Food was heavenly great when we visited in February, so I’ve been looking forward to coming back, but today their signature string beans and soup dumplings are disappointing, made me wonder if there’s a change in their chef or management; I hope it’s just our not so lucky day, as it was really one of the best in
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao, Beef Wraps, Pork Xiao Long Bao, Pulled Noodles
Malka A. (Malka Ahmed Photography)
I’m so happy I found this place! Their scallion pancakes were so fresh and flaky, dumplings were so yummy and melt in your mouth. I also got veggie lo mein and it’s the best I’ve had so far in North Texas. Definitely will be a regular here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lillian L.
Food was amazing! Service was great. I would highly recommend the beef noodle soup and R5 the hand pulled noodles. Will definitely be back!
Karissa S.
Limited menu, however it is delicious! The star of the show to me was definitely their steamed char siu dim sum pork buns. They are the best i have had in texas! I really enjoyed their cucumber appetizer, it could have used more chili oil. Their xiao long bao was good, but i wish they served it with sliced ginger and with a pre mixed sauce like their competitors do. They are reasonably priced for being in the middle of frisco. Its no frills on the inside and small. Its a popular spot so i recommend going early unless you are ok with waiting 20-30min during peak dinner time hours.
Meagan B.
I went online to order and ordered the top 2 items recommended on the menu. I got the dumplings and hand pulled noods. Dumplings were okay but I felt like it was missing flavor. Not terrible though. The hand pulled noods were dry and stuck together. I only took 3 bites before I tossed it. It's always fun to try a new restaurant but this one is a hard pass for me.
Bryan Baeten
Food was awful. Too much batter and small pieces of sesame chicken and orange chicken left me questioning how much meat there actually is in each dish.Salt & pepper shrimp still had shells and legs on them, making for an extra crunchy mouthful that just wouldn’t go down pleasantly or leaving for a bland shrimp once shells, etc were removed.Top that off with a $65 total on 3 to-go dishes (picked it up myself, no dashers) and one app with no rice sides for the entrees. Better food and price found almost anywhere else.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Erin S.
Amazing food & quick service. Didn't have to wait long for the food & came out as it was made & fresh. My favorites were the egg custard buns & beef rolls but it was all delicious. I'll absolutely be back with friends & family.
Tony L.
The soup dumplings are to die for here and the fried rice is awesome too. Some of the best i've had since being state side from the military but the staff could do a little bit of a better job.
Elizabeth T.
YUM. This place blows it out of the water on quality! We drove an hour to get here so I'm glad it was worth it. The layout is open and has a great amount of seating. They have some little lantern lights and decorations on the wall that make it look nice. The food here is really good. Everything we ordered was on par. I think everything starts with how cohesive the team is. It seems like the workers enjoy it here. We were able to see them take their lunch together. They worked fast to get food to the table without sacrificing quality. Kudos! We ordered two orders of pork soup dumplings*, one crab and pork soup dumpling*, vegetable and pork pan fried dumplings, and wonton with chili oil. I was also able to try the popcorn chicken*, hand pulled noodles*, and char siu bao*. Something I noticed about this 88 Baobao's soup dumplings is that they're sturdier than most! Most places will pop right as you try to take it off the paper, but only a couple popped after we had left them there for a while. It's nice they can contain their soup making it worth your money! Top items from what we ordered are marked with an asterisk*. The vegetable and pork pan fried dumplings could have been a little bit more crispy (comparing to a different location I went to). Other things I'd like to try on the menu would be beef rolls and the golden fried buns with condensed milk. Highly recommend everyone to try this place, we'll be back again!
Peter C.
The Ambiance is modern Taiwanese decor, and the customer service was good for a packed restaurant. Now let's get down to what's most important...the food reviewed by a first generation Taiwanese foodie: 1) Beef Roll: not authentic but good tasting because it should not be fried like an egg roll and it should have shredded green onions, not shredded lettuce as part of its filling. 2) XiaoLongBiao (XLB): good tasting but not as good as its competitor, Wu Wei Din. The thin skin held in the juice and its meat filling well; the ingenious larger size does not demand as much skills in making it, so I should call it Da (big) Long Biao. 3) Beef Noodle Soup: the soup broth is generic tasting, the large chunk of beef needs to be slow cook a little longer to become more tender, and the handmade noodle was more on the dense side, not air fluffy and no slight bouncy chewy texture. This suburban place is a welcome addition for Taiwanese cuisine outside of the Hwy 121 DFW metroplex, but if you want better and more authentic travel into the metroplex cities to fill your taste buds.
