Mini Potstickers opened in 2023 on Irving Street in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset, initially seeming like another Northern Chinese dumpling restaurant. The menu gained attention for explosively juicy mini potstickers, described as small versions of sheng jian bao, along with anise-forward tender beef noodle soup, shatteringly crisp jianbing, and melt-in-your-mouth tofu fa. Locals kept the restaurant relatively under the radar until a viral Instagram reel featuring Top Chef alum Melissa King. The video showed her praising the dumplings and other items, including chili crisp oil, chili pork wontons, and jianbing. After the reel, the restaurant became busy, with customers sometimes waiting up to 20 minutes for limited seating.
"“Why is nobody here? This is, like, the best dumpling place,” she says at the start. “This is one of my little secret spots,” King continues, drizzling the house-made chili crisp oil all over the mini dumplings while also grubbing on the chili pork wontons and jianbing, aka “Chinese burrito.”"
"Since it opened in 2023, locals have kept this place close to the chest. That cover was recently blown. In early March, “Top Chef” alum and SF resident Melissa King’s Instagram reel of her enjoying Mini Potstickers got more than 50,000 views in just a couple of days. While King has been gassing up Mini Potstickers in various articles for at least a year, it’s her video that resonated with people."
"Not just for the explosively juicy “mini potstickers” (to do them justice - they are small versions of sheng jian bao) but for the majority of the menu. The anise-forward, tender beef noodle soup. The shatteringly crisp jianbing. The melt-in-your-mouth tofu fa (tofu pudding)."
"Owners Lili Liu and Hong Yao said they got pretty busy after that video hit, with customers having to wait up to 20 minutes for one of about 10 small tables inside the compact restaurant that feels around 300 square feet."
Read at SFGATE
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