kaka

XLB in HK:
DTF is certainly ok. queues are crazy tho
there is also Crystal Jade in HK that does decent XLB. they do have queues but not the street style ones. avoid the IFC shop as they only care about the turnover (applies to every eatery at IFC unless you know the big shots of the restaurant there - im saying this even tho i know cuisine cuisine in IFC quite well.) this is not as obvious in many other places in HK but in IFC its very big difference.
There is also a nicer version of crystal jade at wanchai by the tram line at Tai Yau Building. they claim to use pork of the iberico family. it cost almost twice as a normal Crystal jade, but it has thinner skin and is soupier and doesnt break as easy. took an FTer there last week and she liked it much.

forget about having XLB on the streets in hk. either they are bad or they dont exist.
OTOH, for wanting street food, near Lyndhurst Terrace x Hollywood Road by SOHO there is a Hongkie foodstall that sells decent dessert. I believe its at Hollywood Road x Peel street.

evergrn

Agree that Crystal Jade's XLB's are pretty good. I don't think it's anything spectacular, as I've had equally good XLB's at a few of the regular Cantonese dim sum restaurants. But it's pretty darn good for the price. What really blew me away, though, was their hairy crab XLB.

I've been to Crystal Jade at Harbour City, IFC and Admiralty. Honestly can't tell a difference in food quality between the 3 locations. Went to IFC and did not feel hurried, but then again we went mid-afternoon during off-peak hours. My favorite out of the above is probably Harbour City.

tentseller

Real SHers in HK dine at private members and guests only SH business and social clubs.

moondog

Rich Shanghai people tend to look down upon 小笼包.

tentseller

When you look at the root and history of XLB you will understand.

Don't forget the prosperity of HK during the second half of the last century was due to the massive migration from SH in the late 1940's

triplefives

Find the local lemmings who will lead you to the good stuff. The tourist lemmings are ones who blindly follow guide books. But then again it depends on whether or not you're the discerning type.

I've found that most tourists in HK go for the same few shops found in guidebooks - this place for dim sum, this place for goose, this place for wonton. If you did a blind taste test between these places and their competitors, I'm not sure if you'd find a big enough difference to justify the wait and/or price.

moondog

In addition to professional reviews of new places and personal recommendations, I find open rice to be useful in HK and dianping solid for almost everywhere I go in the mainland (even obscure cities).

:D!

The other day my friends (a mixture of local HKers and English-speaking people of HK descent) dragged me to the DTF in Causeway Bay.

Since it was likely the only time I will ever set foot in a DTF, I decided to try most of the different "flavors" of XLB. Frankly speaking they were all dry and doughy and bland. Certainly not worth paying HK$20+ for one.

I'd rather have them in various local restaurants that my relatives take me to for a normal lunch, which usually go for about HK$20ish per 籠 (i.e. 4 XLBs). And we don't go to cheap places which sprinkle MSG on everything.

s0ssos

Actually Saigon is not know for pho. Hanoi is. But pho in Vietnam is disappointing if you are coming from California

s0ssos

I tried it. Was not impressed. Skin is not paper thin. It is spicy so different

Hoyaheel

I tried using it and so many reviews were (understandably) not in English that I could not find it helpful. Also, overwhelming (but then much of planning this trip has been, so....)

1. I don't live in CA, I live on the opposite coast. And we have NO Vietnamese food at all within 50 miles of my house, unless I'm cooking it, so....
2. We're not going to be in Hanoi this trip, and the pho tour is the only thing that fits in our schedule, so that's what we're doing. I'm certain we'll be satisfied.

TravelDream

I'm pretty sure in Din Tai Fung XLB is $60-80 for 6 XLBs, unless you're getting one of the special ones like black truffle. Not quite twenty dollars each, much closer to ten!

Local restaurants don't really offer XLB - at least from the ones I have been to don't.

moondog

I go to my local dtf about 1-2 times per month. Since the menu is so limited, I decided to try the black truffle option on one occasion. I'm definitely glad I did because the flavor combination is quite unique. That having been said, it is not something I would order again unless a truffle enthusiast was visiting.

kaka

re DTF: the causeway bay branch (next to regal) is terrible. The Tsim Sha Tsui branch is much better.
re XLB in general: local dimsum places (say Maxims)... their XLB has skin as thick as bad dumplings. ie. bad..
you've gotta go to the better SH food places, but not TOO GOOD as mentioned above.

and for californian pho: would california roll be a better piece of sushi? unless the sole reason is fresher ingredients in CA as compared to hanoi (which is possible),
sounds like a funny statement.

s0ssos

There are a lot of Vietnamese in California. Look it up if you don't believe me.
There are definitely better and fresher ingredients, and also a different pricepoint (in Vietnam pho is a cheap thing. But in California it costs a little bit more). So you get more marrow stewing for longer periods of time, for example, than in Vietnam.
But if you look it up, there are articles written about this difference in taste between California and Vietnam (there is even a chain in Vietnam that is from a Vietnamese guy in California).