Tian Jin Dumplings

My friend and I were starving and needed to eat something before we headed for wine tasting at Rock Wall and St. George’s. We had to pick up my friend’s sister from her friend’s place in Chinatown so we jumped out and ordered an order of pork and chive dumpling and two pork buns.
The lady took my money and told me it would take 10 minutes. I could see them actually begin making them. I think the lady realized we were starving and gave us out pork buns within two minutes of ordering and recommended we eat them right away while they were hot. They were small but very delicious. Then exactly 10 minutes later, we got our plastic box filled with the pork and chive dumplings. We hopped back into the car and opened it. The smell filled the car and we couldn’t be bothered with the chopsticks or sauces (chili and soy sauce) but ate them plain. They were all very juicy and not too much meat or chives. I would absolutely come back here if I’m in Chinatown.
This business is just an order at the window and take it to go. There’s one table outside that people can sit at if it’s available. Be careful not to park at a painted sidewalk or double park, the police come by pretty frequently.

This was our first stop in our Oakland Chinatown mini-​food tour.
We shared a savory egg crêpe and a meat bun. The egg crêpe was good, but the cruller inside was kind of chewy– you knew it was just sitting there for a while… it would be so much better fresh and crispy, especially since I think the point is to the the crunchiness/​crispness counter the softer texture of the egg crêpe wrap.
The meat bun was okay– tasty enough, but not special.

So imagine driving down Franklin and seeing a few people standing outside of a window (that’s all this shop is; no indoor seating or ordering). I felt the need to know what was going on. So, I double parked and went over.
I found the best little gem for dumplings/​buns in Oakland!!! And so cheap too (only $.70)!!! WHATTTT!!! You can order a single pork bun but you have to order the dumplings in 15 piece packs. This is the cheapest breakfast I have ever had and it was sooo good.
I went back a week later and ordered 30 buns the day of my Star Wars party (I was using them as a pun for Princess Leia’s hairstyle. HA!) and all I had to go was re-​steam them and they were just like new.
Talk about an amazing hole in the wall. Everyone should check this spot out if they have a chance.

hole in the wall but has a few seats outside.
Not a fan of the jianbing, on the soggy side. But dumplings and pancakes are REALLY good. Like homemade. The baos are always sold out before 12 on the weekend.

Cute little shop in Oakland’s China Town that got a shout out in Bön Appetit magazine August 2015 issue for its savory egg crêpe wrapped around a deep-​fried cruller accented with chilli sauce and some veggies.
I went seeking it out around 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and sure enough the sweet lady behind the ordering window encouraged me to not only try their Tian Jin pancake, but also their biscuits at $ 0.60 each. These biscuits are made just with salt, flour, and oil… the ultimate trail food.
The pancake thing was… interesting, and certainly a good meal to fortify yourself with for a hike or something. The mixture of textures and the nicely camouflaged egg was cool. I wish they had a good coffee service right nearby to complement this unique food. Everything tastes better with coffee in the morning.
Park on a side street and walk there because parking can get tight.

When we came for an early lunch on Sunday, they were already sold out of their biscuits and pork buns. While waiting for our order, I overheard several people expressing their disappointing upon seeing the ‘sold out’ sign. I will definitely have to come back and try them.
My boyfriend and I were looking to have a light lunch so we decided to share an order of the pork & cabbage dumplings. We added an order of the Savory TianJin Crêpe because hearing someone else order them and seeing Unilocal pictures made me want to try that too. Those two orders ended up being a pretty decent sized lunch. The crêpe only takes a few minutes to cook but the dumplings require 10 minutes.
I really liked the dumplings; they were juicy and flavorful. The skin wasn’t too thick although I still would have liked a lower skin to meat ratio. The dumplings came with containers of vinegar and sriracha: perfect for the edge bites unless you’re the type of person who just eats them whole.
The crêpe was yummy but could have used some sauce. I think I would consider this more like an omelette than a crêpe. The egg wrapping was light and fluffy. I was expecting the Chinese donuts to be crispy but I was glad that turned out to be soft and a bit chewy. They’re also extremely oily but no surprise there. One order is actually pretty big; I wouldn’t want to finish this by myself because I feel like my taste buds would get bored. I still definitely recommend trying it though!
Tianjin is more of a grab and go place. There are two tiny two-​person tables, one in front of the store and one to the side. There is nothing protecting you from the elements so hope that it’s not an extremely sunny, windy, rainy, or cold day.
Oh and don’t forget: cash only!

