Review: At OG Dumpling House, stellar noodle bowls and dumplings

But xiao long bao, soup dumplings, did not meet my finicky standards

Dan dan noodles with pork at OG Dumpling House.

Before encountering my first xiao long bao, I was already an eager student of the Chinese dumpling arts. A glimpse of its brilliant galaxy of bite-sized wonders led to researching my own star charts during mornings at Manhattan Chinatown dim sum parlors that drifted into afternoons.

Then a supernova, in a restaurant called Joe’s Shanghai.

A lifted lid released a puff of steam, revealing the plumpest dumplings yet. Not just juicy but jiggling, barely constrained by translucent pasta. 

An acolyte demonstrated the ritual. Reverently lift the dumpling by its swirled topknot with chopsticks and place it in a ceramic soup spoon. Nibble the topknot off - carefully, because the insides are magma hot. Allow to cool for a few moments. Sip a little broth. Accent with slivered fresh ginger in black vinegar, if desired. Consume.

Handle xiao long bao roughly, and its prized double-strength broth drains instantly, deflated to a meatball-in-pasta consolation prize. Eat xiao long bao too eagerly, and its scalding will teach you patience.

Danger plus deliciousness make xiao long bao hard to forget. Their delicate nature makes it even harder to find outside major metropolises. A local Chinese restaurateur explained the problem: Xiao long bao masters draw such high salaries that you’d have to build a whole restaurant around them.