Four Chinese characters stand proudly on the logo of DRAGON-i.

Being Chinese illiterate, I couldn’t read what it said. After asking around I discovered that it read… “Long De Chuan Ren” which means “Descendants of the Dragon”. Walking into Dragon-i, one cannot help but wonder whether they were walking into an ancient Chinese hall or museum. On one side were the rows of Chinese writing and on the other, 3 Terracotta warriors stand guarding the entrance walkway to Dragon-i… accentuating the ambiance of ancient Chinese culture.

The Shanghainese Steamed Meat Dumpling is widely known as Xiaolóngbao (direct translation : little basket bun) because it is traditionally steamed in bamboo baskets. Xiaolóngbao is filled with soup and meat, wrapped in a thinly rolled piece of dough that turns almost translucent after it is steamed. The wrapper is finally filled with some gelatin before the filled wrapper is gathered up into fine folds at the top and then steamed. The steam heat melts the gelatin filling the Xiaolóngbao with its soupy content.

Caution: Fresh Xiaolóngbao is very hot and may scald the tongue. They however must be eaten hot. Because of the texture of its wrapper, picking up Xiaolóngbao is challenging. To eat Xiaolóngbao without tearing its wrapper is quite a skill. It is recommended that one carefully sips, or sucks, the soup before biting into the dumpling. Of late, plenty of food-outlets serve Xiaolóngbao but I am of the opinion that Dragon-I serve the best ones. Their servings are proportionate, and the soup well-prepared.

I personally think you’re in for a treat if you are picking up a Xiaolóngbao and sinking your teeth into the juicy meat after adding a touch Chili oil at Dragon-I.

Dragon I (Bandar Utama)

Timothy Low
Passionate first about photography then about food. As long as he has his S5000 and his faithful laptop, Timothy vows to keep on blogging. http://www.3-meals.com

We were craving for the Xiaolóngbao we previously had at Din Tai Fung, which was unavailable in Thailand, so we ended up at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiaolóngbao which is situated at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Mall’s urban kitchen section. The waiters were quite energetic and helpful but it was probably because it was quiet when we arrived. After trying the Xiaolóngbao at Crystal Jade, I still preferred the Xiaolóngbao I had at Din Tai Fung. The Xiaolóngbao was a little bit too meaty at Crystal Jade, and being a relatively larger size we were filled up rather quickly. The minced pork was slightly on the sweet side which was, I suspect, to the liking of the local taste buds.

Hungry Hamster
A hungry little hamster who loves to nibble, cook and bake! Join me in my food adventure! http://hungryhamster.blogspot.com

Din Tai Fung is famous for their Xiaolóngbao. The Din Tai Fung story started when Mr Yang fled to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil war in 1948. Mr Yang started off as a delivery boy for cooking oil, and soon saved up enough to start a small restaurant selling Xiaolóngbao. This restaurant was called Din Tai Fung. His restaurant became famous for its Xiaolóngbao, the recipe being formulated and developed by Mr Yang himself. To date, there are 40 franchises of Din Tai Fung in 10 countries. They were recently voted top 10 restaurants in the world, by the New York Times.

We seek little adventures in life. We travel with eyes wide open, run with our hearts and eat like theres no tomorrow. Monkey life is sometimes the best http://cumidanciki.blogspot.com

Wikipedia says: Xiăolóngbāo, also known as soup dumpling, is a type of dumpling from the eastern Chinese region of Shanghai and Wuxi. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, known as Xiăo Lóng, hence its name.

Xiăolóngbāo is more often known in Shanghai and its surrounding areas as xiăolóng mantou. Mantou describes both filled and unfilled buns in southern China, but only describes unfilled buns in northern China. To avoid confusion, the name Xiăolóngbāo is usually used in other areas.

Shanghai-style Xiăolóngbāo originated in Nanxiang a suburb of Shanghai in the Jiading District. The inventor of Xiăolóngbāo sold them in his first store in Nanxiang next to the town’s famous park, Guqi Garden. From there, the Xiăolóngbāo expanded into downtown Shanghai and outward.