Good: this is my new favorite Chinese restaurant with dumplings in the Frisco area. Kitchen Master was my favorite and we would go a few times a month till they changed their recipes, maybe about 1.5 years ago. Take a menu and dry erase marker and mark what you want to eat. Then take your menu up to the cashier to order and pay. They bring out the food to your table as it is ready. You can watch them make the food in the kitchen through a window. It was clean and the atmosphere was a nice casual. You get your own drinks. Most of the food was delicious and portions were a good size. I ordered the individual pork buns that were $2.50 each and it was the size of my palm, maybe a little bigger. They had fried buns with sweetened condensed milk — sounds simple and it is but also not something you get at a restaurant; it is normally at dim sum and my kids loved it. All the white steamed buns we had and the fried buns had a nice sponge fluffy texture. Next time I will have to come back for the hand pulled noodles.Bad: The custard bun was a little too much egg flavor. The soup dumplings were not very flavorful. When we walked in, a man sitting at one of the tables was the one who greeted us and told us what to do. I don’t know if it was the music or the echo, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. It would have been nice if he had walked up to where he kept the menus and explained it, but he stayed seated.Kid-friendliness: Fun to go watch them cook!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Hannah R.
I will order the buns, potstickers and soup dumplings again, but the beef soup noodle is not the best I have.Service is good and the food is presented quickly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: F1 Vegetable Dumplings 8 素馅煎饺, Pork Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao, Pork Xiao Long Bao
Dillion Broxterman
The food at this place is fantastic; some items were a miss but that may just be my personal taste playing a role because others were happily enjoying the few dishes I did not like.I do have to knock the service down 2 stars and the food 1 because my wife almost broke her tooth on a pan rivet that was in the egg fried rice we ordered to go. I called to talk to the manager who responded by saying, "we have a line right now so I'll call back." And never did. I'm sure it was an accident but a conversation seems appropriate, at the least to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Pork Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao
Brandon S.
My daughter is a big fan of Xiaolongbao. As soon as I heard there is a new restaurant in local offering it, we decided to give a try. The restaurant is new and clean. I was told to pick up a plastic covered menu and use a marker to mark on dishes I like to order. However, I had to use my hand to remove the ink because I changed mind on what to order. Obviously, my hand got dirty and I had to wash it off. The xiaolongbao is a little bit over salty. The fried dumpling is the same taste as xiaolongbao, over salty too. Overall, the experience is ok. Might be the best in local, but definitely far away comparing to Din Tai Fung. 88 is adopting the same concept with open kitchen like Din Tai Fung which allows customers to visually see, but the taste is way behind. Hope they'll adjust the taste and make it better, otherwise, I wouldn't repeat.
Julian S.
I have traveled all over south east Asia and have had dumplings in several countries and I'm telling you this place is as authentic as it gets. These dumplings are hand made and made to order. The soup dumplings are a 10 out of 10. They have a window kitchen in case you want to see how they make their magic delicious dumplings. I am addicted to this place because it's a blast to the past and brings me to Asia all over again. Can't say enough. Clean friendly and amazing service.
Food was heavenly great when we visited in February, so I’ve been looking forward to coming back, but today their signature string beans and soup dumplings are disappointing, made me wonder if there’s a change in their chef or management; I hope it’s just our not so lucky day, as it was really one of the best in
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao, Beef Wraps, Pork Xiao Long Bao, Pulled Noodles
I’m so happy I found this place! Their scallion pancakes were so fresh and flaky, dumplings were so yummy and melt in your mouth. I also got veggie lo mein and it’s the best I’ve had so far in North Texas. Definitely will be a regular here!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was amazing! Service was great. I would highly recommend the beef noodle soup and R5 the hand pulled noodles. Will definitely be back!
Limited menu, however it is delicious! The star of the show to me was definitely their steamed char siu dim sum pork buns. They are the best i have had in texas! I really enjoyed their cucumber appetizer, it could have used more chili oil. Their xiao long bao was good, but i wish they served it with sliced ginger and with a pre mixed sauce like their competitors do. They are reasonably priced for being in the middle of frisco. Its no frills on the inside and small. Its a popular spot so i recommend going early unless you are ok with waiting 20-30min during peak dinner time hours.
I went online to order and ordered the top 2 items recommended on the menu. I got the dumplings and hand pulled noods. Dumplings were okay but I felt like it was missing flavor. Not terrible though. The hand pulled noods were dry and stuck together. I only took 3 bites before I tossed it. It's always fun to try a new restaurant but this one is a hard pass for me.
Food was awful. Too much batter and small pieces of sesame chicken and orange chicken left me questioning how much meat there actually is in each dish.Salt & pepper shrimp still had shells and legs on them, making for an extra crunchy mouthful that just wouldn’t go down pleasantly or leaving for a bland shrimp once shells, etc were removed.Top that off with a $65 total on 3 to-go dishes (picked it up myself, no dashers) and one app with no rice sides for the entrees. Better food and price found almost anywhere else.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Amazing food & quick service. Didn't have to wait long for the food & came out as it was made & fresh. My favorites were the egg custard buns & beef rolls but it was all delicious. I'll absolutely be back with friends & family.
The soup dumplings are to die for here and the fried rice is awesome too. Some of the best i've had since being state side from the military but the staff could do a little bit of a better job.
