Being a big fan of xiaolongbao (also known as Tang Bao in China), my usual stop for good xiaolongbao is Din Tai Fung, though Imperial Treasure Nanbei at Ngee Ann City serves up pretty good ones as well.
On a recent trip to Shanghai, I had to try the much raved-about local favourite, Jia Jia Tang Bao (佳家汤包). There are a few branches I believe, but I tried the one at 90 Huanghe Road.
Go at off-peak hours for the place is small (about 10 tables in total... 8 of which can seat 4 and 2 and take 2 people). It opens at 7.30am and I was the second customer in the shop, and the xiaolongbaos were still being prepared (a sign of freshness, no doubt) in the tiny kitchen.
I ordered a basket of 12 original pork dumplings.
This is how it looks when it arrives.
There is a little sauce dish that comes in the basket, all steamed (and therefore hygienic to use in place of a spoon as there is none).
Let it cool for about five minutes as there is no spoon, only chopsticks and the sauce dish to be used in place of a spoon (and because it's been steamed together, the dish is very hot as well).
Here's my verdict.
For 13 RMB for a basket of 12 xiaolongbao, it is extremely cheap and filling for a breakfast or snack. The quality is overall good especially for the price.
And now, here's a more detailed comparison versus Din Tai Fung's:
Dough skin: Din Tai Fung's craftmanship tends to be better - the skin is slightly thinner and the folds are a lot more intricate and precise. Jia Jia's looks homemade.
Pork filling: Looks roughly about the same size. Both taste fresh without a "porky" smell.
Broth: Both are honestly good, in their own right. It's more about what you prefer. Jia Jia's tends to be sweeter, while Din Tai Fung's is more savoury.
Service: You can expect a difference based on the price differential between Din Tai Fung and Jia Jia.
If you're at Jia Jia Tang Bao on Huanghe Road, then you absolutely cannot miss the fried version just across from Jia Jia, at 97 Huanghe Road. The name of the shop is Xiao Yang Sheng Jian (小杨生煎）. The fried buns are deliciously crisp on the outside, with superbly flavoured broth seeping out with your first bite, and a very generous amount of filling.
The pork buns (4 for 6RMB) are really good value for money, though I prefer the trio (6 pieces for 15RMB) as it gives you two pieces each of pork, prawn and vegetable filling. Eat the pork or prawn one first, and have the vegetable one in between the two as it can be a palate cleanser.
They do look identical, but you can tell by the colour of the sesame on the bun. Brown = pork; black = prawn; white = vegetable.
These are seriously good and in my opinion, if you have stomach space only either for Jia Jia or Xiao Yang... go for the latter!
FYI, how to order:
For Jia Jia: Make your orders at the counter, pay, grab your receipt (important! If not, the food may not end up on your table) and go to a table that the boss / staff points to.
For Xiao Yang: Make your orders at the counter, pay, grab your receipt, and go to the little window to collect your food, then proceed to sit at your table.
There are also a few branches of Xiao Yang Sheng Jian in Shanghai.
Enjoy!
After a non-stop eating trip to Hokkaido, here are my five favourite soft-serve ice-creams and where to get them.
1. Cremia - available at various places including Mount Hakodate
Luxurious soft-serve ice-cream so rich and indulgent, you can immediately taste the difference in the milk that they used. The cone is a langue de chat biscuit cone, making this almost like a Shiroi Koibito ice-cream version.
2. Ishiya Chocolate Factory ice-cream
The chocolate version outshines the milk version with its rich flavour, but get the mixed version for the best of both worlds.
3. Rainbow ice-cream at Otaru Kitaichi Glass Sankoro and Venetian Cafe
It looks as good as it tastes! The lavender, melon and green tea flavours in the Kitaichi version are good, while the sour grape flavour at the Venetian one adds a nice tangy kick.
4. Lavender ice-cream at Farm Tomita
Pretty to look at, with a slight fragrance of lavender. The taste is mostly vanilla and milk with a hint of lavender, so don't worry about eating "flowers".
5. Melon ice-cream at Tomita Melon House
Get the melon soft serve, or the milk soft serve with melon bits, or the all-time favourite milk soft serve perched on top of a half melon. It's all good!
Today was "THE" day for the kid, where everything was planned for the little one. Yes, this was the day we would go to meet a mouse, duck, chipmunk, dog and more.
While I already have posted about doing a speedy, four-hour tour of Disneyland, this post focuses more on the rides and attractions that were very enjoyable for a three-year-old.
Disneyland rents strollers for 700 yen a day, which comes in very handy when moving from place to place and when the kid needs a nap.
We started off by going straight for Fantasyland and nailing the Castle Carousel, It's a Small World, Alice's Tea Party, Mickey's Philarmonic Magic (which he was afraid of due to the 3D effects and loud sounds), Mark Twain's Riverboat (in the adjacent Westernland), before going to Toontown and queuing to meet Mickey in his house. The kiddo enjoyed roaming around the different "houses" of Minnie, Goofy, Chip n' Dale, as well as Donald's Boat and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, before agreeing to take a nap. By the way, Toontown makes for really great photos with the kid.