Really authentic Chinese crêpe!!! I am from Tianjin and it really quench my homesickness. The staff is super friendly and considerate. Too bad it will be closed for a month and I will definitely miss it

8÷2÷15: Came here cause of the high reviews. Interesting place. Truly a «hole-​in-​the-​wall» as there is no dining area. You order through a window on the outside, next to posters plastered against the glass showing the various items.
There’s a parking structure next to it that’s $ 6 flat rate, and that’s where we parked. We didn’t realize though that this place was take-​out only, and didn’t see it on the way. Oh well. But really didn’t need to park cause you could just flash your emergency lights like everyone else, grab the food and go.
When we came #1 Biscuits and #3 Pork Bun were sold out.
1. #4 Savor Tianjin Crêpe (Salty) $ 4.99: My gf was really looking forward to this cause I think she had a lot of this back from her town in China. But I’d have to say, totally not impressed. The fried cruller inside is probably the frozen type you can buy from Ranch 99. It’s pretty soggy and bready – not the light, airy, and crispy ones you can get fresh from some Chinese breakfast places. My gf actually asked and the shop owner admitted they do not make them in house – I’m pretty sure they’re purchased frozen in bulk cause they taste like some we bought ourselves from the market. As for the outside, it’s kinda like a crêpe that’s really heavy on eggs. It’s alright. I’d prefer it to be crispier, but I guess traditionally this might be how it usually is. Anyway, think of it as a Chinese breakfast burrito, but I think it could be a ton better. ³⁄₁₀.
2. #5 Handmade Dumplings Pork w/​Chive (15) $ 7.80: They taste pretty good. Love the stuffing – it’s just about as perfect as stuffing gets. However, their shells are somewhat amateuristic. Coincidentally we made dumplings the weekend before, and the 3 women in the kitchen folded the skins far prettier crimped and shaped. Also, they have too much skin to stuffing ratio, with more dough than required in the crimping area. Taste-​wise pretty good, but the construction just isn’t as pro as say their neighbor Shandong. ⁷⁄₁₀.
So, you come here for the dumplings, I know. But since it appears their secondary dishes aren’t great…
³⁄₅
p. s. CASH ONLY
#chinese #dumplings #boileddumplings #cashonly

Two fluffy crepes are only $ 4.x. That is super impressive. They put the pickles, egg and chinese donut inside, not fancy but simple is the best, love their taste, reminds me of my home town. One star hold me back they don’t have enough seats haha.

I came here for some frozen dumplings. I ordered my food in my fake asian was my first language accent + some broken chinese. At which point the asian lady at the counter said (in quite good english) «ok, you want 15 dumplings, correct? Here are the instructions on how to boil them»
Wow. Tank you Berry much.

Stopped by this place on our way to the Warriors parade last week, and boy did we leave satisfied!
We ordered steam buns, dumplings, and their savory crêpe.
The steam buns were good, but too much bun. The bun itself was soft and yummy, but if there was 2−3x the meat, I would have been happier with it. However, for 60 cents, I really shouldn’t complain.
The dumplings were good, but I’ve had better. I also wish they offered more sauces. You can get 15 dumplings for about $ 8, which is a pretty good deal!
Our favorite was definitely the savory crêpe. It was definitely savory just like they said it would be, and packed a lot of flavor! I’ve never had anything like it before, and it was very affordable.
I definitely recommend this place if you want something quick. For the price you pay and the level of convenience, I really can’t help but be a fan. Yes, you probably have had better dumplings or buns in your life, but the ones here aren’t bad at all, and the Savory Crêpe is a game changer!

Those chinese crepes are yummy (and very filling)! Be warned that 1 order will feed 2 people, unless you’re really hungry. The pork buns are filled with a juicy pork and cabbage filling, which I preferred over the BBQ pork buns I’ve had elsewhere. I also got 50 frozen pork and chive dumplings, and they are delicious. A tad heavy on the chives for my taste, but my daughter really likes them. They come with simple directions on how to boil them (I wouldn’t have thought anyone needed directions on how to boil something, but there’s actually a trick to it).
As others have noted, parking is a pain. Even at 9 in the morning! I ended up parking in the garage next door for the 10 minutes it took to collect my delicious food, and it cost about $ 1.50. Next time maybe I’ll bring a friend and try to double park while they jump out for the goods.
The sweet lady who runs the place is friendly and helpful. I’m definitely going back for more!

The dumplings are delicious. Although the pork bun was not as good as I expected because I thought there was too little pork inside compared to how much bun there was.
It is a pick-​up only place. So just be aware of that. Also bring cash only! But knowing that this is a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, you would know not to pull out your credit card.
Next time I would totally try the «chinese crêpe»!

