Popular Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao hawker stall reopens in Chinatown
The stall abruptly closed earlier this year but has reopened in another location within Chinatown Complex. It's famous for crispy, juicy pan-fried pork buns cooked by a former Paradise Group head chef.
Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao has resurfaced two months after its closure. (Photos: Glyn Seah)
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If you frequent Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, you might have seen the famously long queues at Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao, a well-loved dumpling, fried bun and la mian stall which abruptly shut down at the end of May this year.
On Aug 3, the joint resurfaced at the same hawker centre, albeit at a more obscure unit.
Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao is owned by ex-restaurant chef Jiang Naiqin, 51, and his wife, Liang Yan, 49, who come from Jiangsu, a province near Shanghai. Jiang moved to Singapore in 2005 to work as a dim sum chef at Crystal Jade for nine years, before becoming head chef at Paradise Group till he quit in 2021 to set up his own hawker business.
The now-Singaporean permanent residents are known for their authentic Chinese street food including crisp-bottomed sheng jian bao (pan-fried pork buns) and succulent xiao long bao.
They opened their hawker stall to much fanfare in 2022, but shut down with little notice on May 31, 2024. At the time, the couple made no social media announcements about their closure, only leaving a note at their storefront reading: “We regret to inform you that due to force majeure, business cannot continue.”
While they didn’t elaborate on their reason for closure back then, Liang Yan told 8days.sg that they closed because the previous landlord had taken back the unit. “We used to rent the shop from someone else, but the owners wanted to take it back, so we decided to bid for our own stall,” she said.
Despite relocating within Chinatown Complex, she says their current stall is at a less accessible location. “Our shop is a little more inaccessible now. Last time’s location was better, it was right in front of the escalator. [The current unit] is not exactly hard to find, it’s just not so central,” she said.
Prior to the shift, Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao was located at the forefront of the market’s red zone, near the top of the central escalator. Now, it’s moved to a unit tucked in the middle of the blue zone on the opposite side of the hawker centre, but has retained its showy poster of Jiang in chef’s whites.
As many customers haven’t heard about their new location, Liang Yan said their shop, which used to have over 20 customers in the queue at any given time, now has around 10 to 15. Waiting times for the sheng jian bao can still take up to 30 minutes though, as Jiang prepares it fresh by the batch.
The couple is paying significantly cheaper rent now: Liang Yan said they fork out less than S$2,000 (US$1,517) a month for rental now, compared with their previous S$4,000 rental.
Because of their cheaper rent, the hawkers have decided to price their menu items more affordably: “We wanted to lower the prices so that customers who come can eat cheap and yummy food. Hawker centres are meant to sell affordable food, and if the prices keep going up, the food here will be too expensive for the elderly,” Liang Yan explained.
Most of the items are now roughly 50 cents cheaper. For instance, the Chilli Crab Sheng Jian Baos now cost S$6 instead of $6.50 for three pieces, and their Original Xiao Long Bao costs S$4.50 instead of S$5 for six pieces.
Our colleague recommends the Chilli Crab Sheng Jian Bao, which she says is “restaurant standard”. “It ‘burst’ when we bit into it ’cause it’s very juicy. The dough isn’t too thick, and there’s a good balance between the slightly spicy filling (mostly pork with a piece of crab meat) and bao. The base is very crispy too,” she said.
The xiao long bao (there are classic and truffle versions) is equally good. Our colleague added: “It’s very nice and close to what you’d get from restaurants like Crystal Jade."
The hawkers have also introduced five new menu items: Fried dumplings (S$6/eight pcs), Yang Chun noodles (S$3), braised meatball noodles (S$5.80), scallion oil noodles (S$4) and homemade tea-boiled eggs (S$1).
Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao is at 335 Smith Street, #02-205, Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, Singapore 050335. Open Mon, Tue, Thur-Sun 10.30am to 3.30pm; 5.30pm to 8.30pm.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
