The Abridged version:
- Hidden Dumpling House’s Land Park location had its soft opening May 18 and plans to have a grand opening in June.
- Once a server, owner Danni Kan opened the first Hidden Dumpling House in Elk Grove in 2022 and grew the business quickly.
- The location is a modern take on the traditional Chinese restaurant, featuring a vibrant interior, fresh flowers on every table and coloring pages for children.
In just four years, Hidden Dumpling House has opened three locations in the Sacramento region. Its newest restaurant just launched May 18 on Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento’s Land Park neighborhood, with a grand opening on June 18.
As its name suggests, dumplings are the specialty. Owner Danni Kan grew up making them alongside her grandparents in northeastern China. You can order dumplings with classic fillings like pork and cabbage or pork, shrimp and chives.
For a chewier texture, try the crystal shrimp dumplings which consist of shrimp, pork and chives wrapped in a translucent skin made of wheat, tapioca, corn and potato starches. Each bite comes with a slight crunch thanks to the crispy bottom.
Outside of dumplings, Hidden Dumpling House serves many well-known Chinese and Chinese American dishes, from fried rice and spicy garlic green beans to kung pao chicken and broccoli beef.
Kan pointed out that their braised pork mushroom buns are stained with chili sauce to elevate the rather plain look. The stains create a pan-fried appearance without adding any heat. Biting into the bun, there is an instant aroma of Chinese herbs that season the mixture of meat and mushrooms.
High-quality ingredients
When asked why the restaurants have been so successful, Kan says she believes it is the ingredients. Hidden Dumpling House uses high-end flour like Hong Kong Rose Flour, which can cost $65 or more for a 50-pound bag.
The restaurant also offers a variety of gluten-free options such as chicken and cilantro dumplings, vegetable dumplings, and Singapore rice noodle. Large plate items like honey walnut shrimp and mapo tofu can be made gluten-free for an additional $2.
“I have gluten-free hot sauce, soy sauce, chicken powder,” said Kan. “I have a different deep fry oil, one for gluten-free and one for regular.”
Building a business in the U.S.
Reflecting on the expansion of Hidden Dumpling House brought up many emotions for Kan. “I was crying the other day when we take pictures with my employees. I was like, ‘You have no idea how hard (it’s been) for me in (the) U.S.’ You know, single mom, two kids, only been here 12 years,” Kan said. “I build my own family here. They don’t treat me as an owner. They make jokes with me. They treat me like I’m working here.”
Originally from Liaoning province in northeastern China, Kan came to the United States 12 years ago and studied jewelry making in San Francisco. She said her degree was not enough to help support her family, so she took jobs as a server for around seven years with ambitions to one day become a restaurant owner.
Kan opened her first restaurant in Rancho Cordova in 2020, which she sold to her servers two years ago. She opened the first Hidden Dumpling House in Elk Grove in 2022 and expanded to Midtown Sacramento in 2023. Kan also owns Market on 28th, an Asian café right next to Hidden Dumpling House’s Midtown location.
Intentional design
Coming from an arts background, Kan’s sense of design and attention to detail are apparent in the restaurant’s interior and exterior.
Vibrant jade tiles, fresh flowers on every table and an open kitchen greet customers as they walk in. There are coloring pages for kids designed by artist Buppydogs. “I try my best to make the kids happy. If the kids are happy, they’re gonna say to the parent ‘Oh, I want Hidden Dumpling House because (of) the coloring page,’” Kan said.
The Land Park location boasts ample outdoor seating, which Kan says traditional Chinese restaurants do not offer. In fact, the reason Kan chose the building in Land Park was because of its larger size compared to her two other locations.
Kan believes it is time for the younger generation, which includes herself, to start changing the style of Chinese restaurants. Her emphasis on design and ideas on how to make the dishes different, even just slightly, are a testament to that.
Hidden Dumpling House Land Park
Address: 3005 Freeport Blvd., Suite B, Sacramento
Phone: 916-898-1622
Hours: 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily
Website: hiddendumplinghouse.com
Vegetarian/vegan options: Two vegan dumpling options and several vegan large plate and noodle dishes.
Drinks: Tea drinks, ice blended drinks, lemonade/Arnold Palmer, beer
Reservations: Yes
Shelley Ho is a producer with PBS KVIE and a visual journalist with Abridged.