Po’s Dumpling Bar

We came here during the week on a whim, without checking out any of the reviews on this place before we walked through the door. It’s a tiny little shop, so if you come here on a weekend, you may need reservations.
For an appetizer, my boyfriend ordered the chicken wraps. They were ok on flavor, but they were extremely tiny and there wasn’t enough lettuce to wrap around the filling, so it was spilling out everywhere anytime one of us took a bite.
I ordered some shrimp dumplings, and I was told these would take 20 minutes because they are made to order. I love the idea that my food is that fresh, so I was excited– and rightfully so– the shrimp dumplings were amazing! Extremely fresh and hot, with a perfect amount of filling, and a nice thick layer of homemade dough. The dipping sauce was incredible as well, so these were absolute perfection.
For an entrée, my boyfriend got the beef and tomato and asked if there were any extra vegetables in it. The waitress told him no, but when it arrived, there were water chestnuts, zucchini and carrot. I ordered the shrimp and tomato which also had extra vegetables as well, which I didn’t mind. Unfortunately, we were both extremely underwhelmed with our entrees. The shrimp in mine was very overcooked, which made it rubbery and hard to chew. I only ended up eating about ¹⁄₃ of my meal. Since the noodles here are homemade, and I’m a carb lover, I’m guessing I would have been happier with a noodle dish, so this may have been a case of us picking the wrong thing off the menu.
I love dumplings, so I would likely come back for the dumplings and make a meal out of them instead of ordering an entrée.

If I could give a one word review I would: «Gloopy.» You know that bad Chinese sauce– it could be white, yellow or brown, but its viscous, flavorless and gloopy?
If you like that– Po’s is your place.
We had Cashew Chicken, Chicken Lo Mein and Beef with Black Bean Noodles and all three were sauced the same (if you were wearing a blindfold.) The dumplings (one order of shrimp and one of veggie) were also tasteless, but a bit crunchy.
The service was erratic but amusing, hence two stars.
Blue Koi down the block is consistently excellent, and stands the test of time.
Po’s sauce might, too, but the test might not be a taste test.

The stream dumplings were not fully cooked. The service was very bad. The waiter had not heard of Living Social’s Voucher.
I would never come here again ever.

Let the BF convince me to take another trip to this establishment.
BF had the Won Ton Noodles/​Soup just as before and he was satisfied as before. I decided to think «outside the box» and was more disappointed than the last time. I ordered the Southern Style/​NOLA Blackened Chicken… I know I set myself up for the outcome, but the menu said spicy. I wanted spicy. Got 2 extremely thin slices of chicken breast dredged in sage, not blacken spices. It was nasty!
I suggest you stick with what you know and improve on that first.
Wouldn’t eat there again even if it was free.

If I could give less than one star I would. The waitress was incredibly rude. The food was uncooked, cold, and spongy as though it has been reheated. Our waitress, along with the other employee and cook all sat down to eat while we were WAITING on our food. They ignored us, we asked for more water and were brushed off. My friend ordered a drink, incredibly gross. The dumplings, hence the name of the restaurant. We’re so disgusting. Not cooked. Didn’t taste good at all. When we asked for more dumpling sauce, They refused and said no. We were out, she said that should’ve lasted you for all your meals. I have NEVER been told no when asking for more sauce, what on earth. This place is awful, I cannot even believe that the waitress was so rude and nasty along with the food. Will not go back ever.

The atmosphere was very pleasant. Good service and excellent food. We were given a choice of having our meal first or waiting for our dumplings which was nice since the dumplings take a while. We tried the Emperor’s dumplings. We had the shrimp ones which were too fishy for my taste but the handmade dumpling part was tender and delicious. My husband’s General’s Chicken was very good. I ordered the Curry noodle with pork sauce and it was delicious. Will definitely recommend Po’s to my friends. They also accepted our Groupon without problem.

It was okay, but I wasn’t wowed.
I went with a friend and we both got dumplings and wine.
Wine was overpriced, but that’s normal.
Dumplings were okay, but nothing to rave about.
The real reason for the 3 star review was the service. Our server was not the brightest and didn’t understand she needed to split a check between two people, even when it was clearly stated at the beginning of the meal and explained again at the end.
Getting the checks right was a nightmare. We ended up pulling the calculator in our phone and trying to show her how to do it. She was very nice and very eager to help, but she didn’t understand what was going on AT ALL. I was pretty amazed.

