Xiaolongbao is the ten-pleat Shanghai soup dumpling that Din Tai Fung canonised on Xinyi Road in 1972. Hot pork-and-soup parcels, dipped in ginger and black vinegar.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Xiaolongbao arrived in Taipei with the 1949 mainland refugees from Jiangsu province. Yang Bing-yi and Lai Pen-mei opened Din Tai Fung as a cooking-oil shop at 194 Xinyi Road in 1958, pivoted to dumplings in 1972 when tinned cooking oil killed the retail business. The signature ten-pleat fold and 21-gram weight standard are house inventions of the early 1980s. The New York Times named the Xinyi Road original one of the world's top 10 restaurants in 1993. The chain now operates in 14 countries, but the Xinyi Road original is the canonical pilgrimage.
Common allergens: Gluten, Soy, Pork
Tip from the editors. The aspic must be cold and chopped, not melted; it's what makes the soup. Steaming straight from the freezer also works (add 2 minutes).
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Din Tai Fung's Xinyi Road original counter in Taipei is the xiaolongbao queue that turned a 1958 oil shop into a global chain. Bib Gourmand listed.
Signature: Xiaolongbao, Niu rou mian, Cucumber starter
Order: Ten-pleat pork xiaolongbao, niu rou mian, cucumber starter.
Tip: Take the queue ticket on arrival and shop Yongkang Street while you wait.
Why locals love it: Yongkang Street's second xiaolongbao counter, opened 1949, shorter queue than Din Tai Fung two doors down.
Tip: Walk-in; phone reservations for six plus.
Hangzhou Xiao Long Tang Bao is the off-Yongkang xiaolongbao counter for Taipei locals near CKS Memorial Hall MRT. Bib Gourmand, crab-roe xiaolongbao.
Signature: Crab-roe xiaolongbao, Sheng jian bao
Order: Crab-roe xiaolongbao, pan-fried sheng jian bao.
Tip: Open 10:30 to 21:00 daily. Walk-in only; weekday queues shorter.
Yang Shin opened 2013 as Taipei's first vegetarian dim-sum tea house. An all-meat-free Cantonese menu beside Songjiang Nanjing MRT, three sittings daily.
Signature: Vegetarian xiaolongbao, Truffle dumpling
Order: Vegetarian xiaolongbao and the truffle dumpling.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 14:30, 14:30 to 16:30 and 17:30 to 21:30. Reserve via Klook.
More cities are in research. Want xiaolongbao covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.