Jing Hua Xiao Chi (Neil Road)

I do have an issue with the name of this dish (ahem, orientalism), but taste wise, it was brilliant! Love the crispy dough, while the fillings were similar to that of the dumplings.

Pan fried till crispy, this guo tie has got ample meat fillings in it. If only it was less oily!

This is my fave item here - crispy and juicy and all around flavourful and better than the xiaolongbaos. We were served by a wizened old lady who has been working there for decades. The last time I went the shop was more rundown and rustic; it is now upgraded and clean and modern. Pity business has dropped a lot because of the construction boarding all around. All the better for us since no crowds to deal with because the food is still great~

Not too salty, not sweet. With a nice balance of meat. One more thing. Chewy noodles! 🍜🥡

We had steamed vegetarian dumplings, zha jiang mian and spinach with oyster sauce (clockwise from top).

Unfortunately none of these dishes were nice - the spinach was too salty, the black bean sauce for zha jiang mian was undersalted and had a weird sourish taste. The vegetarian dumplings were stuffed with mushroom and tofu and the skin broke apart when the dumpling was taken out of the bamboo basket.

Avoid these!

The only dish that stood out from my order of xiao long baos, zha jiang main and gyoza. I would return for this. Thin skin that is crisp and light without feeling jelat from eating more.

Updated:
For folks with low tolerance for msg, skip this place. I had numbness in both my cheeks about 15 minutes after the meal, an allergy symptom whenever I consumed msg laden meals.

So I guess I will not be returning.