Steam rising from a bamboo basket of freshly steamed soup dumplings, with a green Taiwan Beer bottle beside it

小籠包Xiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings)

Thin-skinned dumplings steamed in bamboo baskets, each holding tender pork and a spoonful of hot, savory broth that floods out at the first bite — one of Taiwan's best-known dim sum.

Pinyin: xiǎolóngbāo

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Photo: Banzai Hiroaki · CC BY 2.0

Flavor: Umami
Savory
Porky
Aromatic
Spice
Typical price: NT$100–300 per basket (about 6–10 pieces)Rounded range; varies by shop and city
Texture: Juicy, Silky, Tender
Best for: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Taste & texture

Flavor profile

Flavors

Umami
Savory
Porky
Aromatic

Textures

Juicy
Silky
Tender

Heat

Default preparation; many shops let you adjust it.

What goes in

Ingredients

The usual building blocks. Recipes change from shop to shop.

Meat & eggs: Ground pork豬絞肉, contains meat or fish
Pork aspic豬皮凍, contains meat or fish
Grains: Wheat flour麵粉, plant-based, Allergen: Gluten
Vegetables & herbs: Scallion蔥, plant-based
Sauces: Soy sauce醬油, plant-based, Allergen: Soybeans, Gluten
Seasonings: Rice wine米酒, plant-based
Black vinegar烏醋, plant-based, Allergen: Gluten
Spices: Ginger薑, plant-based
Oils & fats: Sesame oil麻油, plant-based, Allergen: Sesame

Plant-based
Contains meat or fish
Contains an allergen

How to order

Say it, hear it or show it

Short phrases for the counter. Read the pinyin aloud, play it back, or hold your phone up so the vendor can read it.

Ordering at the counter or from staff
我要一籠小籠包。
Pinyin: Wǒ yào yì lóng xiǎolóngbāo.
In English: I'd like one basket of xiaolongbao.
When the table has no dipping sauce
麻煩給我醋和薑絲，謝謝。
Pinyin: Máfan gěi wǒ cù hé jiāngsī, xièxie.
In English: Vinegar and shredded ginger, please.
Asking about dietary needs
我不吃豬肉，有其他口味嗎？
Pinyin: Wǒ bù chī zhūròu, yǒu qítā kǒuwèi ma?
In English: I don't eat pork. Do you have another filling?
Ordering more
再加一籠，謝謝。
Pinyin: Zài jiā yì lóng, xièxie.
In English: One more basket, please.

In the kitchen

How it’s prepared

The secret is the soup. Pork skin (often simmered with chicken bones or chicken stock) is cooked down to a rich broth, chilled until it sets into aspic, then chopped and folded into pork seasoned with ginger, scallion, soy sauce and rice wine; many shops add a little sesame oil too. The filling is wrapped in a thin, hand-rolled skin and pleated closed; when the basket heats up, the aspic melts into broth that stays sealed inside.

The skin has to be nearly translucent yet strong enough to hold hot liquid, so it is usually rolled thicker in the middle and very thin at the edges. At Din Tai Fung the house standard is 18 pleats. The dumplings sit on paper or leaves in a bamboo steamer, cook over high heat and go straight to the table with black vinegar and fine slivers of ginger. To eat one, lift it by its top knot onto a spoon, nibble a small hole, sip the broth, then finish it with a dab of vinegar and ginger — and nothing scalds your tongue.

Origins

History and origins

Xiaolongbao is generally traced to the Jiangnan region of the lower Yangtze, but its exact birthplace is disputed. One account points to Nanxiang, now a suburb of Shanghai, where a pastry seller is said to have shrunk a large pork bun into a thin-skinned, generously filled one. Another credits Changzhou in Jiangsu, where a teahouse is said to have been making crab-roe versions during the Daoguang reign (1820–1850). Further back still, some see a descendant of the soup-filled buns of Song-dynasty Kaifeng. Most of these stories come from local tradition and are hard to pin down.

