Xiao Long Bao Thread

Discussion in 'Food and Drink' started by purr1n, Dec 6, 2016.

  1. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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  2. Kunlun

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  3. Boops

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  4. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    NYTimes reviews a very promising new XLB place:
    Balanced Soup Dumplings, and Much More, at 3 Times https://nyti.ms/2Sk8vam
     
  5. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    For those who knew that place on Sawtelle or Beverly Grove: ROC is no longer ... :(
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Last time I went, it wasn't that good. They've gone downhill. Tsujita near that spot is overrated for ramen - I think they try to hard to be authentic - although I've heard that their Annex across the street is better for ramen.

    There is a new spot near where I live in Westlake called eLoong Dumplings. It's quite passable, good enough that I will go there.
     
  7. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    ROC had great meat dishes. Their Three Cup Chicken was really good. So was the garlic shrimp one.

    We have DTF nearby so not all is lost.
     
  8. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    My favorite place for XLB was New Green Bo in Chinatown NYC, b/t Queen and Bayard in the '00s. Too bad they changed ownership a several years ago. I haven't found any back home on the west coast to match the above. And yes, DTF pales in comparison.
     
  9. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    I've more or less given up hope for stellar XLB in South and Central OC. Last year, I made a point of trying most places that serve XLB at least 2x and more or less felt that each one was OK. Add in that each place was not perfectly consistent - a 6/10 one day may be 4/10 another and vice versa (except for DTF at South Coast Plaza, consistently 6/10 but long lines etc...). In short, for OC just go to whatever is convenient. This is not to say the other food at each location wasn't any good.

    Have yet to try MrsBean Jianbing (by 5 and 22 intersection) and will be trying ja jiaozhi pretty soon.
     
  10. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    With all of the frozen / prepared meals group buys going on due to covid, I decided to try a random vendors frozen XLB (put in steamer yourself).

    For the first time in a long time, I had one I really liked today. Coincidentally getting some from Din Tai Fung (South Coast Plaza one) tomorrow for reference. If this vendor wins out, I will add pictures and share more.
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2020
  11. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    OK, these XLB from said random vendor are different but can compare/compete against the Din Tai Fung ones I had yesterday in my opinion. And the ones I had yesterday were actually better than the pre-covid ones (along with all the other food with 1 exception).

    Vendor info: http://simbala.net/菜單_menu
    Scroll to the bottom of the page where there is a section that says "Frozen Food To Go", the 6th listing will be "Mini Dumplings (50)" - order these (I don't know if the prices are accurate right now).
    They also have a group buying system if you do not want to drive to their restaurant - you place your order with them and every week they go to a different part of socal and distribute in that area. Call them for details, etc.


    Details on actual XLB:
    The wrapper is different - not a surprise given the variations you see in XLB wrappers - but the ratio of wrapper to meat is right. Texture and taste of wrapper is good, at least to me. The meat in the DTF one is slightly denser and more singular in flavor (more of a straight pork flavor) and the broth is more singular in flavor too (not necessarily a bad thing). I think this goes well in places like Taiwan where the pork is cleaner / better, but in the US I've never felt this was the way to go as pork here is more industrial and not as flavorful or as pure tasting. The one from this vendor has a little bit more "other flavor" in the pork (mostly along the salt and umami lines, possibly a tiny bit of something ever so slightly sweet) and the broth as well and the meat is not quite as dense (but still on the denser side as XLB should be). There is slightly more broth as well from this vendor and the XLB as a whole is a tiny bit bigger. This could just be their recipe... but this is how I would make it myself with US pork.

    FWIW, I do think that the XLB I've had at DTF in Shanghai and HK are different from the Taipei and other Taiwan DTF (in other cities) that I've had in a similar way as I describe above - HK and Shanghai ones made the XLB slightly less of a straight pork flavor by adding a hint of "other stuff" (idk if it's the pork or the recipe, etc). Point is doing this is not necessarily "untrue" or "sacrilegious" when other locations are doing it too.

    Like any other food - sample size of 1 person, 1 batch, etc. Will update regarding consistency once I get more myself.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2020
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    As part of my recent visit to Boulder, I had to seek out XLB.

    The best xiao long bao place in Boulder is Flower Pepper restaurant. There's not much seating, two small tables at the end of a long high table running along the front window of the place. Invariably all XLB must be compared to DTF because DTF is all over the world, does make pretty good shit, and does try to be consistent. While XLB aficionados, like audiophiles with gear, can detect the smallest differences among the individual Din Tai Fung restaurants around the world, the fact remains: DTF does aim for something and at least tries to be consistent.

    The place in Boulder I would say is at least as good as DTF in general. However, it's probably because the wrapper is a bit thicker than DTF's. I'm at this point where I am annoyed at DTF's approach, their light and delicate wrappers, purist flavors, etc. It seems like one of those Taiwanese things taken to an extreme. Think STAX. At the end of the day, xiaolongbao is supposed to be something your friend's dad or uncle makes in a morning to serve everyone at noon. Not some kind of high cuisine that's $17 for 10. And yes, I've been to the OG XLB in Taipei (which is still has a bit of that hole-in-wall vibe).

    PXL_20220627_005224899.jpg

    These xiaolongbao, served in a unimpressive plastic container, were so good that my son made mommy take him not once, but two more times, while was I doing business in Boulder. The wrapper is a bit thicker than DTFs. The pork is a bit more flavored and pure than the DTFs in SoCal, so that's a very slight minus. However, I like the wrappers just slightly thicker.
     
  13. Boops

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    I went back to Shanghai You Garden in Flushing. My first time was to try the soy milk soup. This time I went back for the dumplings and tofu porridge.

    tofu.jpeg

    The tofu (above) was a complex blend of textures and flavors. Sweet, salty, fishy, creamy depending on what happened to make it into the spoon with each bite. Ultimately, I prefer the soy milk soup but this was a treat to try.

    dumplings.jpeg

    The dumplings were, like last time, just incredible. Seriously one of the world's best conceived foods. We got them steamed (in the basket above) as well as fried (which you can see cut off at the left edge of the image). Both amazing. I eat vegetarian 99% of the time, but cannot resist these dumplings.
     
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    Last edited: May 13, 2023

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