LingLong – Soup Dumplings

Alternately known as Ling Long, Linglong – Soup Dumplings, and Linglong Authentic Soup Dumplings, LingLong opened at the beginning of 2026 in Fountain Valley with a minor-grade identity crisis – one we can understand given that it’s navigating some of the most turbulent times the restaurant industry has ever seen. On one hand, there are signs that LingLong wants to be an affordable Chinese takeout option: Fantuan-branded menus near the front door, scan-to-order digital menu cards at all tables, and aggressive deals on social media. But when you actually walk through the restaurant, you discover white tablecloths, nicely dressed servers, posh interior design, and enough square footage to serve as a banquet hall. A $20 corkage fee is the only beverage option beyond $3 to $3.50 Coke cans, teas, coconut milk, and soy milk, while savory menu items range from $5 appetizers to $88 roasted ducks. In short, LingLong simply defies easy categorization.

(Some of this conceptual disconnect may be explained by LingLong’s immediate predecessor in the space, Taste of Beauty, a beautifully decorated, plant-based fine dining restaurant that closed after a five-year run in late 2025, or by plaza neighbors such as authentic Japanese izakaya Kappo Honda and oversized Vietnamese restaurant Pho Ha Noi. LingLong is also just across the street from Shin-Sen-Gumi, Shinobu, and numerous other substantial and enduring dining establishments, and not far from numerous Kei Concepts options. As Fountain Valley has become a mecca for concept restaurants, newcomers may feel pressured to either go big or go elsewhere – and LingLong may have inherited fancier decor and more space than it needed.)

Since LingLong’s extended name references “authentic soup dumplings,” it’s worth noting that the menu only includes four standard soup dumpling choices, each served in eight piece baskets: conventional pork ($9) or pork and crab ($13) xiaolongbao, bun-style pork soup dumplings ($10), and chocolate soup dumplings ($13, not yet available as of our visit). The digital menu also includes a fifth option, a “big 1 piece” crab and pork dumpling for $10.

Supposedly handmade, the pork xiaolongbao we sampled aren’t close to Din Tai Fung or Paradise Dynasty levels in delicacy or flavor, but they’re good enough: not overly doughy, plush with soup, and reasonably filled with meat, all at roughly half the price of Din Tai Fung’s versions. Though LingLong’s beef shaomai ($10/4) are individually more expensive and less soupy than juicy, they’re larger, feature better-tasting meat, and are more interesting visually; we’d certainly order them again.