TANG BAO HUNG — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

One of the best Xiao Long Bao I have ever had and this is coming from a person who lived in Shanghai.

The skins were uniformly thin and each dumpling was painstakingly hand made, ending with an exquisite knot at the top. Their vinegar is a special blend and goes well with thinly sliced ginger. They also add fresh onions to give extra sweetness to blend the savoury dumplings and sour vinegar dip.

As you bite in, the umami meat juices start to ooze out of the dumpling and you eagerly slurp them up, sucking and drinking at the same time. Add some chilli sauce and another dimension in flavour opens up.

Unfortunately, they only had original flavours left cause the garlic and mala flavours were sold out. And this is at 7am in the morning!

I got them on Line now because I learnt that you must place order the day before through Line or call them. Then the order will be reserved for you but still made the next day. By he way, there is no dine in available. I did some folks buying take away and crossing the road to enjoy their piping hot XLB at the park.

My new go to place for...

As a standard comparison to other soup dumplings I've had in the past, I ordered a set of the original flavour.

After trying them, I can honestly say that the shop was overhyped. I had such huge expectations since so many people were saying that their soup dumplings were really good, but they were just subpar.

I do agree that the dumplings were a little bigger than usual, but besides that, everything else was otherwise underwhelming.

We already expected to find a spot in the park, but having to eat the soup dumplings with only chopsticks was not a great experience (and I say this as a Chinese person growing up eating with chopsticks). Maybe they could provide disposable spoons as well since the dumpling skin tears easily.

I really wanted to experience what all the hype was about for this place, but I got let down and I felt somewhat embarrassed since I told my husband this shop was famous, sells out really fast and we travelled almost an hour...

This soup dumpling shop is really popular and located near Nanjing Fuxing Station, with plenty of old, must-try restaurants nearby.

The soup dumpling is delicious , and the skin is on the thicker side. The inside is flavorful, with a great mix of green onion and pork, and the soup is fresh and sweet.

They only offer takeout, but there’s a small park across the street where you can enjoy the food while it’s hot, though be aware there are quite a few mosquitoes.

The shop gets really busy, especially on weekends, so it’s best to order in advance. You can do this through LINE or by calling, but even with a reservation, you might need to wait a bit for the fresh dumplings. Many people order five or six boxes at a time, and by noon, they’re often sold out...