Bryan is a curious eighteen-month-old who loves waddling around the restaurant that carries both his name and a legacy of traditional Chinese cuisine. His parents, owners Xiaolong Hao and Carina Wang, hosted the restaurant's grand opening on March 1, and it's been packed ever since.
It boasts a sleek interior with wooden accents, and there is a variety of seating available, making it accessible for both large group gatherings and individual customers. Even the tableware reflects the restaurant's standard of clean, upscale dining, with ceramic utensils labeled neatly with its logo.
Bryan's prides itself on its handmade dumplings, which is why there is a window toward the back of the space where customers can see the dumplings being folded by hand. So far, one of the most popular items on the menu is Bryan's Xiao Long Bao ($18), which includes a rainbow of soup dumplings in eight different regional flavors from across China.
To eat the xiao long bao, Hao advises diners to place the dumpling on a spoon and use the end of a chopstick to puncture the skin. This way, they can first try the soup as it spills out onto the spoon before enjoying the rest of the dumpling. It's also recommended that the dumpling be dipped in a sauce consisting of ginger root, vinegar and soy sauce.
The menu also includes more traditional dumplings, such as the kurobuta pork dumplings in chili oil ($12), which are served in a pool of chili oil and topped with fresh scallions.
Hao refers to himself as the "steaming chef," which means that he takes care of all the dumplings and similarly steamed dishes on the menu. He's known since he was a child that he wanted to be in the restaurant business, though he studied medicine in college and attributes his perfectionist tendencies to that experience. As a result, he says, he puts great effort and detail into perfecting his dishes.
Although the restaurant has "dumpling" in its name, its wok dishes are nothing to scoff at. Zengqun Liu, the restaurant's wok chef, serves up traditional Chinese dishes like mapo tofu with pork ($16), flank steak with black pepper ($22) and shredded pork loin in garlic sauce ($18). Liu himself recommends the jing jiang rou si ($18), a shredded pork loin dish with black bean sauce that is quickly becoming a customer favorite. 
Liu's skills come from four decades of cooking at prominent restaurants in China, Japan and the United States. He trained at the luxury Jinjiang Hotel in Shanghai and then worked at the Wanshou Hotel in Beijing where he served high-profile figures in the country's capital. Afterward, he moved to Japan to work as a head chef for six years before coming to the United States in 2000. Prior to working at Bryan's Dumpling House, he was the head chef at Imperial Chinese Restaurant for ten years.
Liu says that he was attracted to Bryan's Dumpling House because of the concept and the blending of traditional Chinese cuisine with xiao long bao — something he hasn't seen before in the Denver area.
Wang notes that the restaurant is working on adding pictures to each of the dishes on the menu in order to encourage people to try more options.
Hao and Wang's desire to remain true to genuine Chinese flavors and dishes stem from their own roots in China. While they met in Los Angeles, they decided to settle in Denver because the weather and the size of the city reminded Hao of his hometown of Shijiazhuang in northern China.
Wang says their move to Denver and the lack of real Chinese cooking partly spurred their decision to open a restaurant. The two debuted Mr. Hao's Grill on East Hampden Avenue in 2016, but ultimately decided to sell it; it is now home to Meet & Eat Bistro. Hao and Wang also own the Dumpling Factory, at 4660 South Yosemite Street in Greenwood Village, which is primarily a takeout business.
Bryan's Dumpling House is the couple's step back into the dine-in restaurant scene, which Wang says has been a little more difficult because it serves a more diverse community than Mr. Hao's did. One of the challenges, she notes, has been trying to fuse their food with the typical American restaurant service culture — though guests would never know that as each is greeted by the helpful and friendly staff.
Right now, Hao and Wang are focused on creating the best environment for their customers, with an emphasis on a welcoming atmosphere, professional presentation and quality food. They say that their time in Los Angeles has also given them a different and helpful perspective on running the place. While Hao jokes that they might think about expanding in a few years, they're currently settling into the area and bringing on more employees.
If you're planning to visit Bryan's Dumpling House, there tends to be a shorter wait during lunch hours. You can also call 303-952-9631 to make a reservation.
Bryan's Dumpling House is located at 8000 East Belleview Avenue and is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, visit bryansdumpling.com or follow it on Instagram.
