HC Dumpling House - Review

Intro
Hu-Chiang (HC) Dumpling House - Highly Recommended
10877 N. Wolfe Rd
Cupertino, CA 95014
408) 873-4813

Tony and his wife Frankie took us to the HC Dumpling House since we were craving some soup dumplings or xiao long bao - a Shanghainese specialty. HC Dumpling House has by far the best soup dumplings I've had in the States (the reigning soup dumpling champ for me is still Din Tai Fung in Taiwan) Overall, I give the restaurant an 85/100.

My Menu
1) Taro Fries - Highly Recommended
2) Melon Soup Dumplings - Highly Recommended (must have)
3) Pork Soup Dumplings - Highly Recommended (must have)
4) Crab Soup Dumplings - Recommended
5) Dong Po Pork - Average
6) Steamed Spinach - Recommended

Dish Comments
1) Very addicting. Salty, crunchy, and a richer flavor than french fries.
2-4) My keys to a great soup dumpling are a very thin/tender skin that is difficult to puncture, flavorful filling, and rich soup. Just by looking at these expertly crafted dumplings, I could tell we were in for a treat at HC. The star of the group was the unique melon dumpling, which has a nice subtly sweet flavor. The skin still pierced a little, but I've only seen Din Tai Fung create a dumpling skin so perfect.
5) Dong Po Pork is a stewed pork dish, that is ridiculously tender and a tad sweet. Something about the Dong Po here wasn't quite right. The pork was not tender enough, the sauce was too thick and too sweet. Still a tasty dish, but my last memory of Dong Po pork was at Tien Hsiang Lo in Taipei - the best I've ever had.
6) A healthy tasting steamed spinach (very fresh) perfectly cooked topped with a chicken broth.

Overall Restaurant Experience (85/100)

• Food 8.6/10 - The best soup dumplings I've had in the states.
  
• Service 7.9/10 - Service was decent, but it took a while before we got our food.
  
• Atmosphere 8/10 - Lines are very long at this place. Took about 45 minutes to be served at 8pm on a Saturday night. Crowd was mainly Asian families.
  
• Price 8.5/10 - Price is very reasonable for great soup dumplings.
  

Closing Comments
I love soup dumplings - such a great comfort food - and HC definitely delivers. Again, I wish a place comparable to this was in NYC. Supposedly the best soup dumplings in the city is Joe's Shanghai, but Joe's doesn't even come close to this place. Din Tai Fung is still the soup dumpling champ, but surprisingly this takes a very close second.