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

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Hand in Hand Beijing Restaurant: Xiao Long Bao is here to stay

With Sumosumo, Champagne, Mr Yakwang, Jems and our latest makankaki, lovejade

Xiao Long Bao $6.50 for rack of 8

Some foods come and go, but I think in the case of Xiao Long Bao (XLB), it has gone past the stage of being a fad to becoming a firm favourite amongst Singaporeans. And I would not be surprised if 20 years from now, XLB is considered as Singaporean as Hokkien Mee. Although it is still sold mainly in restaurants at the moment, we are beginning to see some stalls beginning to sell them in Hawker Centres.

Now, you might think that it is far fetched to say that the XLB will become a Singaporean dish, we might as well say that Pasta will be considered a Singaporean dish since we are beginning to see lots of stalls in hawker centres selling Italian food. But there is one big difference. We are going to have a bigger population of Singaporeans of Northern Chinese descent in the future. Right now, they are still considered "China born Chinese" but their offspring will become Singaporean and bring with them their own cuisine and culture. So as our Dialect mix of mainly Southern Chinese become more diluted with the Northerners, our "local" food will surely change as well.


Testing the Xiao Long Bao skin for resilience

Anyway, I for one have grown to like this little dumpling a lot and whenever I hear of a new eatery selling it, I am always tempted to go try them out. So when Sumosumo started raving about the food at this place, it did not take us long to organize a makan session to check out the XLB.

I think part of the success of the XLB is the fact that it is a dumpling with distinct characteristics. It is easy to tell if the XLB is good or not even before you put it into your mouth. When you get presented with your rack of XLB, the first thing to observe is the number of folds it has and whether the skin is thin enough to see the pool of soup inside. Then comes the acid test which is the ability to pick up the XLB without the skin breaking. Some restaurants take so much pride in this that should your XLB burst before you put it in your mouth, that they would happily replace the XLB should it burst before its appointed time.

Well, the XLB here certainly passed the skin and soup test, what remains is the taste of the meat and the soup which I thought was very good but just lacks that X factor to make it truly exceptional. At $6.50 for a rack of 8 XLB, it is certainly good enough to make me think of coming back and ordering 2 racks and a pot of tea for a nice lunch. 4.25/5


Seaweed Tofu $9.80

There were several other dishes here that were surprisingly good. The homemade Seaweed Tofu was unexpectedly good. This is one of those really popular dishes that a lot of restaurant and Cze Char places are dishing up nowadays, so I have had it on numerous occasions, but this one really stood out. The tofu itself was very eggy and there was something in the sauce that had that "eat more rice" quality about it. 4.5/5


Sliced Pork Belly with Garlic and Chilli oil $9.80

The other dish that we ended up ordering extra plates of was the Sliced Pork Belly with Garlic and Chilli Oil. Everyone was quite unanimous about this dish. It is quite addictive and is an excellent first dish to wet your expectation for the rest of the meal. Actually we had it as a first dish and the last dish since we couldn't get enough of it. 4.5/5


Bittergourd with salted egg

The bittergourd dish drew mixed responses. Some of our kakis really loved it but I felt that the combination of bitter with salty just did not do it for me. Bitter goes well with sweet, like coffee or Durians, but bitter with salty is a difficult combination to get right. 3/5


Pancake with Chives $6.80

The Pancake with Chives was a little different from the usual as it had minced pork in it. For $6.80 it was excellent value I thought. Tastewise I felt that the crust lacked a certain amount of chewiness underneath the crispy crust. However, the mince pork gave it a great savoury flavour. 4/5

Conclusion

Fancy finding a Little Chinese Restaurant in Little India. If you are looking for an alternative place for your Xiao Long Bao fix, you might just like to pay this place a visit. Parking is convenient, prices are reasonable and there are a couple of dishes that will make you go "Phwaa!". Another great thing is that they open till midnight, just in case you suddenly get a craving for XLB late at night.

What to do next?

We did a poll to see how people eat their XLB, the results are here

Hand in Hand Beijing Restaurant
141-143 Jalan Besar
Between Hindoo and Veerasamy Roads
68415301
11am to 12 midnight daily

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Results of the Xiao Long Bao Polls

What is your favourite way of eating Xiao Long Bao?



A total of 465 people took part in the poll and the results are shown above.

