xiao long bao - which restaurant in s'pore serves the best


i have eaten xiao long pau at many places: din tai fung at paragon; crystal jade at holland village; lao beijing at novena square; cheng li yuan at tanjong pagar; nanxiang steamed bun restaurant at parco bugis, eastern restaurant at centrepoint and a little known restaurant at jalan leban, off upper thomson road.

in my opinion, it is a close fight between din tai fung and crystal jade. a good xiao long pau must have a thin skin which does not break when pressure is applied to it. like pizzas and roti prata, xiao long pau or pork dumplings with soup are best enjoyed when they are hot. if it is allowed to cool, the soup will be absorbed by the skin.

just as you have sashimi with wasabi, you have xiao long pau with strips of ginger soaked in vinegar. i will usually make a small opening at the top of the bun with a chopstick and then try and stuff the ginger strips into the bun.

xiao long pau are traditionally steamed in a bamboo basket. at crystal jade, you pay $3.20 for a basket of four dumplings while at din tai fung, they charge $5.80 for half a dozen dumplings.