Dumpling Inn

One of the best places I ever ate for Chinese is the Dumpling Inn. Located at 4619 Convoy St # F San Diego, this is one of the craziest places to eat, what I believe, is true authentic Chinese food. The Dumpling Inn utilizes a wide variety of food, ranging from regular white rice and soy sauce to the most extreme, like jellyfish. The actual restaurant is really small and hidden from plain sight. Since I was with a big group, we ordered a lot of things, so here we go:


Pork Pot stickers ($6.95), Jellyfish Salad ($7.25), Beef Curry Dumpling ($4.95), Spicy Eggplant with Garlic Sauce ($9.95), Da-lu Mein ($8.50), Sea bass with Black Bean Sauce ($11.50) and finally Chicken Pan Fried Noodles ($10.25).


I would not recommend getting potstickers at a dumpling restaurant. It was good, but not worth it. To me they were potstickers that can be found anywhere. One side was crunchy and the rest was chewy, sort of doughy. The pork was subtle and enjoyable.

Jellyfish Salad

The jellyfish was the craziest thing I ever ate, but it was surprisingly delicious!  It wasn’t the best of the night, but it was memorable.  The jellyfish actually reminded me a bit of chicken. In no way does it taste like chicken, but the texture is like the cartilage of the chicken. Its soft, chewy and it is crunchy. The actual flavor of a jellyfish is neutral. I don’t think it has flavor at all, but they put a lot of flavor in it. They dressed it up with vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce and with cucumbers and carrots. This dish is well worth ordering.

The beef curry dumpling was an all fried dumpling, which makes it crunchy. The filling had curry and ground beef. The curry wasn't overpowering which is nice especially for people who hate spicy food. It was pleasantly delicious.


I am very picky with the next item and that is the eggplant. Eggplant can’t be squishy or soft because then it becomes nasty. But this dish is just the opposite, with a kick. I didn’t realize that the eggplant was spicy. The garlic sauce and spiciness of the chee swan makes an awesome combination. Not only does it have eggplant, but also has noodles, pork and bamboo. This has to be one of the best dishes of the night.
The Da-Lu dish was more bizarre than the jellyfish salad. It was like a thick soup, which has egg drops and chewy mushrooms. It had a bland taste which made the dish not worth it.
The only fish dish I had was the Sea Bass with Black Bean Sauce. This fish dish was amazing. It seasoned perfectly and had a variety of flavors and ingredients. It has green peppers, onions, the seabass, and black bean sauce. The onions made the dish sweet and the fish was flaky but not to the point of being dry. It was very delicious with a kick of flavors.


The last dish can only be described as metamorphosis. The chicken pan fried noodles had chicken, fried noodles, buck chow, broccoli, and carrots. The reason the dish changed was that the noodles were hard and crispy, but later on it absorbs the sauce and became soft. This was also a very good dish because the variety of ingredients and the crunchiness and softness.


In the end, this restaurant is one the best authentic Chinese food places in San Diego and should definitely be considered next time you're in the mood for Chinese. It’s not like other Chinese restaurants like Panda Inn where it is fine cuisine, but the soul food of China. Simple and complex all in each dish they served. Even the restaurant is modest but it doesn’t affect the food.


Taste: 5/5
Quality: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Overall: Fantastic


Critic: Joshua Villalpando
Editor: Mikery Hatfield


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