The majority like to suck out the soup first then eat the XLB. I was part of the 24.6% of people who like to pop the whole thing into the mouth (I thought I was part of the majority at first!) What is more amazing is the 7.1% (33 people) out there who actually open the top, put the ginger in and eat it. I thought iwatch_ueat was the only one who did that. Also there were 31 people who eat their XLB as a 3 course meal! I thought only my son did that! The rest of the people had exotic ways of eating the XLB, like draining the soup into a spoon first. Some put none of the above because they do several methods depending on the situation.

Each poll goes for a week. So the next one will start tonight and end at 12 noon next Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the polls!! Hope you have fun with the next poll on 3D pics! Akan Datang...

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Shanghai RenJia: Shen Jian Pao Surprise!

Xiao Long Bao $4.80 for 5

I don't remember ever eating Xiao Long Bao (XLB) when I was a kid. I think it is something that has taken Singapore by storm in the last decade. The beauty of the XLB is the spoonful of soup that you get in each dumpling.

I have always wondered how they managed to get the soup in the dumpling. Was it from the meat or do they somehow add it in. Well it happens that there are many ways of getting the soup in the dumpling. The shortcut way is to add more oil into the meat filling. This would make the dumpling very rich. The proper way is to prepare the soup before hand, chill it such that it has a jelly like consistency and mix it into the meat filling. The soup in the dumpling is thus very light and tasty after having extracted the flavors from the meat filling.

Since we were sitting in a restaurant where the hosts were Shanghainese, I asked them what the proper way to eat XLB was. There are a couple of ways I could think of. I used to dip the whole thing in the vinegar, put a few strands of ginger on top and put the whole thing in my mouth. This way, the dumpling bursts like a balloon in your mouth releasing all that wonderful soup and meaty flavours. (Have to make sure its not too hot) The Lao Ban Niang suggested that one should put the dumpling in the soup spoon, bite a little hole and suck out the soup first, then dip the dumpling in the vinegar and eat the rest. This way you get to savour the beautiful soup first. My son likes to break the whole dumpling open in the bowl, eat the skin first, the meat second and drink the soup from the bowl last. (Talk about menu deconstruction!) So pray tell, how do YOU savour your XLB? (Tell us by taking part in the latest poll!)

The XLB here is very good. There is a good amount of soup in each dumpling and the skin is resilient so that it does not break easily. The Lao Ban had been in the flour business all his life and is very knowledgeable about all sorts of different flours. So the skin of the baos here are excellent. I felt though that it would have been perfect if the skin was a fraction thinner and the filling had more ooomph. Nonetheless it is a XLB that I would rate as one of the best in Singapore. 4.25/5


Shen Jian Pau $7.20 for 6

The Shen Jian Pao (SJP) on the other hand is an item that I would drive all the way from Siglap to eat again tomorrow! This is seriously a delightful and exciting discovery. I would even go so far to say that it is most special Pao one can ever savour.

The Pao is fried in a covered saucepan. So the oil cooks the bottom half of the Pao skin so that it is crisp on the outside. The steam trapped in the saucepan steams the top part of the Pao to a nice fluffy consistency.

When you bite into the Pao, the juices just flow out and, if you are not careful, down onto your chin! So in one bite, you get a tender meat filling, an explosion of juices which is absorbed by the soft skin and lastly a crispy caramelised skin to tease your palate. It is such a joy to eat! I just crave to rave. Crave to rave, I say! Best SJP in Singapore, JB and maybe even Shanghai! 4.75/5


Special Ter Kah (not on the menu) $20

The restaurant serves a host of other Shanghainese favourites like drunken chicken, deep fried ribbon fish, la mian and so on. We were recommended this Shanghainese style Ter Kah which is excellent. Shanghainese Lor (Braising Sauce) is thick, gooey and sweet. The meat is soft and well caramelized. It is different from the Teochew and Hokkien style that we are used to but shiok nonetheless. 4.5/5

The lady in the middle was introduced to us as the Masterchef who taught the Masterchefs in Shanghai, before she came to Singapore. The Lao Ban said that he was extremely fortunate to get her to work in the restaurant. Both he and his wife lived in Singapore for almost 15 years before starting this restaurant out of a love to share their Shanghainese food with Singaporeans. They were passionate about their food and provided great service as well.

Conclusion

The Shen Jian Pao is the best I have ever eaten. Not only I say, my other 3 makankakis all concur that it deserves a 4.75 rating. There is only one potential problem. If you go on a weekend, you have to be prepared to wait a long time for your pao. It takes them quite a while to prepare each one!

Shanghai People
906B Upper Thomson Road
(Next to Han's)
64567752
12pm to 10pm daily

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