For future reference...

Shanghai: Dumpling Debate: "

Responding to a recent post about the Nan Xiang dumpling house in Shanghai, travel writer Matt Gross had this to say:

The thing about Nan Xiang is that each of the three or so dining rooms has its own kitchen, with its own recipe, so the quality of your dumplings depends on where you sit. The best, supposedly, are in the top-floor, lefthand rear dining room; I had them and they were goddamn yummy -- but still not transcendent. As I wrote in my own Shanghai piece, the dumplings at Nanjing Xiao Long Bao on Taikang Lu are better. Most important, however, is the takeout line: It’s awful. Just unimaginably bad. We’re talking heavy, flavorless balls of dough here. That hundreds of people (including me, once) wait for up to an hour for these worthless wads is a culinary tragedy. Yeesh.

Seems that reserving a spot is the way to go, and be sure to ask for the recommended dining room. And visit the other joint for comparison. If you have your own dumpling recommendations, send 'em in to tips@gridskipper.com.

The Ten-Point Escape Plan: Shanghai [New York]

Previously: Soup Dumpling Nirvana, Bun-Squirting Goodness, La Villa Rouge, Jean-Georges Shanghai, Chinese Greek

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(Via Gridskipper.)