China travel food guide · Nº 004
Xiaolongbao (小笼包, xiǎo lóng bāo), also called soup dumplings, are small steamed dumplings: a thin, pleated wheat wrapper around minced pork and a spoonful of hot broth. A classic from Shanghai and the Jiangnan region around it (Jiangsu and Zhejiang), served in the bamboo basket they are steamed in, with black vinegar and ginger – for breakfast or as a snack. Not vegetarian, not spicy, no bones.
The dish card
Tap the red Chinese name, the vegetarian line, or Pork or Alcohol to show it full-screen to the staff.
Partly edited with AITick what you need right on the card, then tap the big first line to show it full-screen to the staff – that is also where you pick how many baskets.
The name says what it is: 小 (xiǎo) small, 笼 (lóng) steamer basket, 包 (bāo) bun – small buns from the basket. A thin wheat wrapper is pleated by hand, a dozen folds or more, around minced pork mixed with jelly made from simmered pork skin (肉皮冻, ròu pí dòng). In the steamer the jelly melts, so every dumpling holds a spoonful of hot broth. They come to the table in the bamboo basket they were steamed in, usually six to ten to a basket, with black vinegar and shredded ginger to dip.
It is a classic of Jiangnan (江南, jiāng nán), the region south of the lower Yangtze: Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, or 江浙沪 (jiāng zhè hù) for short. The usual story traces it to Nanxiang, a market town now in Shanghai’s Jiading district, in the 1870s. In Shanghai the menu often says 南翔小笼 after the town, or 小笼馒头 (xiǎo lóng mán tou) – in Shanghainese a filled bun is a 馒头 too. People eat them for breakfast or as a snack (点心, diǎn xin) at any time of day, in dumpling shops, teahouses and Shanghainese restaurants (本帮菜馆, běn bāng cài guǎn) all over China. Plain pork (鲜肉小笼, xiān ròu xiǎo lóng) is the classic; crab (蟹粉小笼) and shrimp (虾仁小笼, xiā rén xiǎo lóng) cost more and add shellfish – check the name if you are allergic.
It costs about ¥20–40 (US$3–6) in an ordinary restaurant in a big city (2026).
Savory and rich: the broth inside is a pork stock, a little sweet in the Jiangnan way, and the filling is soft and juicy. The wrapper is thin and a little chewy. Black vinegar with ginger cuts through the fat – most people in China would not eat them without it. Mild and warm; in Wuxi they are clearly sweeter.
Tastes like… Steamed pork dumplings from American Chinese takeout – but with hot broth sealed inside, a much thinner wrapper and a twisted knot on top. In Europe, think of broth-filled tortellini: a small pasta parcel with the soup inside instead of around it.
Xiaolongbao belong to Jiangnan: Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which people in China shorten to 江浙沪 (jiāng zhè hù). Nearly every city there steams its own – tap a place to see how they differ.
南翔 · Nanxiang, Shanghai
南翔小笼nán xiáng xiǎo lóng
Where the usual story says they began, in the 1870s: a market town in Shanghai’s Jiading district, today a stop on Metro Line 11. Small dumplings, a very thin wrapper, plain pork and plenty of broth – the style most shops copy. In the city centre, the dumpling houses in the Yu Garden bazaar sell the same style, with long queues.
Shanghai city guide →Local versions are general knowledge, not a restaurant test – recipes vary from shop to shop. Map: province borders as on our other China maps.
The soup inside is the point – and the trap: bite straight in and it bursts out, very hot. There is a saying for it in Jiangnan: 轻轻提，慢慢移，先开窗，后喝汤 (qīng qīng tí, màn màn yí, xiān kāi chuāng, hòu hē tāng) – lift gently, move slowly, open a window first, then drink the soup. Step through it here.
Take hold of the twisted knot on top – the wrapper is thickest there – and lift slowly. If it sticks to the paper, wiggle it loose rather than pull: a torn wrapper loses its soup.
轻轻提 qīng qīng tí – lift gently
Dip the bottom into black vinegar with ginger shreds – or skip this and put a few shreds on top once it is in the spoon. No vinegar on the table? Tick 要醋和姜丝 on the order card.
蘸醋 zhàn cù – dip in vinegar
Set it down in your porcelain soup spoon (汤勺, tāng sháo). Whatever runs out from now on stays in the spoon.
慢慢移 màn màn yí – move slowly
Careful: The broth inside is scalding. Nibble a small hole in the side and let the steam out for a few seconds before you go on.
先开窗 xiān kāi chuāng – open a window first
Suck the broth out through the hole, or let it run into the spoon and drink it from there.
后喝汤 hòu hē tāng – then drink the soup
Now eat the dumpling, in one bite or two, with a little vinegar and ginger. Then the next one – they firm up as they cool, so don’t wait too long.
一口吃掉 yì kǒu chī diào – eat it in one bite
Xiaolongbao contains wheat / gluten (from the wheat-flour wrapper, soy sauce and cooking wine) and soy (from the soy sauce). It also contains pork and alcohol in the typical recipe.
