Spring Shanghai Pan-Fried Buns — Restaurant in Boston

In a sentence - most legit sheng jian bao (SJBs) I've found since living in Shanghai. Go. Go now. Esp if you have a fondness for their soupy steamed XLB cousins. I can't speak to the rest of the food on their menu, but honestly it could be complete garbage and hyperbole aside you shld still go just for the unicorn experience that is an authentic SJB.

Since living in Shanghai 20 years ago during a gap year and then again for a college internship, I've searched high and low for a passable version of SJB all over the US - east coast and west coast - nyc, sf, Vegas, seattle, the list goes on. Almost never even really saw it on menus till the last 5-6 years with advent of XLBs going mainstream in US, but even with its growing prevalence on menus, every place has been a tease, a pretender, a let down. I've heard good things about Xiao Chi Jie in Seattle (whose legit Mila frozen XLB brand has blown up in recent years...as aside highly recommend these if craving steamed XLB at home - tbh better than 90% of restaurants) but as haven't personally made the pilgrimage, Shanghai Pan Fried Buns will continue to rein supreme in US for SJBs in my book, and honestly even money, likely even after.

This place makes them in the same way I remember them made in Shanghai (my fav place being hole in the wall place down the street from the OG XLB mecca Jia Jia Tang bao on Huanghe Lu (since closed :(,where I'd make a weekly pilgrimage to do a double whammy of steamed XLBs and then pan fried SJBs). Like those in Shanghai these are fried and steamed in giant batches as a single layer on a large thick cast iron pan over a super hot gas burner with a bamboo lid on top to facilitate steaming. This place does it the same as I remember in Shanghai and honestly it made my Shanghai dumpling loving little heart sing with giddy joy when I saw it thru the restaurant's transparent window to their kitchen. Most places you've tried SJB are but a pale imitation - usually best case it's maybe a passable lg pan fried dumpling but even then usually missing the hard almost smokey crispy golden crust that can only be imparted by a thick SJB cast iron pan heated to high temp and most disappointingly lacking in the soupy goodness (a la their steamed XLB cousins) that makes SJB unique from all other pan fried dumplings. Other pan fried dumplings can be "juicy" in that the filling may not be dry, but that does not make them "juicy"/soupy like XLBs or SJBs.

One small gripe is they aren't exactly cheap - 4 for ~$11 with tax/tip (they were 7 yuan or $1 for half dozen in Shanghai), but given this isn't Shanghai 20 years ago and against the backdrop of my epic 15 year journey to bring these back into my everyday life, it's an experience I happily shell out for. As they say, "take my money".

As you can tell I can (and have now) wax poetic about Sheng Jian Baos, so you know I don't take these dumplings lightly. Shanghai Pan Fried Dumplings SJBs are def equal to any words I might attribute to them. I applaud and welcome them to the neighborhood and wish them well on their mission to proselytize the gospel that is legit proper SJBs, and god willing make them as ubiquitous as XLBs have become. Go with god or whatever higher being or power you...

I've been greatly looking forward to trying out this place. I don't think I've ever had a proper sheng jian bao, but I've heard the legends, and based on the videos we saw online, these looked legit. We arrived soon after 4pm on a Sunday, but the tables inside were already full and there were 10-15 orders ahead of us. Ordering is done through a single kiosk, and the menu is simple -- sheng jian bao (4 pieces for $9.25), wonton soup, and noodle soups. Soon after we ordered, we got to see the master at work, placing around 60 fresh buns seam side down on a large circular griddle. The first batch of buns were done around 4:15pm, and we were lucky to get the last pack of 4 buns.

We carefully followed the illustrated instructions for how to eat the buns, knowing full well we had thin-skinned buns filled with piping hot soup in front of us. The skin at the top (the half that wasn't pan-fried) is very thin, and the inside has so much delicious juice inside -- definitely more than your average soup dumpling. The bottom is more hardy, and quite crispy from the fry. The pork filling is plentiful and tasty. All of these textural contrasts make for quite a delightful eating experience.

While we were still making our way through the first 4 dumplings, we ordered 4 more in an attempt to get a share of the next batch, which was finished around 4:40pm (they took a break in between the batches). Having eaten 4 dumplings, I can say that is about the right amount of sheng jian bao for the average person. I can imagine that it would go quite well with a noodle or wonton soup.

I'm really glad that I finally got to try this place, and I'll...

My initial review was "Will be closed in 6 months"

But based on other reviews, I seem to have a minority viewpoint. My girlfriend and I had Pork Chop Noodles, a meat ball, an order of buns and one canned tea. $50.

I know the pan fried buns are supposed to be crispy, but I found them a little overdone and dry. Gnawing on the pork chop with chopsticks isn't fun with a moustache, as it's boneless they should chop it then put on the soup. The noodles and broth were uninteresting and made me crave ramen, or pho, or just something someone cared about. The meat ball was fine... The tea too sweet.

As I said, the food is a bit underwhelming for the price, but what compounds that is that the door constantly slamming open in the wind, the steady stream of motorcycle clad food delivery drivers coming in and out, the food being served in takeout containers and hurled at me through a window, and having to order from a tablet. The ladies making dumplings did smile at me on the way out, but that was the only thing human about the experience.

Dear Gen Z, your anti-social ways have ruined dining out. It used to be nice to go to neighborhood places, be away from home, chat with the owners, hang out, get to know them, maybe chat with neighbors. Pretty soon we will just have our food piped directly into our houses where we will suck it from a hose protruding from the wall near the toilet like so many guinea...