Rating: 4/5

Craving for some xiao long bao but don’t really want to spend money to eat at a restaurant? Well, the solution is to go find a hawker stall that makes xiao long bao and buy a basket or two to satisfy the craving.

Now, how do you tell a good xiao long bao? According to the lady boss of You Peng Fresh Mian Jiao Zi Guan, firstly, you should look at the number of folds in the dumpling. Typically, it should have at least 18 folds, but she makes sure that each of her xiao long bao has more than 20. When the dish is served steaming hot, you should be able to see the liquid through the skin. This tells you the skin is thin enough. Next, you should be able to pick it up with your chopsticks such that it doesn't break. There should also be enough soup in the xiao long bao to fill approximately half a tablespoon. Finally, when you eat the dumpling, the meat filling must not be mushy but have a certain amount of bounce in it and of course, it must taste good. At You Peng, I found the soup in the dumpling to be just right. For that to happen, it has to be made separately and chilled until it turns to jelly and then added back into the meat filling.

The only minor fault I found with this xiao long bao was the skin at the tip of the dumpling, which tasted slightly ‘floury’.

The guo tie here was surprisingly good. In fact, I was even more impressed with the guo tie than I was with the xiao long bao. It was easily the best guo tie I have tried, although I must qualify that I have not really been on a guo tie hunt. But based on taste alone, the skin had just the right amount of chew with a very nice sweetness at the end, the meat filling was fragrant, the texture great and there was a fair amount of soup inside which made it very juicy.

Guo tie

If you want something sweet to end the meal, I would recommend the red bean pancake. To be honest, I have never tasted a red bean pancake I didn't like. But I have tried the ones at the usual Shanghainese cuisine restaurants like Crystal Jade or Imperial Treasure and this one was just as good.

You Peng Fresh Mian Jiao Zi Guan

114, Upper Bukit Timah

#04-23 Beauty World Centre

Tel: 64635608/ 92391598 (Ms Chia)

Opening hours: 10.30am-9pm