Well Season Dim Sum (off Richards Boulevard in Davis) is one of the best places to go with your friends for affordable, traditional Cantonese food. Open from 11:00 am-9:30 pm daily, their extensive menu of food, especially dim sum, will melt in your mouth. My friends and I went on a Sunday night around 8pm, ordered 10 dishes, and our total was only $80 ($20 per person)! Here is a list of the food we ordered and our honest reviews.
Shrimp Dumplings: 9/10
These dumplings were packed to perfection with the perfect ratio of shrimp to wrapping. This dish is also ideal for someone who doesn’t eat pork or chicken. Serving of 4.
Siu Mai: 10/10
These pork siu mai dumplings were the best thing I tasted all night. They were moist on the inside with the perfect mix of beef and vegetables. Serving of 4.
Shanghai Dumplings: 6/10
This dish is also known as soup dumplings. I was left wishing for more broth inside the dumplings and we agreed that the Trader Joe’s soup dumplings were better. Serving of 4.
Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice: 8/10
Lotus leaf sticky rice is notorious for tasting the same wherever you go and the same applied with these. One thing that stood out was that at Well Season, there was more pork and sausage filling versus other establishments. Serving of 2.
Taro Dumplings: 3/10
Disclaimer: We thought we were ordering off the desert menu, not the savory dumplings. We were expecting something sweet but we got dinner dumplings with chicken and taro in the filling and didn’t like it. Serving of 3.
Steamed Pork Buns: 9/10
Compared to the Costco brand or any other store bought pork buns, these were amazing. Lots of filling and the bun was fluffy and moist. Serving of 3.
Green Tea Sesame Ball: 3/10
We didn’t taste any green tea in these balls, the only thing that made it green tea was the fact that it was green in color. It had a gooey, thick mochi inside with black sesame paste that felt grainy in my mouth. Serving of 4.
Soy Sauce Bean Sprout Chow Mein: 8/10
My only complaint is that the noodles were a little bit dry, but this was a vegetarian friendly dish that had mushrooms, onions, cabbage, and noodles. Serving of 4.
Deep Fried Sesame Ball: 6/10
My friends liked these and said that they had a perfect texture on the outside and the black sesame paste melted in their mouth. I personally am not a fan of the paste but to each their own! Serving of 4.
Chau Zhou Style Dumplings: 5/10
My friend described this dish as a “‘pork pot pie in a soft wrapping” because it’s filled with mainly pork, jicama, and radishes. I can understand how this could be someone’s favorite dish but it was not ours. Serving of 3.
All in all, this hidden restaurant is affordable and delicious. Next time I wouldn’t order the chau zhou style dumplings, deep fried sesame balls, green tea sesame balls, and the taro dumplings but I’m glad that I ventured out and tried them in the first place. I can’t wait to go back here with my friends and recommend it to those who don’t know about it. Dim Sum is alive and well in Davis thanks to Well Season!