Whether boiled, deep-fried, pan-fried, steamed, or swimming in soup, Dallas loves dumplings.
It’s believed that dumplings originated more than 1,800 years ago during the Han Dynasty when a man named Zhang Zhongjian mixed mutton, chiles, and herbs in dough to create jiaozi. He shaped them to look like little ears—because people in his home village were suffering from frostbite around their ears—and boiled them before serving.
The criterion for a dumpling means almost any filled dough pocket would qualify, and many do. In central Asia, Uzbek and Turkmen cuisines have the manti, a large dumpling filled with potatoes, cheese, or meat. Eastern Europe comes in the form of a Polish pierogi or a Russian pelmeni. Japanese pan-fried gyoza and Nepalese momo dumplings also make the list. And yes, even the ubiquitous Italian ravioli is considered a dumpling. (We will save a ravioli list for another day.)
This list—alphabetical by restaurant—only scratches the surface of Dallas’ dumpling spots, but we do think they’re some of the best.
Arirang Korean Kitchen
The no-frills atmosphere and numbered menu here let you focus on your choices: noodle soups, dumplings, or a noodle soup that’s also full of dumplings. Arirang’s kimchi dumplings are especially plump and generous—they’ll make you sweat. 2625 Old Denton Rd., Ste. 556, Carrollton.
Bubala Cafe and Grill
The Uzbek restaurant in North Dallas serves boiled pelmeni dumplings with a side of sour cream for dipping. The dumplings are filled with beef or pork and are soupy on the inside, so be sure to slurp out the soup before heading for the sour cream. 17479 Preston Rd.
China Blue
An entire page dedicated to dumplings on its menu includes options of shrimp, pork, chicken, beef, veggie, and soup filled. Most are steamed or pan-fried. There’s also wonton soup, which includes spicy shrimp wontons or fried cheese in broth. 2001 Coit Rd., Ste. 135, Plano.
China Queen
There are two special dumpling variations here: the handmade pork and shrimp dumplings and crab xiao long bao. Both are favorites among China Queen loyalists, though there are also classic pork soup dumplings and vegan ones. 3412 E. Hebron Pkwy., Ste. 100, Carrollton.
Fortune House
One of Dallas’ favorite spots for soup dumplings lives up to the hype at its newest location on Greenville Avenue. Dining critic Brian Reinhart says in his June 2023 restaurant review that almost everything at the new location is the same as the original on Irving, including the exquisite pork soup dumplings. 8150 N. MacArthur Blvd., Ste. 190, Irving, and 2010 Greenville Ave., Ste. B.
Hello Dumpling
June Chow’s East Dallas and Lake Highlands locations of Hello Dumpling serve handmade pan-fried and boiled dumplings. Popular dishes include pork and cabbage dumplings or dumplings stuffed with chicken and mushrooms. A dish Chow loves in particular is the fish dumplings, which remind her of her mother’s hometown. 1146 Peavy Rd. and 8041 Walnut Hill Ln., Ste. 815.
Kirin Court
Yum cha takes its holy form in North Texas at Richardson’s Kirin Court, right on the edge of the city’s Chinatown. Dim sum dumpling dishes are aplenty: steamed shrimp in a translucent tapioca casing, soupy xiao long bao, deep-fried glutinous pork dumplings, and more. 221 W. Polk St., Ste. 200, Richardson.
Kitchen Master
Since it opened in 2020, customers have flocked to this Frisco restaurant for its menu of xiao long bao filled with flavorful broth. The dumpling casings are perfectly thin and don’t tear when picked up, leaving the soup to be poured out and pooled into your spoon. 9285 Preston Rd., Frisco.
Jeng Chi
The menu has three sections for dumplings: “juicy” soup dumplings, steamed, and boiled dumplings. (You can choose to pan-fry the boiled ones.) Find options like chicken curry juicy dumplings, made with yellow curry and chicken, and chicken and zucchini boiled dumplings, filled with ground chicken, mushroom, zucchini, ginger, scallions, and pinched closed. 400 N. Greenville Ave., Ste. 11, Richardson.
Momo Spot
Don’t be fooled by its service station exterior: Momo Spot has flavorful Nepalese momo dumplings that are steamed or deep-fried and swimming in Himalayan spices. The takeaway spot serves excellent sandheko (sometimes spelled as “sadheko”) dumplings, which are tossed in a dry rub, lemon, tomatoes, and onions. 3635 N. Belt Line Rd., Irving.
Niwa Japanese BBQ
The hanetsuki gyoza is handmade and pan-fried until there’s a golden-brown lattice linking each of the dumplings together. Pull them apart for a crunchy, chewy, flavorful dumpling dipped into a spicy ponzu sauce. The only problem is that there’s only one batch of these made per day, so when they’re out, you’re out of luck. 2939 Main St.
Royal China
If you can’t choose, Royal China has a dumpling sampler with pork, shrimp, chicken, and vegetable dumplings, which are handmade and can be steamed or pan-seared. The dumplings are wrapped in a wheat flour dough that’s been dyed with vegetable juice for a colorful, flavorful dish. 6025 Royal Ln., Ste. 201.
Wu Wei Din Chinese Cuisine
The menu is laden with dumplings: it has hot and sour dumplings drenched in soup, exquisite spicy won tons, steamed dumplings, potstickers, and even taro dessert dumplings for those with a sweet tooth. 2909 W. 15th St., Plano and 2505 S. Stemmons Fwy., Ste. 3480, Lewisville.
Xiao Ling’s Kitchen
The soup dumpling wrappers at Xiao Ling’s are so thin that you can pick up them up, tip them with your chopsticks, and see the broth inside slosh around. The broth is thick with flavor, and we think they may be some of the best in Texas. 5910 N. MacArthur Blvd., Ste. 151., Irving. 469-567-3038.
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