Dumpling Kitchen: Staying True to Original Aspirations

Dumpling Kitchen
(415) 682-8938
1935 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116

 “Success is a passport for greater success, while failure may become an epitaph for the one who has lost the will to fight”. Perhaps everyone would encounter different opportunities and challenges along the road of their life. Some may give up in the middle of the race, while others choose to persist and eventually break free from the cocoon for a transformation. 

Dumpling Kitchen, a San Francisco-based restaurant launched for business in April 11, 2019, is situated in a very advantageous location and has been witnessing increasing prosperity. 

Decorated in a simplistic and distinguished style, the restaurant offers a cozy and clean environment that makes diners feel at home whenever they feel like to come. 

The sweet and sour pork ribs, one of the signature dishes of the restaurant, are made of fresh pork chops undergoing soaking and marinating processes to remove any impurities. The ribs are then fried to a beautiful golden brown, and mixed with white sugar, vinegar, spring onion and garlic. After being braised till the juice dries up, a dish of sweet, sour ribs with a pleasant oily appearance is completed. Shanghai smoked fish is prepared in a quite traditional way. First, clean the fish and cut it into a few chunks; then marinated them for a while and repeatedly fried them in the wok; finally, put in seasonings like spring onion, ginger and garlic to intensify color and freshness, and the appetite stimulating dish is done. Other popular offerings of the restaurant include the thin-skin, juicy steamed buns teeming with meat fragrances, crisp and tender pan-fried dumplings with rich, transparent stuffing, savory, tasty shumai, and soft, delicious, healthy steamed gluten. 
The restaurant is meticulously divided into different sanitation areas ranging from the kitchen, restroom, dining room to work spaces of employees. On a daily basis, each area is cleaned in accordance with rigorous standards by a designated employee before the restaurant is open for business of the day. Although having obtained a 96 score from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Mr. Zhong still finds a potential for further improvement as sanitation is the top priority in his eyes. 

The restaurant is staffed by about 20 employees. Just as the sanitary areas are assigned to different people, the front desk and kitchen of the restaurant are also managed by separate managers. Dim sum snacks and fried dishes are prepared under the guidance of professional chefs; managers are in charge of overseeing services provided by the team to ensure that they are maintained according to standard procedures. Mr. Zhong also carries out random inspections over the management of the entire team. 

Authentic flavors, convenient and considerate services and reasonable pricing are all factors that help Dumpling Kitchen gain a stronghold in the market and high popularity among old and new customers. 

Mr. Zhong candidly admits that he had operated a few restaurants when he came to the U.S. between 2003 and 2005, but it turned out to be a failure due to his inexperience and a series of setbacks. Mr. Zhong didn't give up, instead he drew on lessons from his failure and spent time observing how successful local restaurants were operated. The experience he gained from these systematic analyses and summarization was invaluable. 

He discovered that not all restaurants could be operated well through simple imitations. To survive among thousands of competitors, a restaurant owner must be flexible enough to adapt Chinese food to American culture. He also noticed that local Americans were quite into Chinese wheat-based food, which happened to be less expensive enough for volume sales despite the low margin. Thus, Mr. Zhong decided to specialize in flour-based food. Starting with a relatively tiny restaurant, he returned to China to learn after prominent dough masters in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. During that period, he also repeatedly reflect upon what he had learned and transformed theories and practices into a profound understanding and mastery of the culinary art. Through many trials and errors, Mr. Zhong gradually brought the restaurant's operation to normal and achieved a break even. With nonstop exploration and experience accumulation for six years, the restaurant eventually achieved today's success. However, Mr. Zhong never stops his quest for further triumphs by imposing strict requirements on himself and trying his best in everything he does. Personally, he is quite satisfied with the current performance of the restaurant. In the meantime, Mr. Zhong also prepares to open a branch restaurant for which he has already picked an ideal location. The branch is expected to be open for business at the end of this year, and another branch restaurant is also in horizon when everything is brought on the right track. 

Mr. Zhong has a clear, meticulous and feasible plan for his future business. First, he prepares to open 3-5 franchise stores to expand the presence of his brand; second, he also intends to operate central kitchen to standardize all processes of cooking; third, he plans to purchase a land to farm vegetables and raise livestock as a source of green, pollutant-free and healthy foods for his own restaurants. 

Over the years, Mr. Zhong has been committed to bringing the most authentic steamed buns and pan-fried dumplings to diners in San Francisco. Apart from allowing more people to come into contact with the profound dietary culture of China, he also makes his business as a philanthropic cause to fulfill his original dreams - raising money for people living in poverty-stricken mountainous regions and making his own contributions to the well-being of these communities.