Xing Long Ju — Restaurant in Kaohsiung

I made a mistake of not combing through the reviews. I'd googled for Xiao Long Bao's and this place showed up with impressive ratings & no. of reviews.

When we arrived, there was a long queue before us. It was not only until we got to the end of the line, I realised they did not have any Xiao Long Bao's 🤦🏻‍♀️ We decided to stay as we were pressed for time (had a flight to catch) and ordered whatever that appeared to be local favourites.

Just to clarify, the only Bao's they have are steamed & fried meat Baos and a vegetarian/Mushroom Bao. There are Gyozas and what appeared to be a local favourite is their Shao Bing/ Pancakes. You can get them sandwiched with either meat floss, omelette, you tiao or just plain. Tbh while these were tasty, they were all too oily for us.

The salty beancurd soup was actually quite delicious but even that was oily. *And just a word of caution, give it a good few minutes. I burned my tongue badly as it was piping hot (even though I'd waited a few minutes).

Good place to experience what the locals take for breakfast but if you're looking for a healthy option, this probably doesnt make first...

Super cheap and fast line. There is ample seating upstairs. You enter through the front and grab/order the dishes and then you pay at the end of the line. Our meal of 1 pastry, 1 bao, 1 radish cake, 1 rice ball, and 1 open pork bun along with 2 rice drinks cost,183 ntd. That's around 6 usd! Crazy good value!

Get the rice drinks (I'm allergic to soy milk) and the pork soup bun (tang bao) at the front of the line. It has a thicker bun but it holds more meat juice! A must have. Also they have the bings, which are the flaky pastries that you can but in scallion eggs, you tiao (the long fried donut) or pickled vegetables. We got the egg and pickled vegetables because we had too much fried things during our trip already.

Skip the radish cakes but get the guabao! The open pork bun. It's a slab of tender pork with pickled vegetables dusted with peanut and sugar crystals. Amazing must have. And if you have more room/people in your party, get the small rice ball that is stuffed with savory items, such as pickled vegetables and pork floss.

Hope you enjoy all the yummy...

I went there for breakfast around 8 AM, and there was already quite a line. The system is to line up to choose your food and pay, but it’s better to have someone grab a seat first to make sure you have a place to sit. On weekdays at 8 AM, there still seemed to be empty seats, since most people just come to eat and leave quickly without lingering.

I tried : Mushroom and vegetable bun—it was pretty good.

Soup Dumplings Pork Bun The most popular item here and it definitely lives up to the hype. There’s a bit of broth pork inside the steamed bun, so be careful when biting into it.

Flatbread with scallion omelette was decent.

Fried dough tasted pretty standard. I like their flat bread more than their fried dough.

Flatbread with egg, pickled mustard, and fried dough was actually really good, though it’s quite heavy on the carbs.

Pan-fried dumplings were good.

Service was efficient, the food came out quickly, and the overall vibe was casual—just like a typical Chinese breakfast spot. It was nice and clean. The price...