Neatly packed, thin dough, soupy, umami sweet and not to greasy. Exactly how I want my xiao long bao to be. Served with ubiquitous chin kiang black vinegar and sliver of gingers. They really burst with sweetness, tang from vinegar, hint of heat from the ginger and all porky pleasure possible. I enjoyed every bite of these precious.
This little package of treasure can be found in a shabby, dirty, old, unscheinbar restaurant in Eiffestrasse. The owner and chef is a real Shanghainese and according to the rumour he used to be a chef in the mao's palace. You know mao? The most loved dictator of China. Whether the rumour is real or not. The XLB is really good as good as the one from Din Tai Fung and surely the best one I've eaten in Hamburg, maybe even in north Germany. Do tell me if there are better XLB in town!?
I was there with a Shanghainese friend, Lei lei, who ordered 2 baskets of XLB for each of us, means 8 XLB per person. And 1 bowl of Shanghainese Won Ton again per person. Talking about pork overload here. The reason is she told me, these are the two best Shanghainese dishes. The rest are also tasty but we want to concentrate on the good stuff, so we only order a plate of green veggie to balance the meal.
The won ton is filled with pork and chinese celery. Although the won ton is good but it's surely shadowed by the more wow XLB.
Old Shanghai only serves Chinese Breakfast on Sundays starting from 11o'clock. Lei lei, the Shanghainese friends said, better to preorder the XLB since it's freshly made in the morning and the chef only made them in small batches.
Shanghai Haus
Eiffestrasse 125
20537 Hamburg
Sounds and looks very good. Wonderful presentations.
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