It is almost perverse how much I crave a good xiaolongbao. There are few moments more highly anticipated than seeing my order slowing coming from the kitchen to my table, in a stack of steaming baskets. The dumplings are all beautifully pleated at first, enticing but prim. But when picked up by chopsticks, they become so bulging with savory broth, held back by so thin of a wrapper, that they are begging for you to unleash their juicy insides.
That said, there are few things more frustrating than xiaolongbao that don’t satisfy.
If I were in Taipei there is no question that I would make a beeline to is the flagship Din Tai Fung, hailed by many afficionados as the xiaolongbao mecca. But since I’m in Shanghai, I decided to try out the Din Tai Fung at Xintiandi, expecting it to be at least as good as Beijing’s Shin Kong Place branch. This is, after all, the city that claims xiaolongbao as a native dish.
Maybe it was the décor that put us off at first. In contrast to the Beijing branch’s highback chairs and muted walls, this branch had worn-looking booths and walls covered with drawings of Chinese celebrities. (I like Stephen Chow, but not as a two-meter tall caricature.) I somewhat see the artsy effect the designers were going for, but the dining room ended up resembling a Hong Kong diner where you go to get congee at 3 a.m. after a night of clubbing. Then, there were the waitresses coming by every 2 minutes advertising some new special, a move more fit for touristy retaurants. In short, not the setting for a somewhat pricey and elegant Chinese meal.
Now, a few months ago I had gone to Jiajia Tangbao and eaten some pork and crab xiaolongbao in which the filling still had bits of crab shell. I was not happy, but I had also only paid 20 RMB. I expected better, much better, from Din Tai Fung. I was already disappointed by the thicker-than-expected skin, but then Jacob started finding bits of shell as big as a fingernail. Whereas the shell pieces at JJTB were rather tiny and could have been overlooked by the person picking over the crab meat, this time it seemed like nobody bothered to pick over the meat at all.
Of course, this is just one trip, and the restaurant may have had an off-night in the crab department. The service was still good, if a bit overly fawning at times. I did enjoy our mini dumplings, which the restaurant calls xiaolong tangbao. They’re about half the size of the regular xiaolongbao, and had pleats on the underside. They have a bit of broth inside but also come with a side of soup. All pork, much thinner skinned, and better than the regular xiaolongbao. The spoonful of soup, a bit of ginger, and a mouthful of baby tangbao saved the meal from being too disappointing.
And my gift for filling out the customer satisfaction survey, a keychain with an even tinier xiaolongbao.
Din Tai Fung
Xintiandi
123 Xingye Lu, near Huangpi Nanlu
Shanghai
They have a few Din Tai Fung branches in Singapore too and whenever I was in town, I would swing by and get some xiao long baos. Those pictures make me hungry. =)
i’ve had din tai fung in singapore too. love it! you’re photos just made me so hungry for some xiao long bao!
Too high expectations I think! I’ve been to DTF in Taipei and it was superb (the queues are scary), and am looking forward to going to one of the two Beijing branches next week. Can’t wait, in fact!
have you been there in shanghai? i hear it’s one of the best.
One of my friends from Taiwan recommended DTF. There’s one in Southern California, in Arcadia. I shall have to stop there the next time we go down.
bentoist, ashley – Ah yes, I’ve heard the branch in Singapore is very good too.
Helen – Awesome! Hope you enjoy your trip here and to HK.
diane – I’ve been to Nanxiang but didn’t wait around for the xiaolongbao. The lines for take-out are pretty frightening. I did have a gigantic xiaolongbao with a straw for sipping from one of the vendors nearby.
Nate – Ooh, I have been wondering how that branch is. Do some reconnaissance. :)
I’ve been to the Din Tai Fung in Pudong a couple times and their xiaolongbao are so overrated. I’d even put Wang Jia Xia above them, especially considering the huge price difference and limited quality. I’ve been to their outlet in Beijing and while its better, I’ve never been a fan of this restaurant. There are so many better xiaolongbao spots in Shanghai. The one thing is that the service is always great (if a little too good) and they give decent free gifts (when I was last there it was a container of tea).
I’ve been in New York so long I can’t even remember what a good xiaolongbao with a delicate wrapper tastes like anymore.
On a more positive side, I can name everyone on the mural.
that keychain is adorable! we can’t get good xiao long bao around here! so jealous!
That was my first taste of xiao long bao. I was disappointed too, but since then, I’ve discovered several places in Southern California that I feel does better xiao long bao for a cheaper price. But I wish they gave out those types of keychains when I went to the Arcadia branch!
Can’t even tell you how jealous I am right now. Gotta get my butt over to this place some time soon.
I just had Dintaifung xiaolongbao at the Superbrand Mall in pudong a week ago, and the crab-pork dumplings were quite good, and the I’m surprised to hear that its gotten bad reviews in the comments. The decor was a lot more tasteful than at the xintiandi location, and though its easier to get cheaper xiaolongbao in the city, I think the price was worth the clean environment and the nice atmosphere (the Superbrand Mall one overlooked the waterfront nicely). Perhaps my experience is just a lone good one, or yours was particularly bad–but I’d give 5 stars for Dintaifung pudong.
Joanne – I was also thinking it might have been just that location. I’ve had great experiences in Beijing, and have heard good things about the other branches in Shanghai. Oh well…next time.
Hi Diana, I had dinner at the LA branch of DinTaifung (in Arcadia), enjoyed the pork xiao long bao, but the crab xiaolongbao were not that memorable (no crabshells though at least). We also tried the beef noodle soup and the spicy pork noodle soup. The beef was cooked till tender and the broth was very flavorful and not overly salty. I ordered the spicy pork thinking it would be more like dandanmien, but it turned out to be ground pork with some edamame and tofu bits, without much of a spice kick at all. I had to add more chilli oil to enjoy it fully.
The LA branch has also expanded, they have a small strip mall front, and in the back, the owners bought out a building. Looks like business is doing well.
Been to the one in Taiwan and while it’s good, there are a lot of great “family owned” restaurants with as good or better dumplings. My favorite was behind the Shihlin night market – I lived there four years ago, so I’m a bit fuzzy, but I’d guess the place was about 200 meters southeast. It was run by a pair of married couples who had gotten fed up with the US, returned to Taiwan, and made simply but amazing food, including dumplings.
Cheers, Boyce
Just had my share of xiaolongbao in DTF (Singapore) not too long ago as well.
I have heard so much about their flagship outlet in Taiwan that I can’t wait to fly over just to sample it.
Am not a big fan of the xiao long baos we have here in Singapore. Too porky? for my taste. But I’ll recommend the fried rice. That seems to be the only thing I order when I’m there.
Where in Arcadia? I drive through all the time but have not stopped since the Shanghai Palace went out of business.
There’s a Din Tai Fung in Sydney,Australia in World Square, Haymarket area. Once a group of friends went there, and it was quite pricey for a dozen fairly small sized dumplings. In short, it was disappointing.
Also maybe because we had a huge queue and waited for 1h+ to get into the restaurant. The service was good, but I think the dumplings are overrated. Often I find smaller, less well known Chinese places do the best dumplings. Haven’t found that place yet, but will be open to suggestions.
The Nanxiang Xiaolong Mantou Dian (at Yu Yuan) is the place that made xiao long bao famous, and was once the gold standard for XLB. Unfortunately, after a 1992 remodel to make it more tourist-oriented, the quality of the XLB have steadily declined to a level of mediocrity.
Quality is variable over the different outposts – the restaurant at Gubei is the best we have found – always amazing food, terrific service and a reasonable price.