Five of the best places in Shanghai for xiaolongbao soup dumplings, offering classic and creative fillings
- Thinly wrapped Shanghainese parcels of minced filling in a hot soup are world famous, but where do Shanghai natives like to eat theirs?
- From the traditional pork filling to others with crab roe, hairy crab, shrimp, or ham, we sample some of the top places to eat xiaolongbao in the city
Xiaolongbao are an engineering marvel. The steamed dumplings, best known in Shanghai –although other Chinese cities, and Taiwan, also specialise in them – are found most often with a filling of minced pork, although they can also be filled with other ingredients including crabmeat and crab roe.
What makes them stand out from other dumplings is the hot soup inside.
The secret to getting a liquid inside a dumpling’s thin, delicate wrapper, folded into even pleats with a distinctive topknot, isn’t injecting it, as some people think; rather, it comes from pork aspic, made with soup stock simmered with gelatin-rich ingredients such as pork skin and chicken bones, then chilled to make the gelatin set into a solid, then mixed with the dumpling’s filling.
When the dumpling is steamed, the heat melts the gelatin, turning the aspic into a hot liquid.
Everyone in Shanghai has their favourite spot for xiaolongbao, but for a more scientific guide, Shanghai-based chef-turned-food-writer Christopher St. Cavish went to more than 50 shops armed with a digital scale and a pair of calipers.
He measured the thickness of the wrappers, weighed the amount of solids and soup, then, in 2015, compiled the results into The Shanghai Soup Dumpling Index.
To find our favourite xiaolongbao, we consulted the Index and also tried other restaurants in Shanghai, which offered more comprehensive menus.
1. Jia Jia Tang Bao
With five outlets in Shanghai, the chain store specialising in xiaolongbao is beloved by locals, and has attracted attention overseas (in 2016, British TV chef Rick Stein featured it as the first stop in his BBC documentary, Taste of Shanghai).
All dumplings are made to order. We visited the flagship store at Li Yuan Road during the busy lunch hour, where staff can be seen in the open kitchen kneading dough and wrapping dumplings non-stop.
They offer seven versions, and we tried three of them in the mixed combo (28 yuan [US$4] for 12 dumplings) – pure minced pork, minced pork with mushrooms, and crab roe with minced pork.
The filling was not oily, the skin was thin and, thanks to a ginger-vinegar dip, the flavour of the dumplings was fresh, sweet, sour and umami – a pure delight. I particularly liked the mushrooms in the filling of the second one, which tempered the strong taste of the pork.
To check consistency, we also visited the chain’s outlet at Guangqicheng Shopping Centre on Yishan Road. The expansion of the franchise, which started in 1986, has not affected the standard of its offerings, and the pure crab roe xiaolongbao (18.5 yuan for two) is a must-try. It is best to eat this one plain – do not dip it into vinegar, so the fresh hairy crab taste can be fully appreciated.
Instead of washing down the dumplings with tea or soft drinks, diners at both outlets order light soup, which tempers the meatiness of the dumplings. We loved the chicken and duck blood soup (9 yuan) and the seaweed and egg slice soup (8 yuan).
Jia Jia Tang Bao, 62 Li Yuan Road, Huangpu District, tel: +86 21 6308 7139; Jia Jia Tang Bao, B2-30 Guangqicheng Shopping Center, 455 Yishan Road, Xuhui District, tel: +86 21 6029 3177
2. Fuchun Xiaolong
Started in 1995, this franchise with four branches in Shanghai offers a much wider menu than Jia Jia Tang Bao. The flagship store on Yuyuan Road boasts old Shanghainese decor with wooden staircases. Long queues are common at mealtimes.
The dumpling skin is thicker and more chewy than those at Jia Jia Tang Bao, but the flavourful soup more than makes up for this. We order the quirkily named Eat a Lot of Food (25 yuan), which comprises six dumplings – two each of minced pork, crab roe, and shrimp. The painstakingly prepared pork aspic gives the dumplings extra juiciness and flavour.
In addition to the xiaolongbao, the other dishes are good value for money. The white cut pig’s belly (35 yuan) was chewy and not fatty. The spicy sauce noodles (15 yuan) were a bit oily, but the smooth noodles matched well with the toppings of egg, marinated tofu, bamboo shoots and pork ribs.
Fuchun Xiaolong, 650 Yuyuan Road, Jing’n District, tel: +86 21 6252 5117
3. Sui Tang Li
The most expensive of the Post’s five picks, Sui Tang Li, which opened last year, boasts luxurious decor. Even with the high prices, we loved all the dishes we ordered.
They have three xiaolongbao dishes, with the Spanish ham version (128 yuan for three) being the most expensive. The wrapper incorporates beetroot, giving it a vermilion colour. We particularly liked the slightly salty pork aspic. For the vegetable xiaolongbao with black truffle (48 yuan for three), the black skin was chewy and the green filling crisp and juicy.
The hairy crab xiaolongbao (52 yuan for three) has a slightly spicy taste which accentuates the sweetness and freshness of the crabmeat.
We tried other dishes, and liked the spicy tongue tip with frog legs (218 yuan) and the slightly spicy inaniwa udon noodle with lobster soup (88 yuan). The black truffle and pan-fried bean curd with assorted fungus (78 yuan) was also a delight.
Sui Tang Li, 2/F The Middle House, 366 Shi Men Yi Road, Jing’an District, tel: 86 21 3216 8068
4. Fu 1039
Housed in a century-old three-storey European-style mansion off a small, discreetly marked lane near Yuyuan Road, Fu 1039 lets visitors experience how old Shanghai sophisticates dined, and feels more like a private club than a restaurant open to the public.
Both the crabmeat xiaolongbao (36 yuan for four) and minced pork xiaolongbao (36 yuan for four) have fillings that are fresh and flavourful, but the dumpling skin was quite thick, with the topknot difficult to eat. The other offerings at the restaurant more than made up for the somewhat lacklustre xiaolongbao.
We loved the marinated free-range chicken in Shaoxing rice wine (78 yuan) for its tender meat subtly flavoured with a hint of Chinese medicine.
The restaurant’s famous stewed pork in sweet soy sauce (168 yuan) has three layers, and under the skin was just the right proportion of fat and meat. We also enjoyed the salty and sweet dried bamboo shoots in the sauce. The old Shanghai smoked fish (88 yuan) has crisp skin and juicy meat. The dishes were in big portions.
Fu 1039, 1039 Yu Yuan Lu, Changning District, tel: +86 21 5237 1878
5. Lin Long Fang
Although not as famous as Jia Jia Tang Bao, Lin Long Fang is another specialist xiaolongbao chain favoured by Shanghainese, and offers more creative choices, such as chicken meat dumplings. We visited the outlet at Changning Road.
We liked the pure crab roe xiao long bao (99 yuan for 12). The vivid orange-yellow sauce can be seen through the semi-transparent skin. Without sturdy pork meat to act as bulk, the dumplings look shrivelled, but they are delicious. The slightly briny seafood taste of the shrimp and pork xiaolongbao (26 yuan for 12) was also good.
Lin Long Fang, B2, Dream Cloud Nine Mall, 1018 Changning Road, +86 138 0167 1685
