Strange they neglected to mention you usually want to blow into the hole you just created. Even with the soup drained out, the inside may well be piping hot.
And draining the soup out I’ve seen sometimes with xiao long bao, but almost never with shengjian where drinking directly from the dumpling seems more common. Of course after making sure it’s cool enough.
Also, at the risk of hijacking, burning unwary foreigners’ mouths seems to be one of the primary objectives of chinese cuisine.
I’m quite partial to hot pot (huoguo) but there are two traps to look out for: Meatballs are often hollow and have hot oil inside. And there’s a kind of tofu that’s like a sponge, so it can hold a lot more boiling liquid than you may anticipate.
Ditto. Our first trip to Taiwan was a revelation, and we ended up eating at the original Din Tai Fung about three times. Now, whenever we go to a city that has a Din Tai Fung, we invariably drop in for an order of 10 XLB each and some of the fried pork chops.
We had some pretty good ones in NYC Chinatown the other weekend, too.
I’ve not only had em, I’ve made em. The process is rather interesting. I’d prefer to leave it to the pros and expend my energies eating them. The best I’ve had were at Ding Tai Fung in Markham, Ontario. Delicious, fresh, and you can watch them make it in the window!
I’m pretty sure that the “small juicy dumplings” atthis place I frequentare xiao long bao, at lest when comparing the characters on the menu with the wikipedia entry’s Traditional Chinese ones.
They’re pretty good- every now and then, you get a gamy one, but on the whole, they’re really good.
We have a dumpling truck here in the Raleigh area that serves a juicy dumpling. They are amazing! Everything they make is amazing. It is not unusual for their line to be 45 min to an hour long.
Not only have I had them, but there is a dim sum place nearby which will deliver them directly to my door. They are indeed an awesome invention. Never ran into them before moving to Boston, though. Places outside of Chinatown tend to call them “hot soup dumplings” on the menu, rather than use the Chinese name.
The gold standard is what is served in Chenghuamiao in Shanghai. Truly awesome. The Hairy Crab and pork version is the best.
Din Tai Fung is okay but does falls short of the Shanghai baseline. (Note: Din Tai Fung in Bellevue really went to shit when another branch opened in Seattle and took away the best chef’s and managers).
沪江 Shanghai river restaurant in Vancouver make by far the best XiaoLongBao outside of China I’ve ever had.
生煎包 “shengjianbao”. These are tasty. And not only do you have to be careful about scalding your mouth, these often geyser out the juice all over your nice suit, expensive tie, or other article of nice clothing.
I had some the other day for lunch at work (my wife fried up some frozen supermarket soup buns and these were leftovers). Eating something at work that sprays out scalding juice is a poor idea.
They are indeed an awesome invention. Never ran into them before moving to Boston, though. Places outside of Chinatown tend to call them “hot soup dumplings” on the menu, rather than use the Chinese name.