David’s Dumpling & Noodle Bar

Stayed at the hotel across the street and found this via Unilocal and What a FIND!
I was first offered a Ginger Carrot Soup sample, and that set the tone for the rest of the meal.
Started with the appetizers: Stuffed Eggplant with Shrimp; Chinese Broccoli in Oyster Sauce, and the Half-​Fried Dumplings. All were cooked just right except the Chinese broccoli was a bit on the bland side.
Ordered the Malaysian Curry Noodled Soup at the server’s suggestion. Simply fantastic. If you can handle spicy and heat, this not so little dish will hit the spot just right.
I only wished I had more room to eat more from the menu. Will definitely visit again.

Mushroom dumplings were Delicious as were the rice noodles (Singapore noodles). Only wish would be more vegetarian options. Bahn mi my husband got was mediocre but the hot and sour soup was very very good.
For a noodle bar, they need MORE noodle menu options. Lunch portions too large and price too steep; cut portion size and price to make it more lunch appropriate.
Service was excellent.
Minor detail: don’t serve craft brew in a glass with a bud light logo!

I had the steamed dumplings with pork and shrimp, and they were absolutely delicious. They were hot and the flavor was excellent. For the entrée I had chicken with cashews. Serving size was more than ample, and it was served with white rice on the side. The taste was terrific, with the chicken being tender and moist. All in all this was a good pick for a quiet fast dinner.

Good service and ambiance. Decent food. Plenty of veggies which I appreciated and arrived hot and fresh, but the sauces on both our dishes were overly salty. Frozen store bought egg rolls.

This was my first trip to David’s dumpling and noodle. Took my daughter here for lunch on a weekday afternoon and it wasn’t crowded at all.
We each had a lunch special which includes an entrée, rice, egg roll, and iced tea for $ 9.75. She ordered sesame chicken and I ordered the pad Thai rice noodles. Our server was nice, the food was served hot and everything tasted pretty good. The breading was falling off the sesame chicken but it was still flavorful and my daughter said she would order it again. Portion sizes were definitely fair for $ 9.75, especially since it included a drink and an eggroll! We each had leftovers to take home.
It’s located right next door to NC state so I imagine this place gets pretty crowded because the food is good and the ambience is great as well! The restaurant is decorated nicely with modern furniture and a nice bar.
The food didn’t knock my socks off but it was good so if you’re in the mood for Chinese food and you don’t want to go to a cheap strip mall joint, try David’s instead! You will not be disappointed!

David’s fried dumpling are amazing. The pork and cabbage stuffing is seasoned to perfection. I should have ordered a full order

Thankful for Unilocal on finding this gem! The Half-​Fried Dumplings did not disappoint! David’s Fried Rice and Singapore Rice Noodles were very fresh and delicious as well. Fast service and our waiter was a sweetheart. We hope to be back soon!

This was my 2^nd time at David’s and I was just as impressed! Love the half-​fried dumplings, definitely a must order. Tried the shrimp rangoon this time, which I thought was really tasty. Not the typical fried triangle of dough filled with mostly cheese and a bit of shrimp. It was a full fried shrimp stuffed with cheese filling. We had the moo shu pork with steamed buns to split for a main. Would recommend getting an extra side of the buns! Great service, great atmosphere and great food! Left feeling satisfied but not overstuffed.

Ok. I got a meal with noodles and beef, I was unaware that there was onions in it, but the service was good and I wasn’t thrilled but I am willing to give this restaurant another try.

Decided to give this place a shot after I heard all of the great things about it. I was left unimpressed.
Let’s start out with the good: The service was really good as we were promptly acknowledged by the hostess when we walked into the restaurant and promptly seated. The waitress was attentive, made sure we were okay, and kept our drinks full. The service was really pleasant and the staff had smiles on their faces.
Let’s get on with the not so good things (well, at least in my opinion): The food. I was really excited to try this place as I have read a lot of reviews about it. I ordered the dumplings as an appetizer and I found them to be a weird brown color, soggy, and had an overpowering sesame oil flavor. I mean, all I could taste was salt and sesame oil. They were not gross they just… weren’t right.
The next appetizer was the crispy spring rolls. They were strange tasting as well. Not gross, just bizarre. Just chicken inside of fried rice paper… nothing else. Let’s move on…
I got the sauteed string beans and pork and my boyfriend go the filet mignon salad. Our food came out soon after we gave the waitress our order. This gave me the impression that the food is not fresh. It also didn’t taste or look fresh (Which could explain the soggy, wet, and weird tasting appetizers but, I digress).
The dish was bland and extremely salty. So salty, that I couldn’t even finish it. I had to push through the little bit I did eat but, stopped once I began to feel light headed and woozy after a few bites. Also, there was too much sauce lingering on the bottom of the plate for it to be considered a sauteed dish. The filet mignon was tender and I was quite surprised. The salad base was just crunchy water as expected but, the vinaigrette was salty.
We both were not impressed and decided that we would not be coming back. For the expensive price we think we should have been served fresh food and not something that tasted like it was precooked, packaged, frozen food heated on high in a microwave and served from a kitchen buffet line.
Again, I am not accusing them of doing this but, with the food immediately coming out right after it was ordered, the sogginess, taste, texture, and how the sauteed dish was over sauced and extremely salty it leads me to believe that it was.
But, I could be wrong. All in all, two stars.

