We were really excited to eat at this place. We used to live in Hangzhou, just south of Shanghai, so we came to love shengjianbao. Every time we visited Shanghai, we went to the famous Yang's Fried Dumplings for them. When done right, they are hard to beat in the world of dumplings.
King of Sheng Jian looks like it is the real deal from the outside. Just in the doorway is the open kitchen for the shengjian (other items come from the back of the house) and it appeared to be authentic. We went in and ordered eight shengjianbao and four xiaolongbao. We both needed the bathroom before our meal, so we were directed towards the back and past the rear kitchen. The bathroom was dirty (a real indicator of a lack of care in general), but the kithcen was a horror story. The fllor was soaking wet, as in the middle of it was a bucket full of pork being defrosted with a hose. The water was overflowing from the bucket and pouring out all over the place. This worrying hygiene issue should have told us to get out, but we stayed on.
The shengjian came from the front and the xiaolong from the back. Upon dipping the shenglian into the black vinegar and biting in, a whole raft of disappointments sprung forth. The bao was made with totally the wrong king of dough. It was very bready and had none of the lightness we were expecting. The texture of the bao was chewy and it was super thick, rather than thin and light. The filling was lost in the middle and was a little pinker than we would have liked. Although cooked, it had an alarming colour. They had also fried it too long in too much oil, so that almost 50% of the bao was browned, rather than just a thin layer at the bottom. It also lacked any king of seasoning. The only flavour was the dipping vinegar and sesame seeds.
The xiaolong were no better. They tasted of nothing and had the same meat colouration at the shengjian.
Basically, avoid this place. We didn't get sick, but we could have done based on what we saw in the kitchen. We were disapponted and walked out feeling cheated of what should be a truly amazing bite to eat.
影片