I write this review with a bit of a heavy heart. I tend to hesitate writing 2* reviews, because I really want to support local business owners with great concepts, especially in this case. If you visit their website and read their back story, it’s quite lovely. However, my experience was less than satisfactory, and I won’t be back.
Upon walking through the door on a Wednesday afternoon, I was greeted by an older lady. I was the only one in the whole restaurant. She was very brief, or perhaps abrupt is the better word. I ordered the seaweed egg soup first to warm me up on a cold day and asked for more time to browse the menu. She did not get me the soup right away but instead sat down at a table to look at something on a laptop. By the time I finished my order, I felt more like an inconvenience to this woman.
Service aside, I ordered the pan fried onion cake and sesame sauce noodle (both of which, and including the soup, were denoted by a star to indicate their recommended dishes). The gentleman who delivered my food was much friendlier. The noodle dish was lackluster. The onions and cabbage, I felt, should’ve been cooked rather than served raw in the dish. The sauce didn’t do much for me. Points for having great presentation. The egg soup — too much pepper. There is a silver lining in all of this as the onion cake was superb!
My server did get friendlier by the end of my meal, but I suspect it had to do with me leaving soon.

We came in at an odd time, around 4:30 PM, so we were the only customers in the entire place. The service was good, they were patient and helpful. The place itself looks clean but some parts of the ceiling look like they’re about to fall off.
We had the vegetable spring roll for appetizer, which wasn’t too bad. Both the chicken with cashew and beef noodle soup that we ordered were bland. I couldn’t even muster myself to finish the noodle soup.

We had a $ 15 Groupon for Po’s. Of course, we tried the dumplings :) The Pork Emperor Dumplings were pretty good. The pork had plenty of flavor and the portion size was extremely satisfying. Now, our entrees, I ordered their authentic Kung Pow Chicken. Not too bad. The chicken was tender and the veggies had a little crisp to them. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too spicy which was alright with me. My hubby ordered the Chicken Pan Fried Noodles. I tried a bite and it was a little bland but, he was satisfied with his choice. The ambience was a little off. There was a bit of a sewage odor. It was extremely cold and there were only a few other patrons dining with us. I’ll blame this on the World Series. Go Royals! I wonder why they weren’t playing the game though or at least, have the TV on at the bar. You could hear a mouse piss on cotton lol. Nonetheless, service was exceptional and we would possibly dine in again if we’re in the neighborhood.

Po’s «Dumpling» Bar. Yea ok… the name is misleading. Today I went in for an early lunch to get, of all things, dumplings. First, they were somehow out of the dumplings (shumai) even though at 11:30 on this Thursday late morning I was the only person in the place. I doubt it was much busier earlier. So I went for the General Tso’s chicken, which came out hard as a rock and cold. So I asked about the dish and the waiter, who barely spoke english, took the dish back to be «remade.» About 1 – 2 minute later my «fresh» dish came out. This time it was clearly quickly heated chicken that just had the sauce poured over it yet they left the same cold rice, broccoli, and crab rangoon on the plate! Instead of eating, I just asked for a box and my check, showed the waiter my Groupon, and it took another 10 – 15 minutes for them to figure out how to use it or something but I just sat there waiting for who knows what. I’m a fan of trying new food spots and Groupon has always been a great way to do so. This one was not just disappointing, it was an utter disaster — to the food, the service, the waiting, and the lack of care for the customer. Maybe this was just a seriously off day, but I would never return to find out nor recommend it.
Skip Po’s and hit New Peking a mile or two up the road instead if you’re craving quality, fresh Chinese food.

This place is rapidly aging, and beyond the shabby lack of charm lies uninteresting dishes sloppily executed and presented. Upon leaving one only hopes that no acquaintances trick you into returning, for politeness of a Victorian order would be required to darken this door once more.

I have ate at po’s several times. Tonight we came and had a bad experience. As soon as we walked in we noticed an odor that smelled like sewer. When got seated and I asked the guy what the smell was. The server said he didn’t smell anything but if he had to guess it was a combination of the AC and the moisture. We decided to stay even with the odor because in the past it has always been good. While waiting for our appetizers we saw another sever walking around spraying perfume so obviously they were aware of the odor and our initial server lied. The steamed dumplings and crab Rangoon tasted great as normal. I ordered general tso’s chicken and it tasted like sweet and sour chicken. It also did not taste fresh. That is always what I get and it has always been great. My boyfriend got the triple delight and said it was good. I do not know if we will be back. Tonight was a disappoint.