During his nap, I managed to get away for a ride at the Haunted Mansion and the super fun Big Thunder Railroad.
Thereafter, more of Alice's Tea Party and It's a Small World, before heading to the Grace Circuit Raceway.
Don't forget to catch the Happiness is Here parade in the afternoon (after the nap) and the Electrical Parade (in the evening)!
Here are more pix of our time at the Happiest Place on Earth. All in all, a very enjoyable trip for our little one and us!
And here's the damage done to the wallet:
Our complete itinerary:
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore
We decided to start out last day in Hokkaido with a leisurely breakfast at Tomita Melon House. And what a great idea it was.
It was a beautiful morning, and we had a superb breakfast (you can tell the kid it's a "picnic" to make it more fun), sitting out at the benches at Tomita Melon House and enjoying the view and weather. We had the melon cream bun (better than the melon jam bun), cut melons, melon smoothie, melon ice-cream, melon rusk, and corn on the cob. Yes, all for breakfast!
Thereafter, it was a one-hour drive to Asahikawa airport, for a flight to Tokyo.
Our complete itinerary:
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore
Time for a drive up to Biei and if you think Furano was nice, Biei, in our opinion, was even better.
Baby-blue skies dotted with fluffy clouds, lolling hills in the horizon, lush green landscape or flower fields in the foreground with a gentle wind blowing across - it's the stuff that fairy tales were made of.
We had a quick stop at Flowerland at Kamifurano on the way, but we preferred the flowers at Shikisai no Oka. A tractor-ride or buggy is also available if the kid prefers, but walking on foot can be fun too.
We then went on to various stops at Biei - it looks a lot, but we managed to finish everything by about 3pm, including a fairly long lunch. Here are the sights we stopped at.
Sanai no Oka and Shinei no Oka
Hokusei no Oka and Ken & Mary tree
Zerubu no Oka with its lovely flowers
Mild Seven Hill
Parent-child tree
Aoi Ike (blue pond) - the mysterious azure-blue colour is due to mininerals.
Before Aoi Ike, we stopped for some lunch at Farm Chiyoda. Little ones will like the up close encounter with the farm animals, and adults will be even happier with the wagyu dishes such as the wagyu hamburger or beef stew. Wifi is available here too :)
Thereafter, it was back to Furano to visit the Ningle Terrace, which is a collection of little shops housed in cabins, selling mostly artisanal handicraft products. There is also a famous little coffee shop (Mori no Tokei / The clock of the forest) deeper in the forest, which is super packed. Both can be easily found as they are at the base on the Prince Hotel.
For dinner, it was back to the yummy Kumagera again. Don't forget to try their cheese tofu, which puts all cheese tofu you know to shame. Plain-looking yes - but the cheese flavour is perfectly integrated into the tofu. Add a splash of the dipping sauce for a different taste!
Our complete itinerary:
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore
Onwards for a 2.5-hour drive to the city of flowers! I did the driving this time round, and have to say it's a really scenic and easy drive up to Furano. After checking-in at the Kashiwa House Furano (a serviced apartment with an English-speaking manager), we headed out to the famous Farm Tomita to see the rainbow flower fields.
Did I mention more (lavender) ice-cream?
Then on to the adjacent Tomita Melon House for melon snacks. You can't miss it with its huge melon balloons flying in the air.
Do not miss the cut melons and corn on the cob. The corn in particular (sorry, I know this is a melon place but it's just too good not to mention) is so sweet it's unlike any other corn I tasted before. Boiled with salt water, the sweet, crunchy and juicy kernels just made it unbelievably good.
After Tomita, we headed to Lavender East, which is a lavender farm run by Farm Tomita and only open in July. It's way less crowded than Farm Tomita, and you can take a little tractor around too if kiddy likes it.
Kid alert: These places are all pretty fantastic for the kid to take photos of, take photos at, and eat none stop. Tomita Melon House has free wifi too, which makes things even better.
Our last stop for the day was Furano Cheese Factory, where the little one was happy to see how cheese was made. There is also an ice-cream shop (I could not eat anymore though) and pizza shop. Do buy the a frozen cheesecake slice (it's this triangular small box with a small piece each) - sort of like a Sara Lee cheesecake but way better. Kiddy might like to sample the three types of cheese available at the shop, and take photos with a big cow (statue).
For dinner, we went to Kumagera, which had fantastic wagyu sashimi beef and hotpot (venison, duck, beef and vegetables). Go early as this place gets packed quickly.
Kid alert: Free wifi is available so the kiddy can occupy himself with some games while the adults take a well-deserved break.
Our complete itinerary:
Day 1: Haneda to Hakodate (overnight in Hakodate)
Day 2: Hakodate - Lake Toya (overnight in Lake Toya)
Day 3: Lake Toya - Sapporo (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 4: Otaru (overnight in Sapporo)
Day 5: Sapporo - Furano (overnight in Furano)
Day 6: Biei (overnight in Furano)
Day 7: Furano - Asahikawa - Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 8: Tokyo (overnight in Tokyo)
Day 9: Tokyo - Singapore
