Shanghai soup dumplings?
Anyone know where I can find a good Shanghai style soup dumplings in the DC metro area? In chinese, they are known as "xiao long bao".
I'm looking for something that rivals Joe Shangai in NYC. The few places I've tried that dish here been huge disappointments, particularly A&J's.
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There are two major kinds of soup dumplings. Xiao Long Bao (xlb) and Tang Bao.
XLB (little pork buns) are tiny. The only ones in the area like that are at A & J. The problem with them is that they tear easily, so it is difficult to get them in your mouth. If you do manage it, they are very close to what you'll get in Shanghai. Except - they only have one variety, pork. In Shanghai you can get in many varieties, and I much prefer pork and crab.
Tang Bao (soup buns) are very large and contain a lot of soup. They look like The Blob. You can get excellent ones at Joe's Shanghai in NYC. I have not seen any here.
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A & J Restaurant
1319 Rockville Pike C, Rockville, MD -
OK, its been a while and the question begs to be asked again....
Is there anyone doing shanghai soup dumplings around the DC area? (yes, I know about the chinatown express one and I not really a fan).
Soup
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re: Soup
We have been searching for decent soup dumplings for a while that is comprable to NYC's around the DC area. We've found a few such as Chinatown Express and Bob's 66 (now closed). Lo and Behold!!! We found a restaurant oddly enough in our own city of McLean that serves decent soup dumplings! China Kingdowm off Old Dominion serves them on their chinese menu. Restaurant atmosphere is stuck in the 80's and service is slow but call in advance to have them make the dumplings ahead of time.
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Chinatown Express
126 Carroll Island Rd, Baltimore, MD 21220
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Try a restaurant called "Burma Road" in Gaithersburg, Md. on S. Fredrick Rd. Just down the street from the big dim sum place called New Fortune. If you are lucky and can get fresh made soup buns, they come about 98% to Joe's Shanghai. Joe's Shanghai are perfect, nothing in the US can match Joe's that I have found in CONUS USA.
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re: DanielK
Yes I mean Burma Road. I think it is called juicy pork bun or dumpling or somethig like that. I recognize it by its chinese character name, look for the chinese character for "small" as the first character. It looks like a "J" with a short hash mark on either side of the like this: 'J.' (except the hashmarks are lower).
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re: joeykangaroo
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re: DanielK
alkapal
Mar 12, 2010 04:10 AM
funny: to remember this character for "small" -- pronounced "yao" -- i thought of the huge chinese basketball player, yao ming! http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/ig0_y7...
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re: DanielK
Yes DanielK. That is the correct symbol. Look for that character in the first of four characters in the chinese character name for the soupy bun item.
Remember to order only one to two orders at most at one time, you can always order more if you want more. They get cold quickly and then they don't taste as good. Also remember, the soup inside is intensely hot temperture wise, so be careful bite a little hole to drain out the soup first.
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re: DanielK
I don't know if the chinese text is viewable without the right fonts installed, but at the wikipage for XLB, the caption for the picture will show you what the characters are:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolongbao
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re: Steve
Actually, I think Burma Road may be making them to order. My recommendation is order no more than two orders at a time, this way they will always be hot. We ordered six orders and since all six comes at the same time, the bottom ones were cold. Not the restaurnat fault, our fault for not eating them fast enough - lesson learned.
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re: joeykangaroo
DanielK
Apr 3, 2010 01:33 PM
So, just wanted to report back.
We've been to Burma Road twice now, and sure enough, they have Xiao Long Bao - Soup Dumplings! They have both Burmese and Chinese chefs.
They're labeled as "Steamed Buns w/Pork Fillings" on the menu, but it's not on the regular menu - there's an insert that they have on weekends with some dim sum-type dishes (both Chinese and Burmese). From what I could gather, you can get the XLB at other times, but you have to know to ask.
Anyway, they really were excellent - probably the best I've had in the DC area. All 6 in the order had soup, the skins were just the right thickness to retain the soup without tearing or being gummy, and the dumpling was very flavorful.
Highly recommended. We skipped around the rest of the "dim sum" menu a bit. Most were quite good, but the Burmese better than the Chinese.
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Burma Road
617 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-
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re: aviva5675
It's not something I would focus on like it's some kind of specialty here. Chinatown Express is the place to go for a good cheap lunch of soup dumplings. Don't expect them to be delicate or particularly tasty, but as I said before, the condiments on the table help make for a satisying experience. They have xlb at Shanghai Tea House on Wisconsin Ave. Not downtown. Decent, more 'authentic' than Chinatown Express, but kinda boring.
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Peking Village on Gallows has very good dumplings. They do a great northern Chinese brunch.
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re: ffxjack
I like to start with a fried cruller then juicy buns, pot stickers, steamed dumplings, pan fried buns, leeks turnovers, ma la tendon, tripe, etc. Not able to read Chinese could be a problem since most places give you piece of paper in Chinese and you have to check off what you want. Peking Village & A&J have similar brunch items. A&J has more variety of noodles (they serve Taiwansese food) while Peking Village has more spicy food (Sichuan cuisine).
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The best one I've found is actually pre-made stuff at a chinese grocery store frozen food section and I steam it at home. Compare to NY and SF not great but passible. Better than anything around DC that I've found.
Just picked up a new brand I haven't tried yet called soupy dumpling. I hope its good.
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DanielK
Dec 21, 2008 06:52 PM
As others have said, there isn't anything that compares with Joe's Shanghai in NYC.
I've been disappointed with Chinatown Express in DC my last few visits there. A&J I like a lot, but xiao long bao is not something they're especially great at. North China in Bethesda and Shanghai Cafe in Potomac do respectable versions.
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You can do a search on this board. This has been asked several times before, and there are a myriad of responses. My own take is that there is nothing here as good as the xiao long bao you'd find in NY (or NJ for that matter). If you lower your standards, the dumplings are still tasty, but not terrific.
