Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao

Review

Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao began as an unnamed roadside stall on Hangzhou South Road. The Huang brothers, who grew up in the Huaguang community, originally ran a charcoal grill business, then learned to make xiaolongbao from a Shanghai dim sum master; the soup dumplings proved so popular that they turned the shop into a Jiangsu and Zhejiang dim sum specialist. Its old slogan promised street-stall prices, it has been on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list since the first Taipei guide, and visitors to nearby Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall often drop in.

The signature soup dumpling wrapper is made only of flour and water with no additives and rolled fresh each day. The filling uses fresh pork hind leg and Sanxing scallions from Yilan, and the soup is simmered from old hens and pork bones; the skin is thin and the soup plentiful without greasiness, and nothing is kept overnight. Other favourites include spicy stinky tofu with a sauce of minced pork, dried shrimp and dried chili, and the red bean pancake with a crisp, sesame-scented crust that makes a good finish.

Fans praise the soupy, well-seasoned dumplings, prices lower than famous chains, fast service and convenient QR-code ordering at the table. Critics find the skin slightly thicker than Din Tai Fung's and the overall result a notch below, and the beef roll not crisp enough with overpowering scallion; at peak times the wait can be thirty to forty minutes.

The Michelin guide lists it as open daily, about 11:00 to 14:30 for lunch and 16:30 to 21:00 for dinner with a break between, and cash only. You register for a table on a tablet at the door, are seated when called, and order by scanning a code at the table. The nearest MRT station is Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall; parking is limited, so use public transport.

It suits anyone wanting affordable xiaolongbao or a meal after visiting Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and it is a good way to introduce foreign friends to Jiangsu and Zhejiang dim sum. Two people can order a basket of signature xiaolongbao, a basket of shrimp or loofah soup dumplings and a spicy stinky tofu, then finish with the red bean pancake. Avoid noon and 18:00 to cut the wait.