I first stumbled upon this store in the alleyways of the Barrio Gotico of Barcelona in September 2022. We were just married a month ago and my husband accompanied me on a business trip to Barcelona. This small shop caught my eye because, in the window, the lady was making xiao long bao dumplings by hand. I was astounded. My husband, despite having been to mainland China when he was younger, did not know what these dumplings were. And hence I had to explain.
Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 - the three characters mean Small, Dragon, Bun or Dumpling. A good one is a very special treat. I first saw this on a televised reportage where a journalist was trying it out somewhere as street food in China. It is also a tricky dumpling. A small meatball together with some cold aspic (gelatine) is wrapped in the dough and steamed. As a result you have a dumpling with a meatball and piping hot broth. Try to nibble it, then the broth dribbles out. Try to eat one whole, you'll burn your mouth. Hence the 'dragon' in the name. Given the right utensils, you can place one in a spoon, puncture it with your chopsticks to drain the broth into the spoon, eat the dumpling and then sip the rest. No burns, no mess.
I am addicted to this dumpling. When in Tokyo, I would always go for my Xiao Long Bao fix at one of the Din Tai Fung restaurants. Unfortunately, Din Tai Fung has not yet landed in the Netherlands. So to find a fresh Xiao Long Bao shop in Europe was amazing.
