XLB - Xiao Long Bao

 

3319 Balboa Street

        (between 34th Ave & 35th Ave)  

  San Francisco, CA 94121

 I love Shanghai Dumpling shops (Xiao Long Bao) and always want to find the best of the best! This review will compare two shops in San Francisco: Shanghai Dumpling King (Balboa) and Kingdom of Dumpling (Taraval). I have been to Joe's of Shanghai (NY) and Shanghai Dumpling Shop (Millbrae), but I'm only focusing on the shops in San Francisco.

Review: When I go to a dumpling shop, I can usually gauge how satisfying my meal will be by the number of people in line. Whenever I've stopped by this Balboa eatery, I've always had to wait about 10-15 min. for a table. A few stellar reviews from newspapers/magazines have been clipped out and posted on the wall for hungry patrons to see. It's safe to say that you need to order the Shanghai dumplings, Lion's head meatballs, green onion pancake and their famous flash-fried doughnuts with powdered sugar on top for dessert. Here's what I ordered the last time I visited: hot & sour soup (since my nasal passages were plugged), 2 orders of XLB's, green onion pancake and the doughnuts with powdered sugar.

  

Ratings: 

Xiao Long Bao- 4/5. When I order XLB's, I expect to have them piping hot with just enough soup inside, perfectly seasoned pork and thin skins. I've had them here when they were perfect with the above criteria and this time, they weren't piping hot and the skins were falliHot & Sour Soup- 4/5 . Not the best hot& sour soup I've ever tasted because I feel like it lacked a certain spice of something. However, it still did the trick and within a few minutes, I was able to smell all the disheng apart in the bamboo basket. Don't get me wrong, they are super delicious and were gobbled up instantly.

Green Onion Pancake- 4/5. The green onion pancake here isn't the most impressive dish here, but sure does the trick. I know that many restaurants have version of making all of their dishes, but it's my own preference to have the pancake doughy inside and crispy on the outside (but not like it was deep friend, just pan fried). The texture of this pancake was pretty much just crispy..a little too crispy for my liking. I did appreciate the taste of green onion and the scent of it as well.

Dessert Doughnut w/powdered sugar - 5/5. To be honest, I'm not a dessert fan, but these little balls of flaky/doughy/powdery delight, can be really satisfying after a salty meal. I shared these with a friend and devoured them in just a few minutes. They are nice and light and you don't feel 5 lbs. heavier after. What's nice is that you can catch servers showcasing them on their platters while you are finishing up the last few bites of your XLB's. 

All in all, I'd have to rate my experience a 4/5 and have continuously visited for my XLB fix.