Prices and proportions were great. The dumplings were AMAZING. My Po Po Noodles were slightly bland, but other than that a great experience. ECCO Pinot was my drink of choice and was delicious as well!

I had there lunch special of sweet and sour chicken. It came with soup, steamed white rices and two crapshoot. I also had an order of steamed dumplings. The lunch special was great! I will def. eat here again! Also make sure to keep an eye out for groupon as they usually have good deals for Po’s on there!

Our waitress was a hoot to watch, I must have laughed outloud at least 3 times. Now I know not all the other patrons were as humored but if they think back it was a funny cluster #%!? She frequently talked to herself, ran around, and I mean ran from table to table, mixing up checks, dropping off straws when they wanted a fork. Bahahaha Cute as button but a cluster. The other waitress was the exact opposite, like calm, hardly spoke, much older but actually she was a cute lil button too.
I always like there chili chicken and homemade noodles even if they come out cold, I cant help it. Try coming when its not a rush like normal lunch and dinner hours, when the service isn’t so swamped. Every time I’ve only ever seen to waitress’ and since they seem ok with this situtaion, I will just find a way to make it work.

Lacking in flavor and oddly mushy. The steamed pork dumpling was mushy, the Shu Mai was mushy, and the pork bun was mushy as well… It was the weirdest thing. The seaweed egg drop soup was good at first taste, but tasted mostly like salt and not much else. I really wanted to like this place but it is sadly not a great dumpling place. The service was great tho– we came at a good time when hardly anyone has showed up yet, so we got our food steaming hot right out of the kitchen.
I noticed several reviews complaining about that aspect, how food is served at different times (not everyone gets their food at once). In traditional Chinese restaurants, it is custom for the food to be served as soon as it is done cooking so that it is hot, which means that you will get your food at different times. My mom explained to me that in China, it would be rude to wait until everyone’s dishes were ready before serving them all at once because that would mean some of the dishes would be warm and not piping hot as they should be. Hope that clears things up– I found the service was actually very good!

Went here once with my regular breakfast buddy slash sometimes lunch buddy. He suggested this restaurant and I was happy to give it a shot! Our meals were good, not spectacular or amazing, but just good. If you are looking for a quick meal and you’re in the neighborhood, give it a try.

Taiwanese? No. I am Taiwanese, and this is nothing close whatsoever. I love my carbs but Po over-​indulges here. I ordered po’s wonton noodle soup with a choice of mixed meat. There is nothing to boast about their thick, bland noodles, msg-​saturated soup base, and undercooked (the disdainful undercooked i-​that-​sat-​out-​a-​long-​time-​in-​the-​sink poultry scent lingered and still gives me the jibbers thinking about it) chicken. I actually asked for the veggie option and the waitress says to me, «oh, veggie? Veggie is already included. You will have your veggie.» Nope, if three strands of overcooked-​bean sprouts, a sprinkling of hollowed scallions and a pinky-​size sliver of onion remains is the veggie she was referring to. well. what the. All the meat as well as carb ingredients (besides the two shrimps on steroid) were undercooked and fragrances with msg.
veggie potstickers and fried chive buns were no better. Carbs (–a plenty and not even tasteful!!) and lots of oil and nothing else worth ingesting. Oh goodness, yuck! Worst unusual representation of Chinese food yet! I would have chosen Panda Express had I known. go to New Peking or even blue koi (although blue koi is not too large a step up) instead.
(Tip: just because some ingredient is «homemade» does not mean they are worth trying. I am acquainted with many who can «home-​make» something given the tools and recipe book, and the food is still no good.)

The food is pretty good, but not mind-​blowingly good. I wouldn’t need to say that if the service were better.
The service is bad. They are clearly understaffed because of how slow everything is. I saw the people at the table next to me get served something they didn’t order which they had to send back. One time I ordered carryout online, and called ahead to make sure it was ready before I got there. They said it was, but when I arrived I ended up sitting around waiting for another 10 minutes while the employees scrambled around attending to other customers. I had to remind them that I was patiently waiting and finally someone brought my food out from the kitchen.
If you’re craving reeeally good Asian food, save yourself some time and head to Blue Koi right down the street. But the food at Po’s is good too, if you feel like you can put up with the slow service :)