I spent 10 mins trying to find parking until I eventually gave up and paid the $ 6 for the parking lot right next to this dumpling place, lol. Then I got there and she told me that she was sold out of the savory crêpe and I was so sad! I got the pork and chive dumplings and they were really great — soft, the skin was not too thick, and there was a perfect amount of meat/​stuffing.
So despite the struggle of getting there and only getting to try one thing… I’m still impressed and would like to come back to try more!

The crêpe is huge, you should really split it. It’s packed with two Chinese donuts and it comes out nice and hot with sort of an earthy tasting hot sauce. Interestingly one of the donuts was noticeably more stale than the other.
The pork buns are extraordinarily cheap ($ 0.60) but the amount of meat you get is extraordinarily small so I guess it’s fair.

Just a note that the crêpe is now $ 4.75 but it’s big enough to feed 2 if you an order of dumplings too. I was all set to order one each but the lady stopped us.
Dumplings are the boiled kind and come with a chinese vinegar and hot sauce. Very delicious and you get 15 pork and chive for $ 7.80.

I live in SF, so Muni is about $ 3.50 to get to Oakland. For twice that, you can buy a Chinese crêpe with fried donut, 7 chive and pork dumplings and 2 steamed pork dumplings. I want to put that in perspective before I get to the meat of this review.
So here is the thing: This place is the most honest transplant of a mainland Chinese business to US shores. It’s basically a window with two rickety tables set up on the sidewalk. You order your food and sit down. When it’s ready, the cashier/​cook/​probably owner will stick her head of the window and yell to you that your food is ready.
Dumplings are great, high quality with a lot of veggies and just enough meat. We went with the steamed pork and chive, add a little bit of the dipping sauce and it’s pretty much perfect. Steamed, but not soggy.
The buns were pretty solid as well, I added a little bit of sricacha to give it a kick (not authentic Chinese, but I like it). These aren’t the steamed shanghai dumplings we all know and love, but still very solid. The dough is more dumpling than white bread.
I personally wasn’t totally feeling the crepes, but my lunch partner certainly was. There is a some kind of smoky sauce smothered on the inside of the crêpe, and of course an egg crêpe wrapped around the fried donut. I found it a bit mild, but it’s filling and like $ 2 so I don’t even know why I’m complaining. I think ramen is like, $ 1.69 and that stuff will kill you.

Time: 8:39am/58°F cloudy
Purpose: First Friday of the month surprising the new hires/​newbies and fellow coworkers with these easy light Asian breakfast treats. Okay, I got hook last year when a coworker let me taste some dumplings.
*Everything stays the same as last review with a few minor changes. Please refer to last review regarding other info/​topics?
*Minor changes here are the smoked egg and biscuits went up from $.50 to $.60 now. No biggie!
*The fried Chinese bread or donut thats mostly use in conjunction with jook is not made on site. They pick up at Gold Medal Restaurant.
*The dumplings are home made because the senior lady with rolling cart brings it to them later the daughter told me its her mother.
*Still cash only!
*Family own and operated helps out the local economy.
*Red zone citation and towed away effective ²⁴⁄₇ while waiting saw a Nissan Centra being towed.

As the name implies, these are Northern-​style dumplings served out of a tiny windowfront on a busy Chinatown street. They appear to do a brisk business here selling the dumplings frozen so you can heat them up at home. While you can order the dumplings hot, there’s little seating space except a few improvised folding chairs and tables on the sidewalk, so you’re best left to get your order to go.
Decent — although less flavorful than I’d expected. Not a bad spot, but you’re spoiled for choice here in Chinatown, so you could probably do better elsewhere.

I think these are some of the best handmade dumplings I have ever had. Not just in Oakland, or California, or America… I mean ever.
I inhaled almost an entire order of the boiled pork & chives dumplings ($ 7.75). The order came with some amazing black vinegar and some mild hot sauce. Absolutely perfect. Skin wasn’t too thick and there was just the right amount of filling, replete with juicy ground pork and fresh chives and garlic. The dumplings were packed with flavor but weren’t salty in the least and didn’t make me feel like I needed to guzzle down water stat (which is often how I feel when I eat dumplings at restaurants). If I didn’t already have plans after lunch, I would have bought a frozen pack of 50 ($ 17.50) to bring home.
We also tried the savory egg crêpe stuffed with oil sticks (i.e., Chinese donuts) but I recommend skipping those. Their specialty is dumplings so focus on the dumplings when you’re here. I think most of the prices have gone up by $ 1 since their opening. I hope that’s a sign that the business is doing well and that they wish to take advantage of their popularity. This does make them slightly more expensive than other places within Chinatown, but these are totally worth it. Go and eat them now!