DUMPLING DOJO OPENS IN BETHESDA AT WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY MALL

SON OF HOLLYWOOD EAST OWNER

LAUNCHES MALL'S EFFORT TO

IMPROVE DINING OPTIONS

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Get ready for bao sandwiches, Bethesda!  Dumpling Dojo is now open at Westfield Montgomery Mall, in the food court.

Dumpling Dojo - Westfield Montgomery Mall

Montgomery Mall's food court has always had surprisingly decent Chinese and Japanese chain restaurants.  But expectations are far higher for Dumpling Dojo, as owner Jeffrey Yu is the son of Janet Yu, owner of Wheaton's famed Hollywood East Cafe.  In recent years, Hollywood East has moved into "Restaurant Row" at Westfield's Wheaton Plaza mall, and into Washingtonian magazine's "Top 100 Restaurants" list.

So it's somehow appropriate that Jeffrey Yu's venture would make a big splash at our Westfield mall in Bethesda.  Is there a Top 100 listing in Dumpling Dojo's future?  Hollywood East proved it's possible.

Dumpling Dojo's main menu offerings are a wide selection of dumplings, bao sandwiches and rice bowls.  The most interesting are the sandwiches.  Bao (pronounced "bow" as in "pow" or "cow") are steamed soft rolls, which originated in Cantonese cuisine.  As you can imagine, there is no shortage of geographic variations.

Earlier this year, Westfield promised an ambitious renovation of the food court, new dining options, a new multiscreen cineplex, and an all-new Transit Center.

While those projects will take several years to complete, it's no surprise that Westfield would turn to one of the restaurant royal families of Montgomery County, to give patrons a hint of what the future holds.

So if you're heading to the mall to do some shopping soon, stop by Dumpling Dojo while you're there.