Xiao Long Bao, aka "Soup Dumpling"

Okay, this is it—my final burst of eating from Big Apple, April '07.

On my first whole day in New York, I nipped out of the conference I was attending and dashed up the odd fifteen to seventeen blocks to catch a quick lunch at Joe's Shanghai in Midtown, home of the soup dumpling in the City, or at least the most popular place to get them.

Now, I don't want to choose sides between Din Tai Fung, which is the place of choice in Los Angeles for that style of dumplings, and Joe's Shanghai as to who makes a better xiao long bao 'less I become persona non grata even more for how much I still remind loyal to all things East Coast, 'though I'm here in LA and recently sealed a fate that will keep me here for at least a few more years (more on that another time), but I will say I really, really enjoyed Joe's Shanghai. Their soup dumplings were really, really good, and very, very soupy; a little more soupy than Din Tai Fung's—sorry, I just had to drop that bit in—'though that doesn't mean they're better, maybe just bigger. But I haven't been to Din Tai Fung in a few years, so I can't be trusted with my memory; it might be slightly wobbly and easily corruptible, especially when presented with a fresh bamboo steamer with huge, jumbo egg-size dumpling all hot and steamy 'n gushy with meaty broth.

I had both the Crab Meat with Pork Meat Steamed Bun and Pork Steamed Bun, which I shared with J. who once again joined me for lunch. There was only a slight difference between the xiao long bao with just pork and those with a combination of crab and pork; the later had nominally lighter flavor, but primarily meaty vs. crustacean-like, while the former was full-on, no-holds rich, fatty porky-ness. But both were very filling; I could only manage six total before feeling full.

A good, quick lunch that allowed me to be back in time for my afternoon panel—and nobody even noticed I was gone.


Joe's Shanghai
Queens
136-21 37th Avenue
Flushing, New York 11354
Ph: 718-539-3838, 718-539-4429
Uptown
24 W 56 Street
New York, New York 10019
(between 5 and 6 Avenue)
Ph: 212-333-3868
Chinatown
9 Pell Street
New York, New York 10013
Ph: 212-233-8888
www.joeshanghairestaurants.com