I am a dumpling addict.  It all started with xiao long bao (小笼包) – abbreviated to XLB – which I had at Din Tai Fung in Shanghai’s Xintiandi. XLB are pork dumplings that have a delicious rich broth inside. You eat them by dipping them in black vinegar & ginger, taking a small bite of the dumpling skin to let the steam out, sucking the soup from the dumpling, and popping it into your mouth.  I think these rank up there as the perfect bite of food conceived by man.

A year ago, I found a new dumpling obsession.  My friend introduced me to Shengjianbao (生煎包). These crispy-bottomed dumplings are filled with pork and broth, pan-fried, and garnished with sesame seeds and chopped green onions.  Amazing!

During my most recent trip to Hong Kong about a month ago, I discovered Lau sha bao (流沙包), salted egg custard buns.  It is sweet and a bit salty, but that yellow filling just oozes out and there’s nothing to say except, “OH MY GOD!”  My sister was in Hong Kong during the same time, and when I put one on her plate, she refused it.  I asked her to take one bite, and the smile on her face said it all.  The next morning at breakfast, she told me that she was dreaming about the bao.

I can’t wait to find the next bite of deliciousness.