The nationwide soup dumpling craze, where the soup is inside a dumpling, is going strong in Connecticut.
But one family-owned restaurant here claims an edge in quality and taste because their dumplings are made by hand and the fillings are made fresh from scratch.
At Ramen & Bao, soon to open two more locations, no two dumplings are exactly alike.
“Our soup dumplings are handmade so each is unique. So no two look alike” said Jin Lin, a company official from his family’s R n B Restaurant Group. “When you hand make them they’re not as doughy.”
They are filled with all kinds of ingredients and combos such as pork, chicken, seafood, truffle, mushrooms, and ham.
For those not familiar with soup dumplings, instructions on how to eat them are available.
The family-run company with a first restaurant in Oxford has so been wildly successful, they’re preparing to open in Cheshire and The Shops at Farmington Valley in Canton.
Lin’s relatives Rachel Liu and her husband, Yexiang Zhan, will own the Canton restaurant.
“We’re excited,” Liu said.
Liz Ackerman, spokeswoman for The Shops at Farmington Valley, said she took her teens to the Oxford restaurant to try the soup dumplings and they were “delicious.”
The dumplings are said to resonate with teens especially.
“The dumplings are light and airy,” Ackerman said. “We’re really excited about something that’s so unique.”
Ackerman said the restaurant will be located in the courtyard area, the first ever restaurant to be located there as far as she knows.
The spot is “cozy,” “kind of tucked away,” has outdoor seating and is close to plenty of parking, she said.
“It’s unique to every restaurant,” in the shopping center.
Customers rave online about the food, service, atmosphere and emphasize the cleanliness at the Oxford location, 112 Main St.
In addition to soup dumplings they also have an extensive Ramen selection and other Asian delights.
“Great fresh food dishes,” one reviewer wrote.
“A must try,” wrote another customer who had dined there three times in two weeks.
Another posted online, “From start to finish, the whole experience was wonderful!”
One reviewer wrote that he eats Ramen somewhere in the country every week and this was, “probably the best Ramen I have ever had.”
Another reviewer was quite direct: “Perfect ramen and dumplings. Nuff said.”
Lin said the soup dumpling “trend” hit New York City first a few years ago and has since become popular in Connecticut.
But, he said, most restaurants make their dumplings with a machine.
He said the people making the dumplings in their restaurants are “professionals in soup” who know the technique for making the dumplings.
Soup dumplings are so popular the web is full of directions and videos on how to eat the food. At Ramen & Bao, the servers will give directions if needed.
Here’s a summary of an eating techniques: use chopsticks to grab the dumpling and transfer it to a spoon. Make an opening by taking a small bite on the side of the dumpling, then drink the hot broth from the spoon. Add dipping sauce and eat the dumpling, typically filled with savory filling.
He said they opened first in Oxford because data showed them it was good place to start. Canton is also a good spot, they decided because research showed them it’s a good place to live, there’s a diversity of people at the shops and the center draws from numerous communities, including Hartford.
He said the Oxford restaurant really took off in part because of customers raving about it on Tik Tok and Instagram.
“We have loyal customers who gave us confidence,” Lin said. “It’s still like a family run restaurant.”
Cheshire is expected to open in spring of 2026 and Canton is expected around June.
Lin, who will oversee the three restaurants in their family’s R n B Restaurant Group, said negotiations didn’t look like they were working out in Canton, but to the restaurant group’s surprise, management came back with workable terms, Lin said, indicating that it was meant to be.
“Canton wanted us. We’re excited. We can’t wait,” Lin said.