Travel, food, literature, and the good life
This past spring we had the amazing opportunity to visit Siem Reap, which is just over two hours by flight from Singapore. Siem Reap is world famous for its Ankor Wat complex, which was built during the time of the Khmer empire at the end …
After returning from a great trip to China, I found myself obsessed with traditional Chinese tea. Read about my lovely, rainy afternoon at the Huxinting Teahouse in the Yu Gardens of Shangai. Although tea is celebrated throughout the Eastern and Western world alike it originated …
You couldn’t possibly leave Shanghai without eating Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings)! These delicacies are renowned the world over, are impossibly fun to eat and so yum! Similar to Peking Duck, you haven’t really been to Shanghai until you have tried these since this is where the xiao long bao was born. What makes them special is that in addition to the usual meat and vegetables there is soup broth inside. If you were to ask where the best soup dumplings can be found in Shanghai you’ll get different answers. But here are my top two places that are loved by locals too.
If you are in the Old City you must have lunch at one of the best xiao long bao (soup dumpling) restaurants in Shanghai! At Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, you can also order a GIANT xiao long bao which is amusingly served with a straw. The restaurant is also conveniently located right next to the famous Yu Gardens. Note that the restaurant tends to get busy and usually there are lines to get in. Interestingly, depending on which level you are seated on the average price point of the menu differs. First floor is for takeout and for those who want to eat the dumplings at standing tables and leave in a jiffy. We ended up on the second floor, which has a proper spacious, seating area, servers and a lovely ambiance.
There are lots of different varieties of xiao long bao offered including seafood, vegetarian, and poultry options. I couldn’t resist ordering a giant dumpling for myself, which you can only get in some places. They served it with a straw and tucked neatly in a plastic “bowl” to prevent accidental spillage. But I have to say, the dumpling skin was quite thick and hard to puncture with the straw alone. I had to take a bite off the top to get access to the soup. Unfortunately it was served lukewarm, not as hot as I wanted, but maybe this was for safety reasons. Imagine having searing hot soup exploding into your lap (or face)! Given the thickness of the skin the texture was also not as lovely as the original ones and is perhaps not meant to be eaten. But I ate the whole thing anyway!
What I noticed about the flavor of the xiao long bao at Nanxiang is that it is slightly sweeter than what I am used to. Not sure why, maybe in China these dumplings have always been less savory? After all Shanghai is where this illustrious dumpling was born. You get used to the flavor profile though and it tastes especially good dipped in the ginger and vinegar sauce. We also ordered a pot of hot oolong tea since it was so cold out. Totally recommend doing this as it was delicious and they have an extensive tea menu in general. As a little gift they gave us a tiny box of jasmine tea to take home as well. How thoughtful!
You may have already heard of this popular restaurant chain, which is originally from Taiwan! They have locations from California, Singapore to Dubai. But interestingly enough, even in Shanghai Din Tai Fung is still considered one of the best places for xiao long bao. Although Rob and I are huge fans of the locations in Singapore we wanted to compare and see if there were any differences! Interestingly enough we found the menu to be a bit different and more extensive. Although we ordered the classic chicken and pork versions there were other interesting “special” varieties and the drink list was also quite long. We also ordered sides of spinach and garlic, spicy cucumber, and noodles with special sauce. For drink I ordered a hot honey and kumquat tea, which was so delightful for the rainy weather outside! Although Din Tai Fung has multiple locations in Shanghai as well, the one we visited was in Xiantandi (French Concession), which was perfect after spending a morning walking around the artsy district. Highly recommend this for an easy lunch!
Overall, the flavors of the dishes we got were consistent to the ones we have in Singapore. My sneaking suspicion is that the reason why Din Tai Fung is recognized by Michelin is that it always delivers on the high quality of food no matter where you go in the world! Since the soup broth is more savory I actually prefer this over Nanxiang. But I could imagine getting used to a sweeter profile, which undoubtedly grows on you.
Another small detail that I appreciated is that they added a tiny “chicken” shaped dumpling skin in the steamer that held the chicken xiao long bao to differentiate it from the pork. They don’t do this in Singapore and it was adorable! I was a bit puzzled by the fact that it had four legs though?! Let’s hope chickens in China aren’t that different from the rest of the world!! Have you ever seen little animals in your steamers before? By the way if you are curious, yes, I ate the tiny chicken at the end of my meal. Chewy.
