Ju Feng Yuan Dumpling Cafe

We had a family celebration and ordered a lot of food. The ordering process was a little complicated as we were a larger group and the servers struggled with English. We ended up with more food than we could eat but everything was absolutely delicious! I recommend you download their App and study it a little bit so you know what you want. Definitely excellent food! The restaurant can get a little crowded but the staff is very accommodating.

Stopped by for lunch on the weekend and was able to get seated quickly. They give you menus, however you use your phone to access the app to order food. Most of our food came out quickly but had to wait a bit for the beef roll pancakes (which I was looking forward to the most). I enjoyed the beef rolls but felt I could skip the orange chicken. The spicy dumplings weren't too spicy but there was extra chili oil available. After you are done ordering you can close out your order and pay at the cashier. Overall the food was decent and next time I am in the area I'd want to try some of the other dumplings on the menu.

I do want to mention that I realized later I had not completely closed the app and could see the order of the next people seated at the same table. I might have been able to add items, but didn't try it so something to be aware of.

If you crave dim sum in the area, this is a good place, but it is not amazing (I've had very good dim sum before). Service was very fast and efficient. I had to use the QR code on the table to see the menu and place my order.

Food: 5/5
Service and Setting: 3.5/5
Value: 3/5

Ju Feng Yuan is a new restaurant that has opened where a Lao restaurant used to be. The interior has not changed much and there is not even a sign up yet. The restaurant itself is clean. They are very short staffed so while the service is very kind, they do tend to run behind. One of the chefs would come out and serve the food and share lots of information about the restaurant and how things are going in Mandarin, so if you want to practice this a great spot! The young lady helping me in the front told me that this restaurant is an extension of another small restaurant in LA. I was not expecting much, but the food here is exceptionally honest, authentic, fresh, and has a homey flavor. Please come out and support a new small business!

Pork and Chive Dumpling: 5/5
I really wanted to try their xiao long bao 小籠包 and their sheng jian bao 生煎包, the waitress told me that they just sold out. I got the pork and chive dumpling instead and it was very good. The skin was thick and chewy the way a boiled dumpling should be. The filling was lightly bouncy and had a good amount of soup inside. The ratio of meat to chive was perfect as well as well seasoned. I did not like the dipping sauce and would have preferred just some soy and black vinegar, but I did not want to add more to their work load. A stellar example of what a dumpling should be.

Shrimp and Pork Wonton in Chili Oil: 5/5
This wonton was also spectacular. I have always been disappointed with wontons from most restaurants as they tend to use the same filling as their dumplings. At Ju Feng Yuan, they do it the right way with a coarsely chopped meat and big chunks of shrimp. Again, a deliciously thick skin with a wonderfully springiness that soaks in the sauce. I am not a particularly big fan of their chili oil, but it is very complex and hits all of the flavor points, particularly sweet and sour and not so much spicy. To me, it tasted a lot like a sweet and sour version of sha cha jiang 沙茶酱.

Beef Dumplings: 4.5/5
I’m not an expert on Chinese food, but beef and onion dumplings are a Northern style that I do not have a lot of experience with. Always seeing people eat this online has made me crave it intensely and I’m glad I got to try it here. It is not common to serve and they do a good job. The flavor of the meat is strong, almost a bit gamey with some bits of gristle that I think help give it flavor. It was a bit tough, but “tough” isn’t the exact word I would use. Maybe sinew-y? The flavor was shockingly similar to beef kebabs, especially Pakistani renditions. Again, the dumpling skin was great and lots of soup inside with the filling.