Shanghai Dimsum House (白玉蘭麵家), Tasty Xiao Long Bao
Pick up the Xiao Long Bao from the fold with a chopstick. It’s the most sturdy part of the skin, so it’s less likely to break. The rest of the skin is quite uniform and did not break when I lift it. Pay attention to the skin that’s touching the edge of the steamer, or another Xiao Long Bao. Be careful when separating them. No sudden movements
Shanghai Dimsum House is located on the 2nd floor of Crystal Mall, Burnaby. They have changed their English name throughout the years. They won the Chinese Restaurant Award silver award in 2010 as Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine. Then sold the restaurant with the name changed to Xu’s Wonton House. Recently, it is changed to it’s current name, Shanghai Dimsum House. Please note, this 白玉蘭麵家 is different from the one in Richmond, which is called Chen’s Shanghai Restaurant.
Xiao Long Bao is a specific type of pork buns with very thin skin to exaggerate the meat stuffing inside. There are usually a lot of soup inside. It’s considered Shanghai cuisine. A good Xiao Long Bao should be delicate with exactly 18 folds and a very thin skin that doesn’t break easily to hold the soup inside.
Xiao Long Bao is larger than normal
For $5.95, an order comes with 5 Xiao Long Bao. These Xiao Long Bao are larger than the authentic ones. This is from a food court, so I understand they probably would not have stayed in business so long if they gave customers smaller Xiao Long Bao.
Xiao Long Bao eating instructions
Pick up the Xiao Long Bao from the fold with a chopstick. It’s the most sturdy part of the skin, so it’s less likely to break. The rest of the skin is quite uniform and did not break when I lift it. Pay attention to the skin that’s touching the edge of the steamer, or another Xiao Long Bao. Be careful when separating them. No sudden movements. If you break the skin, you’ll be losing a lot of delicious soup.
Be Careful don’t burn yourself
Be careful when eating the first couple Xiao Long Bao. There are lots of soup inside. They are extremely hot. I burned myself on the inside of my right cheek, then bit myself on the inside of my left cheek for eating too quickly writing this review. The best way is to bite a hole to let the soup cool down before you eat it.
Fun to eat Xiao Long Bao
There are so many ways to eat Xiao Long Bao. You can pour the soup into a spoon. Drink the soup, and then eat the bun. Or, you can bite a hole on the Xiao Long Bao to suck out all the soup first. I like to throw the entire Xiao Long Bao in my mouth. I bike into it and let it burst.
604 Food Critic Assessment
The Xiao Long Bao from Shanghai Dimsum House is very tasty. $5.95 for 5 Xiao Long Bao seems like a fair rate for these. They have good skill and all the Xiao Long Bao looks consistent. I’ve come here multiple times, and the taste doesn’t change much from each visit. We have no problem recommending this place to anyone looking for a quick Xiao Long Bao outside restaurant environment.
How to get in touch
Phone: (604) 909-6688
Address: 4500 Kingsway, Burnaby
