie Dumpling, Shanghai Chowmein, and Uncle Fried Rice.
Order
Appetizers:
- Spicy Wonton (D5)
Main:
- Pork Xiao Long Bao (A1, Handcrafted Soup Dumpling, 8pcs)
- Veggie Dumpling (C5, Handcrafted steamed dumpling, 8 pcs)
- Beef Noodle Soup (E1, Noodle)
Pork Xiao Long Bao
Dessert:
- Chocolate Xiao Long Bao (A6, 5pcs)
Drink:
- Summer Lychee (M4, Fruit boba tea with cream)
Absolute favorite was the Spicy Wonton with shrimp and pork filling in their chili oil. The chili oil to my surprise was with kick but not too spicy and had a balanced flavor. The fresh green onion and sesame seeds along with the fresh and light wontons were a perfect blast of flavor. This is the closest Spicy Wontons to Din Tai Fung that I have tried – and trust me I’ve tried a lot of them. Must try ⭐⭐.
Spicy Wonton
For drink we ordered the Summer Lychee fruit boba tea with cream. I’ve never had cream in my boba tea before but enjoyed it with this boba tea. Refreshing without being overly sweet.
Main course we tried their most recommended Pork Xiao Long Bao, handcrafted soup dumplings. They came in 8 pieces in a bamboo steamer stacked with rest of our order. The order came out hot and steaming. I recommend to follow the “How to Eat Soup Dumplings” recommendations on every table – otherwise you’ll burn your tongue. The dumpling was easy to bite into and the soup was flavorful. One of the best soup dumplings I’ve had. The pork filling was tasty, good sized, and complemented the soup. Pro-tip: They are more filling than they look.
Next, was the Veggie Dumplings for the veggie lover in me - and what a great surprise. The filling was egg, cilantro, black fungus, and glass noodle, finely minced filled into a green dumpling. I did not expect them to have so much flavor but they totally blew my mind. Pro-tip: Try the dumpling with the chili oil for an extra kick. Must try ⭐⭐.
Veggie Dumplings
This was the first time I tried a Beef noodle soup. I was curious as how this was going be and I was pleasantly surprised. The portion size was good. The soup consisted of beef shank slices, vegetables, cilantro, peanuts, and chili, in a beef based broth. The broth was light and fresh with a good serving of beef shank slices. The noodles were perfectly cooked with good bite.
Finishing up we had Chocolate Xiao Long Bao for dessert. For all the Din Tai Fung fans, yes you can find chocolate dumplings dessert here! The filling consists of strawberry and chooclate and served with a side of cheese foam dipping. This was a sweet ending to amazing dinner. Every bite was a treat to satisfy your sweet-tooth.
Chocolate Xiao Long Bao
Summer Lychee
Value
Price for two about $70 with tip.
Good value for getting fresh hand-made dumplings and amount of food.
Final Verdict
We recommend Uncle Dumpling as the best dumpling place in greater Sacramento area and the closest experience you can have to Din Tai Fung without traveling to the Bay Area or waiting for three hours to get in. Will be revisiting again as our dumpling staple.