Shanghai’s best xiaolongbao

Recommended: Jia Jia Tang Bao

Jia Jia Tang Bao has a strict "first come, first served" policy -- get there late, no xiaolongbao for you.

These soup dumplings are delicately folded by a team of all-female chefs before getting whisked to the steamers and, finally, served piping hot to tables of eager patrons.

Jia Jia, as it's lovingly called, is widely considered one of the best shops in town -- and in a city of people who love (and nitpick) xiaolongbao with a passion.

It's no surprise then that Jia Jia maintains an incredible 24 out of 30 for flavor on dianping.com.

On any given day, you'll see crowds of both foreigners and locals chowing down on baskets of the delicious crab roe xiaolongbao.

The locale on Huanghe Lu is still the best of this chain. Just make sure to get in early -- Jia Jia closes as soon as it runs out of xiaolongbao, sometimes by late afternoon.

Jia Jia Tang Bao, multiple locations, 90 Huanghe Lu, near Fengyang Lu 黄河路90号, 近凤阳路, +86 21 6327 6878, hours 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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Don't let the colors fool you, Simon's Test Kitchen is serious about xiaolongbao. For the best experience at Simon's though, stick to the basic white xiaolongbao -- they might not be colorful, but they make up for it in flavor.

Recommended: Simon Test Kitchen

As often happens in this industry, several chefs will leave one restaurant and bring their delicious trade secrets somewhere new. In this case, those several chefs left Din Tai Feng and are now folding xiaolongbao at Simon Test Kitchen.

Just like the originals, Simon's xiaolongbao are delectable, with ultra-thin skin enclosing brilliant orange crab roe and clean porky broth. You even get delicate copycat ginger slivers in high-quality black vinegar for dipping. Yet, Simon’s has one distinct advantage: its prices are less than half of Din Tai Fung's.

Simon Test Kitchen (小黑试验厨房), The Point Jing’an Building, 561 Anyuan Lu, near Jiaozhou Lu, 安远路561号静安门大厦1楼, 近胶州路, +86 21 3353 3977, hours: 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

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Recommended: Din Tai Fung

No xiaolongbao list would be complete without legendary locale Din Tai Fung.

Din Tai Fung is synonymous with xiaolongbao the world over and for good reason: its crab roe soup dumplings are divine.

You can watch the chefs making xiaolongbao in the open kitchen every day, each soup dumpling coming filled to its 18-folds crown with hot, porky broth. Our experts recommend the crab roe and pork dumplings, which come with a hearty filling of creamy roe and pork.

Now employ some deft chopstick kung fu to get these dumplings and their delectable fillings in your mouth and away from your shirt -- the skins are that thin and delicate.

Din Tai Fung, multiple locations, 2/F, Unit 11A South Block, Xintiandi, 123 Xingye Lu, near Huangpi Nan Lu 兴业路123弄新天地南里6号楼2楼11A单元, 近黄陂南路, +86 21 6385 8378, hours: Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5 p.m. to midnight, Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

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Recommended: De Xin Guan

Xiaolongbao for breakfast? De Xin Guan will make you a believer.

“The chef must be in love,” jokes Galan Canting magazine editor Rica Lou. “These xiaolongbao have gotten sweeter and better.”

At De Xin Guan, a well known noodle shop, they serve a traditional Shanghai xiaolongbao with a rich meat filling that is almost as well known as De Xin's pork trotter noodles and mini wontons in soup.

The regular pork xiaolongbao alongside a bowl of green onion-topped blood soup make for a cheap, tasty breakfast.

De Xin Guan, 471 Guangdong Lu, near Fujian Lu 广东路471号, 近福建路, +86 21 6352 2535, hours: 6:30 a.m to 9:30 p.m.

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Winner: Fu Chun

For true xiaolongbao like your Shanghainese grandma made (or at least the Shanghainese grandma you wanted to have), grab a steamer at Fu Chun.

“Fu Chun is the closest you can get nowadays to an authentic xiaolongbao,” explains food critic Shen Hongfei. “What most shops sell these days are not xiaolongbao, but Nanjing tangbao [Nanjing soup dumplings] marketed as xiaolongbao. These are the soup-filled dumplings with very thin skin, like the kind you find at Jia Jia Tang Bao or Din Tai Fung.”

Restaurant consultant and chef Anthony Zhao explains how to distinguish between real-deal xiaolongbao and the Nanjing tangbao import: “In a tangbao, the dumpling will sag between your chopsticks because of the soup. For a Shanghainese xiaolongbao, the filling should be like one big meatball with a bit of soup. The skin should be a bit thicker than tangbao, but not as thick as in shengjian [pan-fried dumpling].”

Now you know why Fu Chun is always full of locals -- they enjoy the authentic Shanghai xiaolongbao prepared just as they might remember it from childhood.

At the popular Fu Chun, the xiaolongbao are indeed meatier. The pork filling is lean, brightly savory and bouncier, tasting of rice wine and soy sauce. In comparison, Din Tai Fung and Jia Jia's soup dumplings have a much more delicate, fatty flavor.

But in the end, this dumpling battle is about whether your taste buds prefer meaty and savory or rich and soupy -- there's no right or wrong here, just delicious xiaolongbao.

For the authentic xiaolongbao, Fu Chun's pork incarnations are a steal at RMB 4 for six.

Fu Chun, 650 Yuyuan Lu, near Zhenning Lu 愚园路650号, 近镇宁路 +86 21 6252 5117, hours: 6:30 a.m. to midnight