Thanks to LapLap here is the 2012 thread on this same topic:

the 小龙包 (soup dumplings) thread

Moving on, DTF remains our gold standard (e.g. you get the fancy restaurant feel).

At the other end of the spectrum, I ordered some XLB from eleme a few days ago that were barely edible (as much as I'd like to give the restaurant benefit of the doubt because the product wasn't hot, I am unwilling to let them slide).

In this post, I want to feature a restaurant that blew me away. Their XLB was pretty damn close to perfect, and the price was only Y8.




North side of Weihai Road, just west of Shanxi Road.

I love xiao long bao. Probably my favourite dumpling and it's a very competitive field.

I'm actually a fan of DTF because you are guaranteed a good product. Hole in the wall places, by contrast, often suck to the extent that I would never encourage Shanghai tourists to seek them out. That having been said, if you were to find yourself in Shanghai today, DTF wouldn't be an option (take out only). As such, you walk the streets and drop down Y8 on a whim. Sure, you might be underwhelmed, but the downside is a whopping $1.50.

I will definitely return to the Weihai Road spot I plugged in the OP because their XLB was/is mind-blowing. However, there are easily 100,000 others just like it.

I think (especially right now and during the "in-between" times) part of the key is that XLB (and many other foods) must be consumed fresh. Rice and rice flour related products especially change when re-heated or cooled. The texture and sometimes the taste change where it won't be similar to the fresh version.

Take hor fan (flat rice noodles) for example. If you buy it "fresh", it is flexible, very smooth and pliant. But if you put it in the fridge for an hour and take it out, it will have become harder and more brittle. With any dumpling (vs. bao) you'll note how the skin breaks more easily and sometimes more "glue-like". With XLB, the skin needs to be pliable while the soup is hot.

the 小龙包 (soup dumplings) thread

Thanks to that thread I knew how to eat XLB when I finally got to try them on a short airport transfer stopover with my husband and daughter (China Eastern through Shanghai on the way to Tokyo from London).
Can�t see myself ever making these deftly pleated treasures but I can console myself with being able to grate, steam and fry my own turnip cakes.

i first discovered these around 2001 in hangzhou / Shanghai. Then read in Beijing time out in 2006 that these are made with injected cold or frozen soup so that they thaw & cook during the steaming process. I can’t really recall if it’s injected and I only buy them out of the house. I recently enjoyed Sichuan xlb in Sf on 6/19/22 at bao (next to original slanted door). Like in Shanghai, xlb is pretty common in Sf. Growing up in Sf, I never noticed them because we only had Cantonese / HK style dim sum whether in Chinatown or on Clement / Noriega. I think xlb have become widely available at places in Sf where the dim sum is more China and less regional.

growing up in Sf, it took me decades to even know that Sf was known for Chinese food.