Was craving laksa noodles and roti, so had to try this place after seeing it on Unilocal!Had some high hopes since this place has great reviews.
Service was above average. We were seated fairy quickly and it wasn’t too busy. Server was quick and food followed soon after. The ambience is nice insides and there is a bar in the middle with seating around the perimeter.
The roti was mediocre. While the starch was crispy and well cooked, the curry sauce wasn’t as rich and spicy as I would expect. It was watery.
The laksa noodles… we’re spicy. But not rich in flavor. There was no cream base to it as I would expect. What was also strange to me was the wonton &a dumplings I found on the soup? I suppose that makes sense at a dumpling and noodle bar. Definitely would not recommend if you’re searching for an authentic noodle soup.

Good service. Delicious food. My only complaint is that the portions are much smaller than a typical Chinese restaurant while the prices are higher than average. Not a good combination. However, the dishes we ordered came out amazingly fast, were hot and freshly made to order, and we appreciated that we could finish our entire dinner within half an hour (because we have a 2 year old who’s not great about sitting still for a long time).
If it wasn’t so far and portions were bigger, we would be regulars here.

My girlfriends and I came here several times, since it’s close to campus. We like the food here! The noodle and dumplings are very good! We are all Asians and we can tell their dumplings are close to the authentic Asian dumplings. However, their other dishes are not that authentic. But still good American Asian food.

We have been here a couple times — both with and without kids. Service is always great and last time I went I saw David himself busing tables and joking with staff and customers. The only draw back with kids is that they don’t have a special menu for them. But we usually order each of us an appetizer and then we share the entrees that the adults order. Everything comes with rice and that’s a winner for our children.
Do yourself a favor — no matter what time or day it is — call ahead and put your name on the list. There’s almost always a list. And if you’re lucky you won’t have to wait once you get there.
But the wait will be worth it. I haven’t tested anything less than stupendous. My husband said he liked my vegetarian dumplings better than his meat ones — so that says a lot. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the ginger garlic eggplant. To die for. Really. Eggplant. I know. But try it and you’ll see.

Best dumplings in town accompanied by some of the most friendly and helpful staff. David is a fantastic host and went out of his way to introduce himself and make sure we had a great night, even though we had never been there before.
I ordered the Roast Pork & Dumpling soup and it was excellent.

We gave been looking for a good Asian restaurant, so many good ones in our area have declined. We had an amazing dinner and now we have our spot!

This place definitely exceeded my expectations! I thought it was a little hole in the wall, but it’s very nice inside and out and I liked the décor. The food was amazing — I had recommendations before going and stuck with those — they didn’t disappoint.
First, dinner starts with a complimentary small cup of the ginger soup — very refreshing. We got the fried dumplings as an app — they are amazing. They are with Chinese sausage which I’ve never had before. Will definitely be getting that again. The waiter and friends highly recommended the Malaysian curry noodle soup. I usually don’t like Indian curry, but this was a mix to me of Indian and thai curry — a little creamy. It was absolutely delicious but a little spicy just fyi. It is very filling as well — it has shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, fried tofu, chicken and noodles in it. I could have drank the broth — definitely the best part.
This place is also very reasonably priced. Some other friends got the pad thai which was good but I preferred the soup. Also the pork ginger soup is a very different flavor but also very good. I’m looking forward to going back!

My expectations of this place were too high, one of the reasons for my disappointment. As other Unilocalers have mentioned definitely can use more variety of dumplings on the menu considering it is a dumpling and noodle bar. I have had Malaysian chicken curry before and this was not the right flavor. It was on a sweeter side while others have been more red and fragrant not too hot but certainly not sweet. The steamed buns were okay but the dishes all together were on q salty side.
The service was excellent, and the ambience was decent but I don’t think the menu justifies the name of the restaurant. The food does not leave an impression on your tongue.

Oh my god. A whole place founded in Dumplings and Noodles. You know it has to be amazing, and it IS! It’s a very classy affair inside, while still casual. The service has always been great.
But I can’t underline enough how incredible the dumplings are! There’s a huge tapas-​style small plates menu from which you can order an entire varied meal to try all the dumplings. Although not dumplings, the soft-​shell crab over seaweed salad is also Stellar, as are the spicy shrimp. It actually is very dim-​sum-​esque. These are not you hole-​in-​the-​wall takeout Chinese dumplings, these are handcrafted varieties of steamed, fried, half-​fried and whatever else you can think of.
I can’t comment on too many of the entrées, as I always get distracted by the noodles, but friends have said those are also truly delicious. The food is always well-​presented also.
A word of warning: tapas-​style dumpling orders can add up fast here, so perhaps consider one entrée to manage the bill. But get down here!

One thing that stands out about this restaurant is how unconcealed the owner/​chef is. Every time I have been here, I have seen him, at some point, either at the bar or strolling around the dining area. Once, he even came to our table to check up on us and we felt so special (ahh, I’m a VIP somewhere).
David’s menu consists of a nice array of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Malaysian dishes. What I have come to appreciate is the popular traditional dishes such as Pad Thai, Moo Shoo Pork, and Sweet and Sour Soup. I know, I know, I can get these anywhere but it is hard to find a place that makes them well and this place does!
So besides the food and the overt presence of the owner/​chef, what are the other reasons I like David’s Noodle Bar: the atmosphere is great and it has an upscale feel, there is a nice bar, prices are reasonable for the quantity (and quality!) of the food, let’s not forget the complementary carrot ginger soup sample (it is amazing!!), and the location is close to NCSU and downtown.