We had to make a trip to Los Angeles this past weekend, and I just had to have some Xiao Long Bao(soup dumplings). Don't ask me why. I just had to have it. So we headed out to good old Valley Boulevard and Mei Long Village.
Mei Long Village is a Shanghainese Restaurant located on the boulevard of a thousand Chinese Restaurants(Valley Boulevard), and has survived. That says alot, since many restaurants, such as the next door "Homestyle Restaurant", serving Shenyang style cuisine is no longer there. We arrived at 2pm on this Saturday afternoon, and Mei Long Village was filled to the brim.
Not in the mood for for major entrees(like Pork Pump, or 3 Cup Chicken) we decided on some cold appetizers and Xiao Long Bao. We started off with the classic Smoked Fish($6.50):
This non-smoked, but marinated, than deep fried dish was really bad. Well, unless you consider a sweet aspic and mud flavored appetizer being good. Really very bad, I've had five versions of this dish, and this was the worst I've ever had.
The Wine Chicken($6.50):
Again a disappointment. A perfectly steamed/boiled chicken, with a flavorless, watery sauce poured over it. From what I know, true Wined Chicken should be have a slight cured flavor and texture. this was none of the above.
The Missus ordered the Radish Pan Cake($4.95):
These little flaky pastries contained moist strips of radish along with pieces of ham, which I enjoyed. The Missus thought they were too moist, and just ok.
Finally, the Crab and Pork Xiao Long Bao arrived ($5.95):
I thought these were really good, just the size of a soup spoon, with a wrapper just translucent enough to view the broth. Very nice!
The Xiao Long Bao(Shanghai Steamed Dumplings - $4.95):
For me, these were excellent. Let me explain. The wrapper was thin/thick enough to view the "soup", and yet retained the chewy, "al dente" texture that dumpling wrappers should have. In addition, the tops of the wrappers where the dumpling wrapper is turned upon itself is still tender, and not hard. The soup to meat ratio was also very good, with a very nice sweet-porky flavor. The Missus thought the XLB soup was too sweet for Her, but I enjoyed these XLB, with wrappers just right, thin enough to see the soup, and thick enough to stand up to the cooking process. And better yet, thick enough to be a part of dumpling, it's just not filling you are eating!
In the end, the Missus said She doesn't think she'll be back. So that means I'll have to sneak away for my Xiao Long Bao when I'm in LA.....
Mei Long Village
301 West Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Sun-Thurs 11am-930pm
Fri-Sat 1130am-10pm
Hi Captain Jack - You can try the XLB at Shanghai City and Dumpling Inn. Personally, I enjoy the XLB at Shanghai City more.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 13 July 2006 at 09:12 PM
alright I need find where they som those damng dumpling in OC... I swear you have a fetish for them. ;-)
Posted by: nhbilly | Friday, 14 July 2006 at 10:03 AM
Hi nhbilly - Fetish....fetish! We won't go into the visual that the phrase XLB-fetish places in my mind. Let's just call it an XLB obsession perhaps?
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 14 July 2006 at 10:04 PM
hi kirk,
those dumplings look so good! i still haven't tried one of those. :( but san gabriel is close enough to me and also those dumplings are crazy cheap. i'm adding it to my to-do list!
Posted by: yoony | Monday, 17 July 2006 at 09:50 PM
Hi Yoony - You know, I'd really like you to try them. And with your cooking skill, see what you come up with, thinking about soup dumplings....I'm sure they'd be awesome.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 July 2006 at 09:52 PM