When searching for xiaolongbao in Taipei, one of the top results after Din Tai Fung is Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao (杭州小籠湯包), located near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. At first, I thought the restaurant might have its roots in Hangzhou. However, I later realized that the name comes from the nearby “Hangzhou South Road.” (I only noticed this when I got closer to the restaurant)
The restaurant was recently renovated. This is the entrance for dine-in customers, while the left side is for take away. It’s a very popular spot, but since I visited after 3 PM, it wasn’t too crowded. That said, about half the seats were still occupied. Apparently, during lunchtime, the street outside overflows with waiting customers.
Here’s the order sheet. Some people mention that the prices seem to go up every time they visit. In fact, the prices were slightly higher than what I had researched beforehand. It might be wise to estimate an additional 30 TWD per item to be safe.
The order sheet is in Chinese, but there are menus with pictures and translations in Japanese and English to help you fill it out.
Plates, chopsticks, soup spoons, dipping sauce, ginger, and more are all self-serve from this station. If you’ve selected side dishes on your order sheet, you can pick them yourself from the fridge. There’s also a separate fridge for drinks on the left.
Xiaolongbao is the restaurant’s signature dish, located at the top left of the order sheet. You can see just how thin the dumpling wrappers are from the photo. The inside is filled with flavorful soup, and the meat is incredibly juicy.
Crab roe tangbao. These dumplings are filled with crab roe. You can see the vibrant yellow crab roe in the photo. It’s generously packed inside. Compared to the Xiaolong Tangbao, the filling is more prone to spilling out.
This hot and sour soup isn’t too spicy but has a good balance of tanginess and black pepper. The aroma of the cilantro garnish is irresistible.
The soup contains plenty of coagulated blood (likely duck blood). When I first tried this, I didn’t enjoy it, but this time, the texture was pleasantly springy, and it tasted great. While I’ve had it in hot pots before, this was my first time encountering it in hot and sour soup.
About
Name Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao (杭州小籠湯包)
Open Day through night
Reservation Unavailable
Credit card Unavailable
URL Website
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