Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
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.
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.
3 editor picks for Soup dumplings in New York City, ranked by editorial score. All New York City signature dishes · Soup dumplings across every city.
Also in: Pittsburgh.
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.
OrderPork-and-crab xiao long bao, basket of eight.
TipTake 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.
OrderPork-and-crab xiao long bao, eight per basket.
TipNo 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.
OrderBaked BBQ pork buns, three to an order, ordered the moment you sit down.
TipOff-peak hours are 14:30-17:00 weekdays; weekend lunch hits a 45-minute wait by 12:30.
Soup dumplings makes more sense with someone from New York City explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
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