chaswagon Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Greetings; log time lurker, but I only spend two months a year near DC...I just had a long engagement in LA end and I am craving Din Tai Fung big time. Due to time constraints, I'll be confined to the greater Northern Virginia region for the next few days. Any recs for a decent dumpling in the area? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Due to time constraints, I'll be confined to the greater Northern Virgina (sic) region for the next few days. Any recs for a decent dumpling in the area? Thanks in advance. Most of the decent dumplings can be found in Maryland, so if you have a car, it's worth a trek. The local Chinese newspaper thought Shanghai Cafe (all DR links) in Potomac, MD had the best xiao long bao, but Eric, the above-poster thought otherwise. I've not been there, so I don't know.For dumplings other than xiao long bao, people go to China Bistro in Rockville.If you need to stick to Northern Virginia, you will find mostly Cantonese style cooking. For that, XO Taste is probably the place to go. If you want to have some semblance of Northern Chinese cooking in the NoVA area, then A&J on Markham Road in Annandale will satisfy that craving, ORYou can have a weekend xiao long bao (average, meh) fixing at Oriental Gourmet in the Lee-Harrison shopping center in Arlington, VA. But the you tiao and xlb are only served on Saturday and Sundays.Btw, thank you for making your first post, chaswagon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Burma Road, a Burmese and Chinese joint in Gaithersburg, also has very good XLB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 For buying and cooking Xiao Long Bao, go to this thread in the Shopping and Cooking forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 How did it go, chaswagon? Updates on your adventure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 So, the latest rumor is that China Kingdom (東興樓), this non-descript place in the Old Dominion Shopping Center in Mclean (near Amoo Kabob) has really good XLB. Apparently they acquired a new chef--now it is Shanghainese and Cantonese cooking (don't know what it is before as I have never been). They have been advertising ALOT in the Washington Chinese Newspaper. There is now a secret Chinese menu to ask for too. Anyone want to go soon? Wednesday night impromptu trip? Otherwise, I guess this weekend?? (I think they have XLB every night.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMatt Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I couldn't do a Wednesday trip, but a weekend one, yes. But, if there is a Wednesday trip, I request pictures and descriptions so that I might live vicariously! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 For buying and cooking Xiao Long Bao, go to this thread in the Shopping and Cooking forum. Just one person's view and I know others will disagree. But I think some things simply shouldn't be attempted at home. Not just because they're very difficult to replicate but for a host of reasons culinary, cultural and social. XLB, in my most humble of opinions, is one of those things. So, the latest rumor is that China Kingdom (東興樓), this non-descript place in the Old Dominion Shopping Center in Mclean (near Amoo Kabob) has really good XLB. Apparently they acquired a new chef--now it is Shanghainese and Cantonese cooking (don't know what it is before as I have never been). They have been advertising ALOT in the Washington Chinese Newspaper. There is now a secret Chinese menu to ask for too. Anyone want to go soon? Wednesday night impromptu trip? Otherwise, I guess this weekend?? (I think they have XLB every night.) Hey! Someone has to close the loop on the above! It's been two years? Did the $35 Wednesday happen? Did goodeats or thematt check it out? Is it real deal XLB? Is it even still open? Was it a mirage? These questions and more deserve answers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdt Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Just one person's view and I know others will disagree. But I think some things simply shouldn't be attempted at home. Not just because they're very difficult to replicate but for a host of reasons culinary, cultural and social. XLB, in my most humble of opinions, is one of those Honestly, you really think there are cultural and social issues to cooking certain things at home and that those items should be ordered out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Honestly, you really think there are cultural and social issues to cooking certain things at home and that those items should be ordered out? Nope. Didn't mean it quite that literally. Intended to be half humorous as when anyone expresses a strong opinion. Since opinion and not fact, of course others will disagree. That's okay. Very good even. I like to cook and always game to try cooking new things. But for me, just me, I do stay away from a small number of things as much about personal preference as anything. So, XLB, I have a ton of appreciation for the back alley shop in Shanghai where I had the best XLB I've ever had. Watching those dumpling makers do what they do and then truly reveling in what they produced, just drove me to always seek out xlb that might be decent (like Shanghai Taste in Rockville) but never to attempt making it at home. So, yeah, cultural and social are part of it along with the technical but in no way would I judge or scorn someone else who does try to make soup dumplings at home, whether or not successful. A better example might be sushi. I never do that at home either. Maybe I should. I love it. It's just that I really prefer to get sushi in spots where Japanese masters do what I'd never be able to do. The best example of this, which will really illustrate it as a personal inclination that may put me into a minority of one, is coffee. I very, very rarely make coffee at home. I don't have a caffeine issue. Can drink 6 cups late at night and it won't interfere