Shandong Dumplings

I know this place doesn’t have a good service, but the owner of this restaurant is a really kind and friendly person. She can’t hire more waitresses and waiters because the rent for this place is too expensive and she needs to spend more money on paying the rent and the cook. So please understand her situation. She’s been making dumplings and crepes for 20 years, she’s really passionate about making food. This is a traditional Chinese restaurant that really worth to go.

Don't be fooled by the negative reviews. The food here, considering the location, is pretty decent. Dumplings are juicy and noodles are Q (if you know what that means!) You could find better food if you drive to San Gabriel, but let's be honest that's another 20-40 minute drive round trip and sometimes you just don't want to waste your time on that commute. Best part? They have fresh garlic at the table that perfectly compliments the dumplings.

Perks of being in the SGV: ALL OF THE DUMPLINGS. Gave ShanDong in Old Town Pasadena a try after a very hot few hours at the Rose Bowl Flea and left as a new woman. Nothing like some AC and Chinese comfort food to cure what ails ya. We were in right around 3 pm on a Sunday and it was pretty quiet, which was nice. The two of us split a scallion pancake, an order of pork with leek dumplings, and an order of spicy juicy pork steam dumplings. They came out in that order and the meal got better and better--the scallion pancake wasn't my fave, but those spicy steam buns were something else. So dang good. This ended up being a ton of food for less than $40, which I would consider a win. Parking in Old Town is tricky, but there's a lot just a couple blocks west that's free for the first 90 minutes. Also worth noting that a couple people popped in for takeout while we were here, an option I'm sure we'll take advantage of in the future when those dumpling cravings hit!

Best lunch value in old pas...thus far . In the couple of months I've been working here， this is the best bang for your buck place for lunch. For less than 10 bucks (before tax) you get a choice of noodles (of 4) or fried rice， hot and sour soup， cold appetizers，and 5 pieces of pot stickers. As for the food itself， the noodles， soup and appetizers were all great! The pot stickers were mediocre which is surprising since this place is supposed to be a “dumpling house”. Perhaps their steamed/boiled ones are better. It seems they just fried the boiled ones to make pot stickers but that is， if you know your dumplings， a no no since their skins need to be of different thicknesses and filling of different flavors (boiled needs more flavor to accommodate the flavor loss due to boiling and skin thicker so filling wont fall out as easily from cooking， pot stickers need thinner skins so that theyre more crispy and less flavor intensity since its not getting boiled out). Server was nice but i could see service being slow if it was more crowded (usually quiet when ive been). Overall 4.5 stars but rounding to 5 for the sheer value. Place is also clean looking( for a Chinese restaurant). Edit: Went back again and was pleasantly surprised that the pot stickers are now thin skinned and crispier (as they should be). Full 5 stars

Better than I expected, given the look of the place. Dumplings had good flavor. A touch too doughy, but still within a good range of density. Excellent spicy beef and noodle soup. Seems pretty authentic in terms of flavor and overall atmosphere. Service was a bit on the rough side, but that is also authentic.