Jia Jia Tang Bao 佳家汤包 of Shanghai
Jia Jia Tang Bao might be arguably the best steamed dumpling in Shanghai. Bold and ostentatious it may seem, but these xiao long bao’s小籠包 are darn good. I could have probably finished off two “long’s” (round bamboo steamers).
Loosely translated as Good Home Soup Dumplings, their dumplings contain the soup along with the meat filling. The delicate wrapper skin is steamed holding together the meat and essentially liquefying the soup. Hot as heck, you must blow on dumpling to cool it down. You can also dip in a black vinegar, soy sauce, and chili pepper sauce, to help cool it down. You can choose different fillings ranging from vegetables and crab meat, but my favorite is just simply pork. The young female dumpling masters, about 7 of them, made the dumplings in front of us.
With steam coming off from the top of other people’s table’s steamers, I knew inside I was in for a treat, as I rolled up to front door. This place was packed, even though it was well past lunch and too early for dinner. There was a small line just outside – waiting for orders and tables. Luckily I was able to grab the last one by the front door. But when I ordered, almost all the dumpling fillings were sold out. I was left with a choice of either all crab or a combination of crab & pork. With my latter choice, I also had an egg drop seaweed soup. Westerners are still trying to grasp the idea of have seaweed, but almost all Asian cultures have embraced this great vegetable. The soup arrived and I was, unbeknownist – though i should have known, soon burning my tongue. I guess I was kinda hungry. Finally, my dumplings arrived and I was ready. I had my dipping sauce, with chili pepper and vinegar, all set with the right balance. So, I dove in with just a few whispering cold breaths to cool my first one. I had to be extra careful biting into the skin, while holding it with the soup spoon. I didn’t want the juicy goodness to spill out. I wanted to suck the soup with a little of the dipping sauce, which coated the bottom of the dumpling. The art of consuming a dumpling is underrated and tricky. The thin skin, comparable to Ding Tai Fong’s pricey dumplings, held together well. I know when I was done, I realized I had spilt much of the soup all over the table and in the dipping sauce tray. But I was happy that I was able to finish and enjoy, the pork & crab meat combination. Fabulous and filling as I was/am, I think I was still wanting another steamer of dumplings.
With a soup, a long of dumplings (about 12 of them), and a sprite, it was about RMB 23 – less than USD 4. And this was a crab & pork one. I think just a pork dumpling would have been cheaper.
And I thought I was on a diet…
