It seems that the hype surrounding the Sheng Jian Bao is not ending any time soon — while there has been quite a number of establishments that are serving the same that has sprouted up across the island in recent times, it seems that there are still some new entrants into the local F&B scene that are serving the same. We have heard about a new stall there is serving up Sheng Jian Bao in the Food Republic food court that is situated in Parkway Parade — this stall turns out to be 上海情怀; the stall is being marked as “Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao” for those whom are looking for the description of the stall in English that is started on the signage. 上海情怀 has taken over the stall unit that was previously tenanted to the now-defunct outlet of Joy Luck Teahouse in the food court; one should be able to locate the stall fairly easily or entering the food court via the entrance that is closest to CS Fresh — its neighbouring stall would be the outlet of Blanco Court Beef Noodles that is located there. It is pretty obvious from its namesake that 上海情怀 serves up a variety of Shanghainese cuisine — apart from Sheng Jian Bao, other items that 上海情怀 offers includes Xiao Long Bao, different varieties of dumplings and wantons, as well as a small variety of Shanghai noodles in both dry or soup form.

Needless to say, our order at 上海情怀 would be for their Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao. It is interesting to note that there are actually two (2) variants of the Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao being listed in the menu board on the counter — one being the version that comes with Pork, and the other being a rendition that comes with Prawn; that being said, the menu board behind the cashier does not mention about the Prawn version, and we reckon that they were also not serving up the Prawn version since we dropped by 上海情怀 during their initial phase of opening. It is likely that the Prawn version is unavailable during the time when our visit was made, considering that they were sorting out some teething issues on their end. A poster at the counter does mention that a batch of Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao is freshly-prepared every 20 minutes — do expect some waiting time involved if one were to order this item during their visit to 上海情怀. On first look, the Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao (Pork) comes with a beautiful browned pleated bottom from the pan-frying process; sinking our teeth into the bun, the top is light and fluffy while the bottom carried a nice, crushed texture — not too difficult to chew through but it was a nice contrast with the top. As one chews the bun apart, the insides reveal a tightly packed meat filling — all that being accompanied with a savoury broth that eagerly drips out as one chews through. The meat was pretty satisfactory; whilst it is not the most tender that we have had, it absorbed the slightly gingery and savoury notes of the warm broth — there was sufficient broth where one can also sip on after chewing the bun apart to prevent any spillage on to the plate as well. At $5 for three (3) pieces, it does work as a good snack to share around the table when dining with multiple pax, or as a light eat for an individual diner — still think the ones we have had from Chinatown Complex Market and Maxwell Food Centre were better, though this would work out pretty well if one were to be in the east!