in the zone

Seattle's favorite soup dumpling restaurant steams up Houston with 2 hot new locations

A Seattle-based restaurant known for its soup dumplings is coming to Houston later this year. Dough Zone Dumpling House will open two Bayou City locations in 2023 and 2024, the restaurant recently announced.

A representative tells CultureMap that Dough Zone has leased the former Ibiza space in Midtown (2450 Louisiana St.) for a restaurant that will open this summer and the former Sozo Sushi Lounge space in the Galleria-area BLVD Place development (1700 Post Oak Blvd. #250) for a second location that will open in late winter 2024. The Houston restaurants will be first Dough Zone’s first outposts east of the Rocky Mountains, joining locations in the Seattle area, four in California, and one in Portland, Oregon.

Founded in in Bellevue, Washington in 2014 by Jason and Nancy Zhai, Dough Zone serves Chinese comfort food that includes dumplings, noodles, vegetable dishes, and more. In particular, it is known for its Berkshire pork-filled soup dumplings (xiao long bao) and signature Q-Bao, which are steamed and then pan-fried. It also earns praise for its take on classic Sichuan dan dan noodles.

Comparisons with Din Tai Fung, the globally renown dim sum restaurant that has two Seattle locations, are inevitable. If the city’s food critics are to be believed, Dough Zone comes out on top.

“Dough Zone is better than Din Tai Fung,” Seattle Times food writer Bethany Jean Clement wrote in a 2017 review. “The dumplings at the brand-new branch of the Zone were significantly hotter, juicier and more tender (tenderer?) than my most recent batches of Din Tai Fung ones — which, to be clear, were really good.”

“For what it's worth, Dough Zone's xiao long bao are just as good as Din Tai Fung's and they cost a full $2 less per order,” food writer Angela Garbes declared in Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger in 2016. “More importantly, Dough Zone, unlike Din Tai Fung, also serves sheng jian bao, the wonderful pan-fried cousins of xiao long bao.”

Credit for that success goes to the way Dough Zone makes its dumplings, which feature a delicate wrapper, flavorful broth, and a tight seal that doesn’t leak. They are a “paragon of proportions: just the right amount of tender, elastic wrapper . . . to soft, savory, porky filling, to hot, delicate, marvelous broth, all in one perfect bite,” Clement wrote.

Notably, opening in Midtown puts Dough Zone near other popular soup dumpling purveyors, including Japanese gastro pub Izakaya, dim sum restaurant Taste of Mulan (formerly One Dim Sum), and Sichuan restaurant Wanna Bao. In a few more months, Houstonians will get to decide for themselves which restaurant they like the best.

Courtesy of Dough Zone Dumpling House

Dough Zone serves Chinese comfort food.

openings news-you-can-eat

ADD TO CART

H-E-B names 3 innovative Houston food companies among 'Texas Best'

H-E-B Quest for Texas Best Hive Food Co.

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Hive Food Co. is known for its infused honey.

After months of pouring over video submissions, H-E-B is entering the final leg of its annual grocery games. The San Antonio-based supermarket chain has narrowed down the finalists for its annual Quest for Texas Best competition, including three from Houston.

Ten innovative Texas entrepreneurs were chosen from a record-breaking 978 entries representing more than 500 companies spread across the Lone Star State.

Now in its 13th year, the contest asks Texas small businesses to put their best foot forward for the chance to win a combined $100,000 in cash prizes and the opportunity to be stocked on H-E-B shelves. Since the competition's beginning, the grocer has discovered more than 1,000 unique products, many of which have become literal household names.

“Quest for Texas Best is more than a competition; it is a launchpad for Texas entrepreneurs,” said James Harris, senior director of diversity & inclusion and supplier diversity for H‑E‑B, in a release. “H‑E‑B began as a small business, and we know firsthand how powerful the right opportunity can be.”

This year, the San Antonio and Houston regions were at the head of the pack with three finalist nods each. But the entrepreneurs hailed from all over the state — from border town Roma to Fort Worth suburb Haltom City. The top 10 hopefuls include:

Boerne — Coley’s Foods Inc., a frozen cookie dough company
Floresville — Dean & Peeler Meats, a beef producer known for its smoked Gouda sausage and Angus tallow
San Antonio — WFN Foods, maker of heat-and-serve taco fillings like beef barbacoa, pork carnitas, and carne guisada
Roma — In Your Smokin' Face, a spice company specializing in bold chile piquín and carne asada blends
Haltom City — Sol Dias, a gourmet paleta and Mexican ice cream company
Glenn Heights — Uncle Marc’s, a manufacturer of barbecue seasonings, rubs, and sauces
Houston — Doggie Express, a small-batch maker of decorated treats for canine celebrations
Houston — Big Bayou Cocktail Sauce, a saucy supplier branching out to Bloody Mary and margarita mixes
Houston — Hive Food Co., beekeepers known for gourmet infused honey
Bastrop — La Fregona, creators of a chile sauce for elotes and esquites

The final contenders will pitch their products on October 8 at H-E-B's headquarters in San Antonio, where judges will determine the top four winning products and award $50,000 to the Grand Prize winner and the "Texas Best" title — an honor that guarantees placement on H-E-B store shelves.

The first-place winner will receive $25,000, the second-place winner will receive $15,000, and the third-place winner will receive $10,000.

Since 2014, H-E-B has handed out nearly $2.75 million in prize money to Texas entrepreneurs. But Quest for Texas Best isn’t just about capital: the winners receive marketing, mentoring, and supplemental support to grow their brands. Fifty-five Texas small businesses that took part in the contest have achieved $1 million in sales and earned a commemorative H-E-B Million Dollar Club belt buckle.

supermarkets h-e-b gourmet foods packaged goods grocery stores