Elusive Xiaolongbao (小笼包) Sighted in Georgetown!

By complete coincidence, some friends and I recently stumbled upon a cozy little shop called Shanghai Lounge in Northwestern Washington, D.C.  It is a joint apparently run by a few 20-30 year old Chinese folks and serves quite a few decently prepared foods you certainly would not find at a takeout place.  Although the shop by appearances was hardly screaming Chinese authenticity, foods like cold seaweed salad and properly stir-fried spicy lamb and veggies dotted the menu.  But what truly lit up their repertoire was the single item for which Shanghai is likely best known: Xiaolongbao (小笼包).

In English, it is called anything between Shanghai steamed buns, Shanghai soup buns, and Shanghai dumplings.  Unfortunately, no truly adequate translations exist for this food, but mention any combination of "Shanghai," "bun," and "dumpling" to a foodie familiar with Southern Chinese foods and they will likely rejoice with vivid memories of mouth-watering flavor exploding on bite.

Seemingly smaller analogs of the more ubiquitous Chinese steamed buns, these little guys appear rather unpretentious.  However, just as you would never judge a book by its cover, you would not want to underestimate the xiaolongbao.  They are essentially a pork patty swimming in a hot fatty broth of complex flavors barely sealed inside a thin layer of flour wrapping smaller in circumference than a clementine.  Because of their size, it is tempting to pop them into your mouth like an American happy hour appetizer.  But this would be a painful two-fold mistake.  Taking a Shanghai steamed bun in one bite would cause the hot soup within to scald your tongue even as it delivers ultimate pleasure to your taste buds.  The steamed bun would leave you in pain yet strangely wanting more like a budding masochist only just coming to terms with new-found desires.  The second part of the two-fold mistake would then be complete when you decide that the first time was worth it and you do it again.

A less painful way to eat these steamed buns is to bite a hole in one side and allow the soup to cool.  Then it is typical to suck out the soup and dip the solid portion of the bun in black vinegar (to taste) before chowing down.  I like to approach it a little differently, however.  Instead of consuming the soup separately, I enjoy eating the entire morsel after the soup has cooled, sometimes dipping the bun in a little black vinegar or dolloping a little vinegar into the bun before partaking.

So how does Shanghai Lounge measure up?  Given that I never expected to find this style of Chinese food outside of China, Los Angeles, or New York City, this was a pleasant surprise.  With respect to flavor, it tasted great although I could not compare this to xiaolongbao I had in Shanghai three years ago because it has been too long.  I will say that it was an excellent sign for the food at Shanghai Lounge that four additional customers who preferred to speak fluent Chinese were seated as I dined.