soup dumplings?

[girlwonder]

I had my first soup dumpling in nyc this past holiday and now I can't stop thinking about Joe Shanghai....
Any place in Los Angeles doing these beauties?

[girlwonder]

Thanks to everyone and their thoughts.
I did go to Joe Shanghai in chinatown-NYC then later to the Manhattan location which wasn't nearly as tasty as the chinatown version and since this was my first time eating them; it just seemed like a bun of heaven to me.
Now that I am at home I will be indulging in soup dumplings galore around socal.
Woot woot!

[Jerome]

just a note - it's unlikely they'll call them soup dumplings on the english language menu (nor on the chinese menu) in southern california.- if you ask for xiao long bao you'll get them.

[estone888]

It is odd. I think "soup dumplings" is sort of a New York phrase. Like standing "on" line rather than "in" line. Here, in English, I mostly see them as "juicy pork dumplings" or the occasional "pork bao."

[Jerome]

neither of which are helpful, really. Pork bao can be anything from a cantonese charsiu bao to the shenyang northeast yumibao, cornmeal kibbe-like mini-footballs stuffed with chinese "sauerkraut" (suanbaicai) and pork. and most jiaozi would qualify as juicy pork dumplings.

[Jerome]

still love the crab xiaolongbao at giang-nan on garfield in monterey park.

[snooze button]

I have seen you mention this place before so I think I better try it since I currently have a cold... xlb and maybe a bowl of pho... yum.

[Jerome]

can't imagine one place would have both. BUT

after the xlb go across the street to the yunnanese place on garfield and get "crossing-bridge- noodles" guoqiao mifen. I don't know what their peculiar translation would be. It' s basically chinese pho.

Yui Gui Garden (should be yun gui)
301 North Garfield Ave.
[phone]

[snooze button]

lol! I was thinking of hitting one place for xlb and another for pho... I like to restaurant-hop. Thanks for that other rec sounds like a winning combo to me..

[raytamsgv]

Here are three restaurants: http://www.geocities.com/raytamsgv/ch...

I personally like J&J the best. J&J is in the same mini-mall as Mei Long Village. There is a third Shanghai restaurant there called "Dragon Mark." Some people like the xiao long bao there.

[estone888]

My favorites - and I've eaten a lot of soup dumplings here, in NYC (I don't think Joe's Shanghai are very good) and all over China (I lived in Hong Kong for 11 years) - are to be found at J&J Shanghai, 301 W. Valley Blvd. in San Gabriel. (Just a couple of blocks west of Del Mar Ave.) In the same shopping center, Mei Long Village also has good soup dumplings, as does the small cafe next to J&J that I can't recall the name of. On the menu they are usually referred to, in English, as "juicy pork dumplings." At J&J, try both the pork dumplings and the pork and crab dumplings. Both are excellent.

[slacker]

That would be Dragon Mark. On their menu, the xlb is translated as "pork bao"; but they also have a picture of the xlb on the wall, so you can point to it.

I prefer the xlb at Din Tai Fung far and above the ones at Mei Long Village, Dragon Mark, J&J.

[Mr Taster]

I too am a big fan of XLB and tried Joe Shanghai's version (Chinatown branch) a few years ago. I found that the soup in their dumplings tasted very greasy and the skin of the dumplings were way too thick. Of course, I am partial to the gossamer-thin skins at the Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung (if you hold them up to the light, you can see the soup through the skin). However I can attest to the fact that DTF's version is not very authentic as I spent a week in Shanghai last year, ate a ton of XLB, and all were of the doughy, Joe's Shanghai variety (though not as greasy).

Mr Taster

[pinkshch]

A lot of people like Din Tai Fung for XLB. I think their XLB is good, but nothing spectacular. I did not like their other dishes, though. Their noodles were boring and bland to me. But if you want to try anyway, here's the place.

Din Tai Fung
1108 S Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA 91007
[phone]

I personally like buying the frozen Wei Chuan ones from 99 Ranch and making them at home myself.

[wilafur]

lots of banter on soup dumplings. do a search using the tags:

"xiao long bao"
or
"xlb"

and you'll find a lot of material to peruse.