Everything we ate at this South Broadway dumpling debut 

When King Dumpling opened in the Boulder suburb of Louisville just over two years ago, it made an immediate impression on an area otherwise short of dumpling-focused options. Among the locals singing its praises was veteran food writer John Lehndorff, who famously learned how to properly (and safely) eat a steaming hot soup dumpling there. 

Now, Denver residents have the opportunity to do the same with the June 29 opening of King Dumpling II along South Broadway.

Owner Yuki Jiang says it took her over a year to find a place in Denver. The new spot is located in a former Bacon Social House set just apart from the SoBo Shops at the Ella Building, an already well-positioned food destination housing Anna’s Donuts & Burritos, Taste of Thailand, Joyce Pizza and the Maison Shelby patisserie. 

The dumplings

The first thing you need to know about the dumplings at King Dumpling II is that they’re all handmade, fresh and daily. That includes the wrapper dough, which the staff hand-rolls on a wooden bench using a built-in roller, one after the other. 

“It’s very hard, but I wanted to do something different,” says Jiang, who employs a team of three women who make the dumplings daily, starting at 9:30 before lunch begins at 11:30 — rolling, filling, shaping and cooking. The team aims to have 15 bamboo steamers full of ready-to-cook dumplings by the time service starts. 

With each day’s service, different customers order more or less of different things, so the staff monitors what’s going out and then begins rolling and filling more dumplings in real time during service to meet that day’s demand. 

Options at opening include pork, chicken, vegetable and shrimp dumplings, all available either steamed in a traditional bamboo steamer or fried in a pan (not deep fried) and served on a plate. There’s also a section of handmade wontons, which, unlike the dumplings, come in a bowl with sauce. The most popular is the spicy chicken wonton?. And finally, a line of handmade buns (or bao) and soup dumplings (xiao long bao). 

“Sometimes pork is the best seller that day. Sometimes soup dumplings,” Jiang says. “So they have to keep preparing more to make sure it won’t run out. But it’s going to take more time to prepare.”

All this preparation takes place in full view of the restaurant, behind a glass window. At pretty much all times, you can find a woman standing beside a tall stack of bamboo steamers rolling out and filling dumpling after dumpling, as if oblivious to the crowd of diners around her. 

And if that weren’t proof enough, each dumpling comes out just slightly different from the others in a way no machine could possibly replicate. That, according to Jiang, is entirely the point. 

“When you make the dumpling by hand, some might be bigger, some might look more pretty,” she says. “But it’s all kind of different. It’s not like the same shape like it comes from a machine.”

First Impressions 

We visited the newly opened location at the end of its first week. There were plenty of others inside, and the staff seemed ready for it. 

Each dish came out in a reasonable amount of time and was properly paced, so there were no more than three plates on the table at a time. That may seem like a small thing to note, but at a communal eating establishment like this, it’s important to give diners enough time and space to enjoy each dish without crowding the table and letting the food get cold. 

Among the highlights was a black truffle soup dumpling with squid ink to tint the wrapper a jet-black shade, inside of which the black truffle broth steamed. The fried pork dumplings had a perfectly crunchy, crispy crust, under which the chewy, glutenous dough just barely contained the juicy drippings of the meat filling. Bite carefully, because this dumpling squirts. 

It’s easy to see why the spicy chicken wontons are a favorite. The wrapper is silky and soft, and a joy to eat. The sauce itself isn’t that spicy, but there’s a jar of house-made chili oil for those who want to kick it up.

Dumplings aside, King Dumpling II also offers a range of house-made noodles. We tried the pork fried noodles, but in hindsight wish we’d gone with the Szechuan Dandan Noodles instead (which are also available in a noodle soup … both of which are worth a second visit alone). 

Appetizers run the gamut of classics, like scallion pancake, spring rolls and crab rangoon, next to traditional dim sum favorites like shumai, har gow and chicken feet. One standout that needs a second visit to check out is the cold tofu, which looks to have a simple dressing of furikake and oil with a bonito flake garnish. 

And for dessert: a chocolate-filled dumpling. Because of course. 

King Dumpling II is located at 2160 S Broadway and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.kingdumplingco.com.