Soup dumplings (xiao long bao) are pleated pork-and-broth parcels steamed in bamboo baskets, eaten in one bite. A canonical Chinese American order in Flushing and Manhattan's Chinatown.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 2 cities.
Xiao long bao left Shanghai's Nanxiang district in the 1870s and reached the United States via Taiwanese immigration in the 1980s. Joe's Shanghai, founded in Flushing in 1995 by Joe Si, popularised the dumpling among non-Chinese New Yorkers; a Manhattan-Chinatown branch on Pell Street opened in 1997. Din Tai Fung's American expansion in the 2010s set a polished comparison point, but the editorial centre of soup dumplings in New York remains the small Flushing rooms (Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao on Prince Street, Shanghai You Garden in the New World Mall) where the wrappers are pleated to 18 folds by hand each morning.
Common allergens: Gluten, Shellfish
Tip from the editors. If the aspic melts during pleating you have not chilled it long enough. Work in batches of six, keep the rest covered and cold.
Nan Xiang on Prince Street in Flushing pleats soup dumplings to 18 folds in New York City. Pork, pork-and-crab, and a green truffle-pork basket on weekends.
Signature: Soup dumplings, Pork-and-crab xiao long bao
Order: Pork-and-crab xiao long bao, basket of eight.
Tip: Take the 7 train to Flushing-Main Street; the room runs 60-minute waits at lunch. No reservations; expect a buzzer.
Joe's Shanghai on Bowery has popularised the soup dumpling in Manhattan's Chinatown in New York City since 1997. Priced at $$. Kitchen leans chinese.
Signature: Soup dumplings, Drunken crab
Order: Pork-and-crab xiao long bao, eight per basket.
Tip: No reservations; expect 30 minutes at peak weekend lunch. Bring cash to speed up the tab.
Tim Ho Wan on Fourth Avenue runs the New York City branch of the Hong Kong dim sum house, the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world.
Signature: Baked BBQ pork buns, Steamed pork ribs, Shrimp har gow
Order: Baked BBQ pork buns, three to an order, ordered the moment you sit down.
Tip: Off-peak hours are 14:30-17:00 weekdays; weekend lunch hits a 45-minute wait by 12:30.
Everyday Noodles is a squirrel hill room where a glass-walled team pleats soup dumplings by hand, a quiet draw away from the marquee restaurants.
Why locals love it: A Squirrel Hill room where a glass-walled team pleats soup dumplings by hand, a quiet draw away from the marquee restaurants.
Tip: Watch the dumpling team through the window. Order xiao long bao and hand-pulled noodles; expect a wait.
The Parlor Dim Sum on Butler Street in Lawrenceville serves Cantonese late on weekends in Pittsburgh. Dim sum, char siu and dumplings to midnight on Fridays.
Try: Dim sum and Cantonese barbecue
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