Jia Jia Tang Bao: Shanghai's Benchmark Xiaolongbao

Xiaolongbao (小笼包, xiǎolóngbāo) are Shanghai's contribution to world food: pork and aspic sealed in a wrapper thin enough to see through, steamed until the aspic melts into soup. Jia Jia Tang Bao (佳家汤包, Jiājiā Tāngbāo) has been making them since 1986 and is the shop most Shanghainese name when pressed for the best.

Do not expect atmosphere. The Huanghe Road branch is a strip-lit room with a dozen tables, laminated menus and staff who will not indulge dithering. You queue at the counter, point, pay, and then stand awkwardly until someone leaves. Steamers arrive within five minutes, twelve to an order, and they are made continuously rather than held.

The plain pork at ¥22 ($3) is the one to judge them on — the wrapper is noticeably thinner than the chains', the soup is clean rather than greasy, and the pleat count is high enough that nothing leaks in the steamer. Crab roe versions run ¥60-80 ($8-11) and sell out first; they are good but the sweetness masks the broth.

Eating technique matters. Lift by the pleat with chopsticks into your spoon, nip a hole in the side, let the steam escape for ten seconds, drink the soup, then eat the rest with a little vinegar and shredded ginger. The filling comes out of the steamer at around 90°C and people burn themselves here every single day.