with sleep. By the same token, it's not a morning ritual or need. But I do love great coffee (as a few regulars here may have noticed ). To me, it's both a drink and an experience. Love the great coffee shop, with great aromas, staffed by capable people using fantastic and varied beans. It's an out thing. Not an at-home thing. But I fully realize I may be the only person on the planet who feels that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Deb Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Darkstar and I were just talking about that the other night at Shanghai Taste. My examples of things I don't make at home also include charcuterie, puff pastry and bagels. I love eating these things and know how to make them. However, if a shop makes it more efficiently (and maybe better) than I do, I am willing to go and buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 DC Deb's spot on with one part of this as I think about it. Convenience or technical. In other words, easier to get certain things out to be sure. Bigger point is the second half of DCDeb's post, they may do it better. That figures prominently in it for me both technically and beyond. The technical would be about having the right kind of commercial roaster (for coffee) or the sushi knives and fish used by Jiro, etc. The beyond, though, is the part tougher to articulate. It's about deep respect for certain arts and the people who've spent their lives becoming true masters. The best sushi chefs in Japan are that. Likewise the dumpling makers in my back-alley XLB shop in Shanghai. Increasingly, I'm also finding that most spots that roast their own coffee actually don't do it that well. By not trying to replicate what the best do in just a few categories of special dishes, it's a way to honor how amazing their talent, experience and dedication truly are. Noone else would or should care what I or anyone chooses to attempt cooking at home, of course. Maybe it's kind of like being at a baseball game. Some of us put hands to heart for the national anthem. Many don't. Personal but thoughtful rituals with meanings far from obvious or even known to others around. Silly perhaps. Apologies to the mods, btw. This exchange is well off topic and higher/broader than the XLB topic. Not sure whether it should be separated to a new thread. And, even if it was, not sure what it would even be titled. So maybe it stays here and fades as more pragmatic xlb posts relegate it to previous pages of the topic. Only the mods can say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I can't keep track of what's opened recently and serves what. I know Shanghai Taste does xlb, A&J type of food What do East Dumpling, Nan Xiang serve? Is Bob of Noodle 66 opening a XLB restaurant, what's it called? Are there other xlb or dumpling joints that just opened or are opening soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 You are correct on Shanghai Taste. Other than their XLB, which were quite good, the comparable dishes were all better at A&J, based on my visit. East Dumpling is more the style of China Bistro (Mama's Dumplings), but not as good (at least on my first visit). Bob already opened his XLB joint - that's Nan Xiang. Also one visit, also good not great. All of these places are very new, so I'm giving them time before I visit again and have a better verdict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty L. Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 I had excellent xlb at Nan Xiang recently, FWIW. East Dumpling is serving a much doughier, heartier kind of dumpling, no soup inside. It's Manchurian cuisine, from Harbin, up near Siberia. I thought the dumplings were fine but nothing special. The real action is in the tofu dishes there -- the tofu is homemade and (based on a single visit) delicious. Others also rave about the kebabs. You are correct on Shanghai Taste. Other than their XLB, which were quite good, the comparable dishes were all better at A&J, based on my visit. East Dumpling is more the style of China Bistro (Mama's Dumplings), but not as good (at least on my first visit). Bob already opened his XLB joint - that's Nan Xiang. Also one visit, also good not great. All of these places are very new, so I'm giving them time before I visit again and have a better verdict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 East Dumpling serves jiao-zi, not xlb. There's a post somewhere that differentiates the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Any new thoughts on the best place to go for soup dumplings? My Mom really wants some outside of NYC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielK Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Bob's Shanghai, in the old Bob's 66 space, is doing great XLB right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockcreek Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Bob's Shanghai, in the old Bob's 66 space, is doing great XLB right now. Should have gone there today. An unnamed restaurant on Shady Grove Rd. in Gaithersburg used to be good, but now has fallen into disrepute. (Mostly, the food sux.) But: the boys like their "Kung Fu Panda dumplings", so at least there's hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Take this for what it's worth, but based on the admittedly statistically insignificant sample size of one, I'd say Reren Lamen in Chinatown is in serious contention for best XLB* in the area. I'll be going back to try more. *on the menu, "Shanghai Steamed Soup Bun". So maybe it's not authentically XLB. Maybe it is. I don't care, it was great - good wrapper, small enough to eat all at once, rich, piping hot broth, good porky filling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emberlivi Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Although I haven't been in a while since I no longer work in Gaithersburg, I really enjoyed JDS Shanghai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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