They have the 南翔 and 无锡 type, different prices.

I passed by an XLB joint last week that really impressed me. If you're at the electronics market on Xiangyang Rd. @ Fuxing Rd, walk half a block north (on Xiangyang Rd.), make a right, and you'll see it on the south side of that street.

I have no idea what is being said in this thread LOL but based on the pictures it looks like some good looking dim sum and soup. Oddly enough, i asked moondog about this very thing in a PM. I had some of the best pork buns i've ever eaten before in Sydney last year. They were full of flavor and a little burst of liquid in every one. Haven't been able to find anything close in NY. Looking forward to trying some in Shanghai.

I always prefer the sweet 无锡 type ;)

I like Xiao Yang for 生煎，There is also a place on Nanchang Road, near Sinan, maybe one to two blocks away, really old school that does a nice one.

I've had some great XLB in SH but can't recall where...

As for XLB in NYC I felt that Joe's Shanghai was very juicy but was not too thrilled with the meat quality or the thickness of the skin. Din Tai Fung always delivers in a pinch and in Taipei I also like Kao Chi.

I've given up on eating those things because I invariably make a horrible mess.

it's all about being slow and steady. Taking a small bit from near the top, chewing on it and letting some steam out. Then sucking some of soup with the next small bite and working down. once you're on the third one or so they've cooled down enough that you can be more aggressive.

What I didn't have this time around was a great 红烧肉 - didn't get a chance to try it. But hotpot at Haidilao was quite nice!

This thread makes me want to cry. Another 2 months before I get to SH. NY XLB aren't the same.

I am sure that you can find comparable or very good stuff in NYC. It might be out in Flushing and in a place you've never heard of and it might take time to figure out where it is, how to get there and how to get in, but I have faith that it exists.

Now whether you have the time/willingness to find it... :D

Here's a link to dumpling places in Queens. Flushing - Jackson Heights
Don't have that kind of variety in SGV, too much fat for CA people.

http://queensnyc.com/2012/07/top-7-d...ckson-heights/

I think I finally found a good place in SF that serves XLB. No offense, but I can't take the ones made by Cantonese folks calling themselves a "Shanghai Restaurant".

Anyway, if in SF and you miss the XLB of Shanghai hit:

North China (outer Richmond)
Old Shanghai (Richmond)

I do not recommend

Ton Kiang
Shanghai Dumping House

I'm the opposite. IMO 无锡 has the sweetest food on the Shanghai-Nanjing corridor and I can't stand it. I always feel like I"m eating gumball dumplings every time I have to banquet it up in Wuxi.

Freudian slip?

Yes, Wuxi closely followed by Suzhou and Changshu. People from these three locations are also often from the same clans and there exists a special relationship.

Wuxi food is indeed unbearably sweet. I had Wuxi XLB in Nanjing recently as I saw it at the menu at my hotel and couldn't resist. It just didn't seem right. No clue why the hotel (was staying at Phoenix Palace, pretty mediocre place but I always stay there for free), was serving Wuxi XLB.

btw anyone interested in going for XLB in Shanghai on the 26th shoot me a PM. Flying in to Shanghai just to eat lol.