If this is your first time trying xiao long bao, you’re in for a lifelong addiction! Here are some friendly tips on how to go about eating these delicious treats without scalding the roof of your mouth or tongue:
1. Add vinegar to the sauce plate with shredded ginger provided.
2. Pick up dumpling carefully without puncturing it (always from the denser, swirled top) and place it in the soup spoon.
3. From there, gingerly dip dumpling in sauce and put it back on the spoon.
4. Poke or bite a hole at the top of the dumpling and suck some of the soup out to prevent it from exploding all at once! Be careful not to burn yourself.
5. Consume the remains of the dumpling in a single bite when some of the heat from the soup is dispelled!
I also learned that Shanghai has another unique kind of soup dumpling that is pan fried. Unfortunately given our short time in China I wasn’t able to try it out. But if you’ve got the chance be sure to check out Yang’s Fried Dumplings, which comes highly recommended! Do you have a favorite xiao long bao restaurant in Shanghai or where you live? Let me know! I definitely have great memories growing up of eating xiao long bao in Flushing, New York with my family!
One of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, Shanghai does not disappoint! We headed to this sleek, modern city after our visit to Beijing. (check out my full post). Shanghai is easily reachable by flight, which is a mere two and a half hours …
For two nights in a row we treated ourselves to the infamously delectable Peking Duck! We managed to try this at two popular places, Da Dong Roast Duck and Siji Minfu near the Forbidden City. This was the first time I ever tried the dish, …
What a dream come true! For the past three and a half years living in Asia the Great Wall has been in the back of my mind and on my bucket list. One of the Wonders of World, this treasure is more beautiful in person than your wildest dreams. Although we were there in the winter I could easily imagine it looking stunning in any season. If you do go in the winter though make sure you dress warmly! Did you know the Great Wall is so long that it needs to be viewed in sections? There are so many tour options available and the most popular part of the wall to visit is Badaling. However, a friend recommended we go to Mutianyu, which is less touristy but just as impressive. Some other sections are quite remote and wonderful to explore. But since they are further out from Beijing and our short time in China it was not an option!
On Tripadvisor there are lots of private tours offered and thus quite expensive. So we decided to book a group tour on Klook (not sponsored), which was way less expensive. I’m normally not someone who goes for tour groups but with such a tight schedule it saved a lot of time! Highly recommend this unless you want a more tailored itinerary or are traveling with a big group.
We woke up SUPER early for a 7:00 AM pickup time outside our hotel. Our tour included hotel pickup but for only a specific zone in central Beijing. We were driven to a central location where we boarded the bus with other tourists. Our tour guide, Michael was super nice and bilingual. The drive took approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Note that we were not allowed to eat on the bus despite it being so early in the morning (?!!) Ended up finishing my breakfast (a chocolate Starbucks muffin) on the Great Wall later that morning… If you take this tour make sure you eat breakfast BEFOREHAND!
There are several levels that take you up the wall with the highly touristy area with gift shops being at the bottom. The last leg up involves a short cable car ride with some seriously stunning views! We were quite lucky in that we managed to see the Great Wall covered in SNOW! It had snowed just the previous day so it looked incredible. Apparently it snows in Beijing only once a year so this was a special treat. The surrounding mountains themselves were also gorgeous and added to the splendor of the wall.
Mind you there were moments when it felt like I was skiing down the length of the wall. Some parts are so steep, with no friction (wore my running shoes), making it quite slippery. The way I survived was by walking like a penguin sideways very slowly… The incline leading to tower 12 is apparently the steepest! Unfortunately we couldn’t give it a shot because the slope leading to it was a giant slide.
Our tour also included a delicious lunch with plenty of dishes to go around (veg and chicken). Drinks were not included but you could purchase beer, tea, and soft drinks out of pocket. We brought bottled water from the hotel. We had approximately 3 hours at the wall, which was more than enough time to explore! Afterwards the tour bus dropped us off in the same location and since our package included pickup and drop off from our hotel our guide hailed us a prepaid taxi from the street. Super convenient.
This is an experience I will always cherish being completely overwhelmed by the immense beauty of something manmade! It is something special to contemplate what kind of human feat this required and attests to what a powerhouse China was in ancient times. Have you been to the Great Wall? How did you find it and which part of the wall did you choose to see?
Arrival We checked-in to the Sandalwood Shichihachi Hotel late in the evening where the historic hutong houses are and where the upper class, literati used to live. I generally enjoy staying in quirky places with a lot of historical richness. The home was beautifully restored …
We had the challenge of creating an itinerary in Beijing for just two days before moving on to Shanghai. That being said we managed to see quite a bit and had enough time to simply enjoy. I am the type of traveler that wants to …