More Dumplings for you

Hot Houston dumpling pop-up fires up a permanent home in Sawyer Yards

One of Houston's most popular Chinese food pop-ups will open a permanent restaurant in January. Dumpling Haus has claimed the former Pokeology space in Sawyer Yards for a brick and mortar restaurant, owner Elaine Won announced.

For the last three years, Won and her daughters Ashley and Amiley Lai have appeared at locations such as Axelrad, Grand Prize, and the weekly Urban Harvest farmers market. The pop-up's dumplings have earned raves for their flavorful fillings and delicate skins. Always pan fried to order, Dumpling Haus has an appealing, home cooked quality that distinguishes it from most restaurants.

“I grew up making dumplings around the kitchen table with my dad and brother. Teaching my daughters to make dumplings was a way to teach them about their family and heritage,” Won said in a statement. "I'm so excited to open a shop with my daughters to share our dumplings and family traditions with everyone who comes in."

Moving to a permanent home will allow Dumpling Haus to expand its menu with beef and vegan noodle soups as well as Taiwanese-style cold dishes. Since the concept focuses on homestyle dishes — eating at Dumpling Haus essentially gives people access to the Chinese grandmother they never had — the restaurant doesn't have plans to jump on the soup dumpling trend that's becoming increasingly popular in Houston.

"Xiao Long Baos (Soup Dumplings) are something we typically eat at a dim sum restaurant or specialty street food vendors that focus and perfect one dish," Ashley Lai tells CultureMap in an email. "Since dim sum is one of our favorites foods, we have great respect for those who have mastered the art of making it."

Adding Dumpling Haus continues the trend of more bars, restaurants, and breweries opening in Sawyer Yards. Buffalo Bayou Brewery has begun a quiet soft opening at its new, three-story facility. A Houston outpost of New Orleans' Urban South brewery and a new cidery called City Orchard are also expected to arrive in the area before the end of the year.

Dumpling Haus is opening a restaurant.

Courtesy of Dumpling Haus

Dumpling Haus is opening a restaurant.

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Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”