Whenever I have a negative experience at a chain or franchise business, I tend to avoid any of the other restaurants (ABC Country, Banana Leaf, Sushi Bella, Swiss Chalet…). This is somewhat unfair because every chain and franchise business is operated differently so one location may be horrible while another is great. In this case, the franchise is Dinesty Dumpling House. I have visited the location in Richmond before and the food was horrible along with the service. Not only was there no service, but the staff was also rude!
However, BF has been wanting to try Dinesty at the Downtown location for months. He is also the same person who had dinner with me at the Richmond location and vowed never to return! I guess in the end, I did not mind trying the Downtown location just because I was in a good mood. Plus, I was not really hungry since we went to Rodney's earlier. Picking up a pair of stilettos that finally arrived after a couple of weeks of waiting did not hurt either, hehe.
Walking in, the manager immediately stormed past us and closed the front door while yelling in chinese, "who didn't close the door?!". She then made eye contact with us after slamming the door so I asked for a table for two. Although there must have been a miscommunication on her end because she waved us away like we were pan handlers and rolled her eyes… umm? After standing there for a while, a waitress approached us but did not say a word so we asked if the restaurant was still open. With a response of yes, we asked her for a table for two.
At this point, it seemed like deja vu with the Richmond location (rushed atmosphere and unfriendly staff) and I sort of wanted to leave but we already seated. The waitress was neutral though and there were no dirty looks or a negative attitude. Also because we arrived fifteen minutes before the last call, we only ordered a few items to sample and decided to revisit if the food tasted good.
STEAMED PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS ($5.95).
The xiao long bao is the first to arrive and are the smallest ones I have ever seen! The skin is not thin and tastes doughier towards the twirl. Normally I never comment on the twirl because it is usually thicker as expected, but these twirls are more thick and doughier compared to many XLBs.
Furthermore, the meat has no flavour whatsoever! These are not only small with doughy skin, but also bland along with gritty meat. There is a bit of juice inside the XLBs though, but have no flavour and the meat tastes dry.
NOODLE SOUP WITH BEEF AND BEEF TENDON ($8.95).
The second item to arrive are the beef noodles and we requested for a medium level of spiciness, despite tasting only a hint. Regardless, the hint of spiciness sort of works because there is no heavy flavour of a last minute addition of chilli oil. As for the broth, there is no beef flavour and tastes bland. There is only a light soy taste and the beef noodles were served luke warm!
Fortunately, the meat is not too bad. The beef tastes semi tender, flavourless and slightly dry, but not too chewy. Furthermore, the tendon does not taste too chewy or rubbery as well.
The worst part of the dish is not the bland food though, it is the noodles! The noodles taste extremely soggy, mushy and inedible. It is really hard to mess up these noodles unless they have been sitting around for hours. After we paid for the bill, I mentioned to a different waitress about the noodles and she apologized. She also told the manager and it is good to know that the staff listens to feedback, especially for a Chinese restaurant… Despite the manager saying "oh well" in Chinese lmfao.
PAN FRIED PORK BUNS ($3.95).
The last item is the pan fried buns. The buns have springy, soft and pillowy skin along with a hint of sweetness. In addition, the buns are nicely pan fried and have a nice crisp bottom (although noticeably greasier compared to many restaurants').
Asides from the tasty skin, the bun as a whole tastes very dry. These are the first pan fried buns that I have ever had, which are not juicy! The meat also tastes gritty and bland, but the highlight is definitely the skin.
TOTAL: $19.80 + $2.20 = $23.00.
Dinesty Dumpling House is a large restaurant and the interior looks nice as well as clean. There is a mirrored ceiling like the Richmond location along with an open window kitchen. However, the food is not even good along with the service. The manager is rude and it is impossible to wave someone down. When we walked in, there were three other seated tables and the restaurant was empty by the time we left. There were also six waitresses at the front and we sat across from the counter! Why is there no service considering there are six waitresses at the front and only one seated table? This is a problem.
None of the staff even said bye to any of the customers, which is weird because many people want to be servers to gain money from tips. But how do you get good tips without providing service? Many people also immigrant from Asia and are here on a Visa, but the service is good in Asia so why provide rude or no service? I was not even hungry when walked in, but left starving! So we headed to Santouka after to eat again. We joked around about only having to leave a $2.00 tip this time too LOL because usually we order more and have to tip a minimum $8.00 even if the restaurant was service-less.
POSITIVES
- Large restaurant and nice atmosphere
NEGATIVES
- Food is tasteless
- Weird manager
- Service is non existent
Food: 2/5
Service: 2/5
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