YUM. This place blows it out of the water on quality! We drove an hour to get here so I'm glad it was worth it. The layout is open and has a great amount of seating. They have some little lantern lights and decorations on the wall that make it look nice. The food here is really good. Everything we ordered was on par. I think everything starts with how cohesive the team is. It seems like the workers enjoy it here. We were able to see them take their lunch together. They worked fast to get food to the table without sacrificing quality. Kudos! We ordered two orders of pork soup dumplings*, one crab and pork soup dumpling*, vegetable and pork pan fried dumplings, and wonton with chili oil. I was also able to try the popcorn chicken*, hand pulled noodles*, and char siu bao*. Something I noticed about this 88 Baobao's soup dumplings is that they're sturdier than most! Most places will pop right as you try to take it off the paper, but only a couple popped after we had left them there for a while. It's nice they can contain their soup making it worth your money! Top items from what we ordered are marked with an asterisk*. The vegetable and pork pan fried dumplings could have been a little bit more crispy (comparing to a different location I went to). Other things I'd like to try on the menu would be beef rolls and the golden fried buns with condensed milk. Highly recommend everyone to try this place, we'll be back again!
The Ambiance is modern Taiwanese decor, and the customer service was good for a packed restaurant. Now let's get down to what's most important...the food reviewed by a first generation Taiwanese foodie: 1) Beef Roll: not authentic but good tasting because it should not be fried like an egg roll and it should have shredded green onions, not shredded lettuce as part of its filling. 2) XiaoLongBiao (XLB): good tasting but not as good as its competitor, Wu Wei Din. The thin skin held in the juice and its meat filling well; the ingenious larger size does not demand as much skills in making it, so I should call it Da (big) Long Biao. 3) Beef Noodle Soup: the soup broth is generic tasting, the large chunk of beef needs to be slow cook a little longer to become more tender, and the handmade noodle was more on the dense side, not air fluffy and no slight bouncy chewy texture. This suburban place is a welcome addition for Taiwanese cuisine outside of the Hwy 121 DFW metroplex, but if you want better and more authentic travel into the metroplex cities to fill your taste buds.
Restaurantji Recommends
Good: this is my new favorite Chinese restaurant with dumplings in the Frisco area. Kitchen Master was my favorite and we would go a few times a month till they changed their recipes, maybe about 1.5 years ago. Take a menu and dry erase marker and mark what you want to eat. Then take your menu up to the cashier to order and pay. They bring out the food to your table as it is ready. You can watch them make the food in the kitchen through a window. It was clean and the atmosphere was a nice casual. You get your own drinks. Most of the food was delicious and portions were a good size. I ordered the individual pork buns that were $2.50 each and it was the size of my palm, maybe a little bigger. They had fried buns with sweetened condensed milk — sounds simple and it is but also not something you get at a restaurant; it is normally at dim sum and my kids loved it. All the white steamed buns we had and the fried buns had a nice sponge fluffy texture. Next time I will have to come back for the hand pulled noodles.Bad: The custard bun was a little too much egg flavor. The soup dumplings were not very flavorful. When we walked in, a man sitting at one of the tables was the one who greeted us and told us what to do. I don’t know if it was the music or the echo, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. It would have been nice if he had walked up to where he kept the menus and explained it, but he stayed seated.Kid-friendliness: Fun to go watch them cook!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
I will order the buns, potstickers and soup dumplings again, but the beef soup noodle is not the best I have.Service is good and the food is presented quickly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: F1 Vegetable Dumplings 8 素馅煎饺, Pork Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao, Pork Xiao Long Bao
The food at this place is fantastic; some items were a miss but that may just be my personal taste playing a role because others were happily enjoying the few dishes I did not like.I do have to knock the service down 2 stars and the food 1 because my wife almost broke her tooth on a pan rivet that was in the egg fried rice we ordered to go. I called to talk to the manager who responded by saying, "we have a line right now so I'll call back." And never did. I'm sure it was an accident but a conversation seems appropriate, at the least to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Pork Soup Dumplings Xiao Long Bao
My daughter is a big fan of Xiaolongbao. As soon as I heard there is a new restaurant in local offering it, we decided to give a try. The restaurant is new and clean. I was told to pick up a plastic covered menu and use a marker to mark on dishes I like to order. However, I had to use my hand to remove the ink because I changed mind on what to order. Obviously, my hand got dirty and I had to wash it off. The xiaolongbao is a little bit over salty. The fried dumpling is the same taste as xiaolongbao, over salty too. Overall, the experience is ok. Might be the best in local, but definitely far away comparing to Din Tai Fung. 88 is adopting the same concept with open kitchen like Din Tai Fung which allows customers to visually see, but the taste is way behind. Hope they'll adjust the taste and make it better, otherwise, I wouldn't repeat.
I have traveled all over south east Asia and have had dumplings in several countries and I'm telling you this place is as authentic as it gets. These dumplings are hand made and made to order. The soup dumplings are a 10 out of 10. They have a window kitchen in case you want to see how they make their magic delicious dumplings. I am addicted to this place because it's a blast to the past and brings me to Asia all over again. Can't say enough. Clean friendly and amazing service.