food
food, ramen and noodles, noodle dish, noodle soup, ramen, noodles
food, chowder, soups and chowder, soup
soup, food, soups and chowder, chowder
food, mussels, oysters and mussels, shellfish, oysters
soup, chowder, food, soups and chowder
soup, soups and chowder, chowder, food
food, chowder, soups and chowder, soup
interior, donuts
interior
sushi and sashimi, menu
ramen and noodles, menu
ramen and noodles, noodle soup, noodle dish, food, noodles, ramen
menu, ramen and noodles
interior
Stir-Fry Noodles
outside
interior
interior
Restaurant walk up
menu
dessert, food
donuts, interior
Maria-Elena T.
Oct 6, 2024
This is a true not-to-be-missed neighborhood gem! Can't believe I have this in my backyard. Lucky me! I got the rainbow soup dumplings (6 to an order) and was completely satisfied. Although I loved 5 out of six, here is my order of preference:1. Black Truffle Pork (the smell alone made my mouth water)2. Chicken3. Crab meat & pork4. Pork5. Spicy pork (not spicy, thank god, but a little oily (die to the chili oil?))6. Shrimp and zucchini (didn't care for this one; flavor over powering).Loved the sparkling water selection. A sign specifically says there is nothing else in the bag so you need to grab your utensils of choice and napkins. Wish the soup spoons weren't plastic, but it is what it is. Will definitely return!
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Christopher S.
Oct 2, 2024
One of my favorite things to discover on my food exploration anywhere are the holes in the wall and hidden gems that are not known to the masses. Within this category exists a specific subcategory which I will call the overachievers. These are places that would totally be acceptable playing it safe with humdrum menu offerings , using average ingredients, or taking shortcuts for faster preparation and turnover.Dumpling District, never to be confused with its inauthentic and blasé unrelated douchey doppelgänger District Dumpling, is an overachiever. Located in the food hall in the basement level of Ballston Quarter, it features the ever ubiquitous offerings of soup dumplings, noodle soups, and a variety of Shanghainese/Taiwanese dim sum. Some unique offerings that dont necessarily need to be there yet are available include fresh soy milk, both salty and sweet options for salty rice rolls (the Taiwanese cousin of onigiri), and stir fried rice cakes. Interestingly enough, the chef hails from Hong Kong, yet the menu is devoid of the classic Hong Kong fare of Cantonese dim sum, egg noodle soup with shrimp wontons and char siu pork, or any combination of roasted duck over rice or noodles. Having had the chance to chat with the chef who also works at the cash register as the food is being prepared to order, I find out that he braises his own meats, and he takes pride in all his dishes. The salty rice roll is rarely done right in the states since the glutinous rice exterior is often undercooked or the filling is insufficient, whereas his version reminds me of the mom/pop storefront across from my grandmother's apartment in Taipei with the right amount of chew and packed with pork floss, pickled mustard, and a crunchy fried dough stick (yiou tiao) For the noodle soups, the chef's favorite is the braised pork rib noodle soup. The ribs are braised bone-in fall off the bone tender in a umami rich soy gravy and packaged separately atop springy thin flour noodles/steamed bok choy which comes with a separate clear consommé broth to complete the trinity. One of the best noodle soups I have had outside of Rockville in the DMV, this noodle soup would be a worthy offering within any respectable Chinatown or Chinese/Taiwanese enclave in North America. I expected far less in this region since nobody seems to care about the level of quality for these dishes other than just the mere existence of an option, so for there to be one located in a random food court that also include quite a few local DC chain restaurants really caught me off guard. The sad part is that more often than not, an overachiever is under appreciated and therefore loses momentum over time, so I hope folks catch on to this new addition, and help it expand into its own brick and mortar or sprout into multiple locations.
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Linnea E.
Feb 28, 2025
Great dumpling spot! Love the rainbow soup dumpling option so you can try all the flavors. The dumplings were excellent, fresh and hot and flavorful to the max. Just the right balance of dough, filing, and delicious broth.They're also located in the Ballston Quarter food court so you can also grab boba, dessert, or maybe a second entree from somewhere if you wanted!
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Jasmine G.
Aug 21, 2024
Waited close to 30 mins for my one order of pork soup dumplings. It wasn't busy and I saw several employees in the kitchen, so not sure what the hold up was. Cashier did apologize for the long wait. Once I finally bit into one, I realized there was no soup in any of them. They were pretty much dried out somehow. Sad :(
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Ailun H.
Jul 10, 2024
My friends and I got dinner at Ballston Quarter and I decided to get some XLBs from Dumpling District, which is a pretty new addition. I've been to the Dumpling District before at Luna Hall so I know the soup dumplings will have decent flavor to them.BLACK TRUFFLE (PORK) SOUP DUMPLINGS (6) - 14.95I got these to see if the black truffle flavor makes a big difference. For an additional $2, I didn't think it was. Personally, I prefer a regular pork XLB but the black truffle pork XLB was pretty good too. The dumplings were a good size, but a lot of them lacked soup. The skin was a bit thick and the dumplings tasted previously frozen and not fresh. Still, the flavor was pretty food but it's expensive to be paying $15 for only six bites.If I was really craving XLBs, I would consider going to Dumpling District but I will try to hold in my cravings probably, lol.
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Alex D.
Nov 20, 2024
A friend and I stopped into dumpling district in the Ballston quarter market for a bite to eat. We got the soup dumplings( chicken, pork, and pork and truffle), the pork buns, and the sweet sticky rice roll. Everything was very good and the server was nice. I will definitely be back when I'm in the area. I loved how we could customize which soup dumplings we wanted.
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Alice J.
May 30, 2024
Convenient kiosks to order and pay; well packaged; the wait wasn't too long; nice "dine in area (in the foot court). Haven't tried their namesake dumplings yet but I can comment on other dishes --Beef noodle soup (tasty, if simple: just beef and veggie in soup)Cucumber salad, deliciousSeaweed salad, excellent (if a bit sour)
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Mischa J.
Oct 11, 2024
Very good eatery, although pricey in my opinion! I tried each one of the six kinds of rainbow soup dumplings and they were delicious. Although I personally think that this eatery could be even better if they had more drinks that usually tend to go well with dumplings, such as jasmine tea and green tea for example. They do have soy milk, but I guess they were out when I came. Otherwise, I give this place 5 out of 5 stars, because the dumplings are worth a try and I am sure that I will try some of the other menu items in the future.
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Nina D.
Sep 15, 2024
These might be my new favorite dumplings in Arlington!! These are a must try, in Ballston quarter food court. I ordered the chicken soup dumplings, pork pan fried dumplings, pork dumplings in peanut chili oil, stir fry vegetables noodles, and vegetable spring rolls. The dumplings were out of this world, so good that I didn't need any sauce. I picked up my order to go and the service was speedy and my food was still warm by the time I got home. I can't wait to try more food from here! Love this food court, so many good options and super cute!
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Rachel G.
Sep 21, 2024
The rainbow soup dumplings and and spicy pork soup dumplings were great! There wasn't a lot of soup in the pork ones but the rainbow did. The hot and sour soup and shrimp and wonton soup was average. It only took about 10 minutes for the food to come out which was surprising based on some other reviews. The storefront itself had an easy to navigate kiosk to order and the employees were very kind.
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