Tuesday, September 25, 2012

小籠包 (xiao long bao)

小籠包 (xiao long bao) from 鼎泰豐 (Din Tai Fung), a Taiwanese restaurant famous for xiaolongbaos which has now branched out internationally. These pictures are from the SOGO location in Tienmu, Taipei, Taiwan.

Xiaolongbaos, sometimes called soup dumplings though they're not actually dumplings), are small thin-skinned buns filled with pork and soup. Other meat fillings are usually available too. The name xiaolongbao literally means little basket buns, and comes from the bamboo basket that the buns are used for steaming the buns.

The xiaolongbaos are eaten with ginger dipped in vinegar and soy sauce. The xiaolongbaos are placed in a soup spoon with the ginger and then eaten.

Chef's making xiaolongbaos in the kitchen

Shrimp filled xiaolongbaos

Other dishes served at Din Tai Fung. The xiaolongbaos are traditionally just a snack, so they're not enough to fill you up for a whole meal. That's where these additional dishes come in.

Even more dishes... I don't remember what these are called...


Dessert xiaolongbaos filled with sweet red bean paste