Dough Zone, a Chinese dumpling restaurant opened Wednesday on Shattuck Avenue, minutes away from the west side of campus.
Although the sleek interior is distinctly modern, fitted with cool-toned lighting and minimalist furniture, the menu is grounded in traditional recipes and ingredients.
“What we serve here (are) very authentic Chinese dishes,” said Cindy Guan, Dough Zone’s vice president. “Some of them we recognize as Chinese food that you can get from a night market or a single mom-and-pop store.”
The Dough Zone in Berkeley is its 29th nationwide location. The brand originated in Bellevue, Washington, in 2014 and then established locations in California, Texas and Oregon.
Dough Zone co-founder Jason Zhai attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate majoring in civil engineering before opening the restaurant’s first Washington location.
“Opening a Dough Zone near my alma mater has always been a dream,” Zhai said in a press release. “Some of my best memories were made here in Berkeley. To return now with a restaurant that celebrates Chinese comfort food and community feels incredibly special.”
Guan said some of the menu’s highlights are the xiao long bao, pork buns and dandan noodles.Dishes such as xiao long bao are served in a steamer basket, where they are traditionally cooked, but other dishes have a more contemporary spin. For example, the green onion pancake is rolled into a wrap with beef shank and presented as a handheld dish, according to marketing manager Nancy Yun.
Dough Zone also has vegetarian options on the menu, including vegetable dumplings, various noodle dishes and salads.
According to Guan, a customer with a budget of $20 to $25 could conceivably order three to four dishes. Guan said unlike mom-and-pop restaurants which may offer one large dish for the same price, Dough Zone offers more variety.
“It is like a location of homecoming because (Zhai) was shaped by Berkeley,” Guan said. “Now he wants to bring his most valued business back to (the) Berkeley community.”
Dough Zone’s soft opening Tuesday evening featured one of Berkeley High School’s jazz bands. Yun said the restaurant markets to local families and communities, including students.
Dough Zone also hosts the Bao Buddies School Program, which is its way of giving back to communities through fundraising and cultural learning opportunities in partnership with schools.
“I want to have all the students, faculty, neighbors and community feel like this is a space they want to spend their (time) dining with,” Guan said. “We are neighbors, and we really want to be part of the community.”