In the usual recipe
Not in this dish (typical recipe)
B shrimp / crab, C egg, D fish, E peanut, G milk, H tree nuts, L celery, M mustard, N sesame, O sulphites, P lupin, R molluscs
These are estimates from how the dish is usually made, not a restaurant’s declaration. Every kitchen and every sauce brand is different – always tell the staff about an allergy. Chinese kitchens often fry in peanut oil, and chilli oil may be made with it too; we don’t repeat that for each dish.
Not vegetarian: it is made with meat or seafood.
Not gluten-free: the wheat comes from the wheat-flour wrapper, and there is no version without it.
There is no pork-free version in the usual recipe: the filling is pork, and so is the broth – it comes from the pork-skin jelly. Crab xiaolongbao (蟹粉小笼) are pork and crab. Some halal (清真, qīng zhēn) restaurants make soup dumplings with beef; ask with 有不放猪肉的吗？ (yǒu bú fàng zhū ròu de ma?) – tap Pork on the dish card.
Some shops also make a meat-free filling (素馅, sù xiàn), usually greens with mushroom or tofu – without the broth, since that is pork. Many shops don’t. Ask with 有素馅的吗？ (yǒu sù xiàn de ma?); the line is on the order card and behind the vegetarian line of the dish card.
The filling is seasoned with Shaoxing-style cooking wine (料酒, liào jiǔ). Most of the alcohol cooks off in the steamer, but not all; if you avoid alcohol completely, tap Alcohol on the dish card to ask. The black vinegar for dipping, usually Zhenjiang vinegar (镇江香醋), is brewed with wheat bran – not gluten-free either.
Two cards that go with every dish in this guide. The first shows where allergens hide in Chinese cooking – tap an ingredient to ask about it in Chinese. The second is a Chinese allergy card for the staff: tick your allergens right on the card and it turns into one sentence, full-screen.
Tap an ingredient to ask the staff about it in Chinese.
Tick your allergens on the card, then tap the big first line to show them full-screen to the staff. A question or the red line opens full-screen too.
General ingredient guidance, not a restaurant’s allergen declaration. Recipes vary by region, kitchen and chef – always tell the staff about an allergy.
No. The filling is minced pork, and the broth inside comes from pork-skin jelly that melts in the steamer. Some shops have a meat-free filling (素馅, sù xiàn) with greens, mushroom or tofu – without the broth – but many don’t. Ask with 有素馅的吗？ (yǒu sù xiàn de ma?); the line is on the order card above.
No. The wrapper is wheat dough, and the filling is seasoned with soy sauce and cooking wine, which usually contain wheat as well. The black vinegar for dipping is brewed with wheat bran too. There is no gluten-free version in an ordinary shop.
No. Nothing hot goes in – the taste is savory and a little sweet. Some tables have chili oil to add to the vinegar if you want heat.
Don’t bite straight in: the broth inside is scalding. Lift it by the knot, put it in your spoon, bite a small hole in the side, let the steam out, sip the soup, then eat the rest with vinegar and ginger. The steps are drawn one by one under “How to eat xiaolongbao” above.
Soup dumplings is just the English name for xiaolongbao. 生煎包 (shēng jiān bāo) are Shanghai’s other famous ones: risen dough, pan-fried with a crisp golden base and sesame and scallion on top – also full of soup, and also pork. 饺子 (jiǎo zi), crescent-shaped dumplings mostly from northern China, are boiled, steamed or pan-fried and have no soup inside. 蟹粉小笼 (xiè fěn xiǎo lóng) are xiaolongbao with crab – crustacean.
Usually six to ten, depending on the shop – tick 一笼几个？ (yì lóng jǐ gè?) on the order card to ask. One basket is a snack for one person, or a side for two with other dishes. In the full-screen order card you can pick one, two or three baskets (一笼, 两笼, 三笼).
About ¥20–40 (US$3–6) a basket in an ordinary restaurant in a big city (2026). Famous old shops in tourist areas charge more, and crab xiaolongbao cost about twice as much.
小笼包, in pinyin xiǎo lóng bāo (typed without tones: xiao long bao) – the English xiaolongbao and XLB come from it. In Shanghai the menu may also say 小笼, 小笼馒头 (xiǎo lóng mán tou) or 南翔小笼 (nán xiáng xiǎo lóng), after the town it comes from. In English: soup dumplings. To order, show the staff the order card above, or tap the red Chinese name on the dish card.
Ordering in a restaurant, by QR code or in a canteen? Our restaurant walkthrough, the QR-code ordering walkthrough and the canteen walkthrough show each step.
The cards are our own. The dish photo on cards 1 and 2 is partly edited with AI; the other photos on this page are our own, unedited. Prices come from our dish library and are typical for an ordinary restaurant in a big city; dollar prices are rounded. Allergens are estimated from the usual recipe, checked against the 14 EU allergen groups and the 9 major US food allergens. Menu names, similar dishes and phrases are general knowledge – recipes vary by region, kitchen and chef.
