China La Mian Steamed Buns: Cheap and Good Xiao Long Bao
With Holydrummer, Holybro and ieatjr
Xiao Long Bao $5 for 10
Slowly but surely, our hawker scene is changing to reflect the cultural transformation of our society.
Our Chinese culture is made up primarily of Southern Chinese people predominantly from Canton and Fujian province. Our forefathers came to our shores to seek a new life and some of them ended up opening hawker stalls selling food that they are familiar with. Now we are seeing new waves of migrants from other parts of China who are settling down and calling Singapore home. Some, like the friendly couple who run this stall, came first to work at the restaurants and later became permanent residents. They work hard, save up enough money and start a business of their own selling food that they are most familiar with. Who knows? In a couple of years, they might own a whole chain of restaurants selling Shanghainese food.
Seeing Xiao Long Bao being served at a hawker stall is a welcomed sight indeed. This is one of my favourite snacks but so far I can only eat it at a restaurant. This is not the first time I have come across hawker stalls selling Xiao Long Bao, but it is the first time that I have come across a stall which sells a descent one.
I had Holydrummer and Holybro with me that day who, being half Taiwanese, have eaten some of the best Xiao Long Bao in Taiwan. So I had some really good tastebuds with me that day. They both agree that this is one tasty Xiao Long Bao. The soup in the bao is excellent and not oily. And importantly, the skin is thin enough to be able to see through but still not break when picked up. It is not a perfect Xiao Long Bao as I felt that the skin could be just a little softer, but at $5 for 10 baos, I would be quite happy to just come here to get a quick Xiao Long Bao fix. 4.25/5
I remember my father telling me that Grandpa came to Malaya with just a small bag of clothes. They then arranged for him to be married to Grandma who would remain in China until he could afford to bring her over. At that time, Grandpa's intention was to make enough money in order to start a business in China. This couple shared with me a similar story where both of them are here to work in order to send money back for their kids in China. Well, only time will tell if their son will eventually speak Singlish and serve NS.
Conclusion
This is the cheapest Xiao Long Bao that is worth eating. In fact, we were discussing if the Xiao Long Bao were even better than some of the ones being served at the restaurants. I would say that soup wise, it will rival some of the best around.
China La Mian Steamed Buns
Chinatown Smith Street Food Centre
Blk 335 Smith Street #02-135
Singapore 050335
97435287
10am to 9pm Closed Thursdays
10 comments:
This was a surprise find. When I saw the boss whipping his handmade noodles, I stopped in my path.
For the price you pay - $5 for TWO baskets of 5 (10 in total, which comes to 50 cents a piece) - it is absolutely value for money.
And it's pretty delicious too, with a lot of soup bursting out. One of the best I've had here in SG.
You got a good instinct for food Holy Drummer! It is quite a find indeed!
Hahaha! Holydrummer was really excited about this stall when he met us for lunch today. His level of excitement makes this a must-try for me. I trust his taste. : )
Taste is good, but I also want to highlight that the owners are really friendly as well and down to earth.
All the more reasons to support! : )
next week cactuskit!
Must remember to jio me too! Maybe we should do another facebook in prompto outing?
I chanced upon this stall two months back. Like you, I was pleasantly surprised. Xiaolongbaos "XLBs" are becoming increasingly accessible to the hoi polloi as they are now available at a hawker centre and at reasonable rates.
This stall serves decent XLBs. However, I found the broth/soup to be excessively salty. It wasn't oily (as all decent XLBs should), and I do realise that it should probably be sightly savoury, but on a personal scale, the broth was approximately 30% saltier than it should have been.
Having said that, we all know that taste is subjective (trite as it is), and that the consistency of food quality varies even at the finest establishments. Therefore, do treat my opinions above as mere dictum, if anything. :D
haha...discovered this a year back when my friend took me there. We each ate 15 Xiao Long Baos. That would be 3 baskets.
Skin - a bit on the thick side.
Appearance - Not as nice as those in Din Tai Fung
Taste - Not bad at all for the cheap price.
Yes, that is exactly how I felt.
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