BURSTING WITH FLAVOR (Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao)

I have a friend who calls bao “soupy dumplings.” I find that endearing – very child-like and fun. Which makes sense, because bao are just that. They’re an adventure to eat and require more interaction and risk than most dishes we encounter on a day to day basis.

Most American adults drop that cutesy “y” in everyday speak (my brother is now Scott and no longer Scotty). So like the mature adult I am, I  call these “soup dumplings”. And that’s just what they are: usually a pork or crab mixture swimming in a broth and the entire thing carefully wrapped in a pasta skin. So in order to eat one you have to be careful to release the soup without burning yourself or squirting it across the room. And then, at the right moment, you should pop the whole thing in your mouth. It’s a skill requiring practice, much like using chopsticks for the first time (or the fifth time, as it would be for the slow learner like me).

Nan Xiang Dumpling House (although many places on the web call them Nan Shian) in Flushing is one of the most respected establishments in the city to get these playful poppers. And I’m going to prematurely call them one of the best.

I had read horror stories regarding the long lines at this Shanghainese/Taiwanese establishment. But we must have picked a good time (Tuesday evening around 7) because while the place was pretty full, we didn’t have to wait at all for a table. The brusk hostess tried to seat us in the back room (which was recently added in an expansion). I stopped her and asked if we could camp closer to the little kitchen where I could watch (and snap photos of) the ladies making and cooking the dumplings. She was more than happy to give us the front row seats.

The menu took us a little while to decipher but I had no doubt we wanted the soup dumplings. We immediately put an order in for the Hai Fun Xiao Lun Bao, which are the pork and crab soup dumplings. The other dishes took a little while to pick and in retrospect we should have just ordered more dumplings.

We had the scallion pancake (which was strangely listed under breakfast items) and the fried udon noodles. Both were rather unimpressive. The pancake was greasy and lacked an abundance of green onions. The udon noodles made up in oil for what it lacked in flavor. It was the mediocre sweet brown noodles you’d expect at your local generic Chinese-American take out.

So with all these disappointments. the success of the dumplings seemed doubtful. Well, it turns out that this place’s namesake dish is the only reason worth coming here. And it’s a great reason.

The wrapper is a little thicker than most but it’s not too hard to puncture the skin and allow the hot soup juices to flow into the spoon. The soon-exposed exterior is bursting with flavor – literally. The broth itself is yummy: rich with an eggy meaty flavor. The rest of the filling works so well immersed in that flavorful soup. The crab mellows the funkiness of the pork and the pork balances the sweetness of the crab. Neither flavor overwhelms but they work together in harmony to form a happy little package.

The dumplings were so good and the rest of the food was so mediocre that we decided to order a second round of the dumplings. We chose the pork on its own this time. And I was surprised to find that these were lighter. I think the crab, while giving it a nice clean flavor, added some richness. Although the pork dumplings were just as fresh and delicious, I preferred the combination of the crab and pork. And since I’m a very mature adult, I’m going to refrain from calling them porky and crabby. Oops.

Does Nan Xiang have the best dumplings in NY? The rest of their food was underwhelming, but their xiao long bao (soup dumplings) get a 9 out of 10 because they are the best I’ve had so far and make for a great meal or snack.