The dumpling reached Taiwan from the Shanghai area after the war, though who first made it here, and when, is not well documented. Its best-known ambassador is Din Tai Fung. Yang Bingyi, a Shanxi native who arrived in Taiwan in 1948, opened a cooking-oil shop at Xinyi Road and Yongkang Street in 1958. When canned cooking oil cut into business around 1970, he reportedly gave half the shop over to steamed dumplings on the advice of a friend who ran a Shanghainese restaurant, and the dumplings soon took over. In 1993 the New York Times named the restaurant one of ten places worth a pilgrimage, helping carry Taiwan's xiaolongbao abroad. Accounts differ on the year of the switch, between about 1970 and 1972.

Ways to have it

Variations

Classic pork
豬肉小籠包
The benchmark: seasoned pork folded with aspic for a sweet, savory broth, dipped in black vinegar and ginger.
Crab-roe xiaolongbao
蟹粉小籠包
Crab meat and roe folded into the pork filling for a richer, sweeter, briny flavor. A Jiangnan classic that many Taiwanese xiaolongbao shops also serve, at a higher price.
Soup buns (tāngbāo)
湯包（灌湯包）
A close cousin, usually larger, with less filling and more broth. Often said to share roots with the soup-filled buns of Song-dynasty Kaifeng.
Modern fillings
新式內餡
Some shops offer shrimp, chicken or vegetable fillings for a lighter bite, but many still mix in some pork, so ask first if you want to avoid it.

Where it comes from

Regions

Destinations where this dish is part of the local food scene.

Open in the map

Dietary information

Good to know before you order

Typical preparation

Contains pork
Contains gluten
Contains soy
Contains sesame

The standard pork version contains pork and a pork-skin aspic, a wheat-flour skin and soy sauce, so it is not suitable for vegetarians. A little sesame oil is common in the filling (it varies by shop), so ask if you have a sesame allergy. Crab and shrimp versions contain shellfish.

From the ingredient list

Vegan: NoNot vegan: Ground pork and Pork aspic.
Vegetarian: NoNot vegetarian: Ground pork and Pork aspic.
Allergens in the listed ingredients: Gluten (from Wheat flour, Soy sauce, and Black vinegar)
Soybeans (from Soy sauce)
Sesame (from Sesame oil)

These summaries come from typical ingredient lists. Shops vary, and kitchens are shared. If you have an allergy or follow a strict diet, tell the vendor before you order.

Where to eat it

Where to try it

Markets, restaurants and stalls that serve this dish, and the neighborhoods it is known for.

Restaurants

- Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Din Tai Fung (Xinyi Road)
鼎泰豐（信義店）
Din Tai Fung began as a cooking-oil shop on Xinyi Road. According to Wikipedia, founder Yang Bingyi and his wife opened the oil shop in 1958; around 1970 canned oil hurt business, a friend suggested adding xiaolongbao, and by 1972 it had become a full restaurant. It grew into a global chain, but Xinyi Road is where it started. The soup dumplings are known for their 18 pleats, thin skins, sweet pork filling and scalding broth. Michelin suggests ordering sweet and sour pork, bitter melon and pork rib soup, and steamed taro buns alongside them. The original storefront on Section 2 of Xinyi Road is now takeaway only, and dine-in service is across the street in a 330-seat, four-storey building that opened in 2020. Expect a wait at mealtimes; avoid noon and weekend peaks if you can.
Taipei
Known forXiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings)
- Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao (Da'an)
杭州小籠湯包（大安）
A xiaolongbao institution on Section 2 of Hangzhou South Road that began as a street stall. According to Michelin, owner Huang Wenjun first ran a Chinese roast-meat restaurant, learned to make soup dumplings from a dim sum chef at San Liu Jiu, and soon found the dumplings had overtaken the roast meats; the restaurant then turned to Jiangsu-Zhejiang dim sum. The filling is pork with Yilan scallion, and the skins are made fresh daily, about 20 to 26 g each and pleated 21 times. Michelin says the shop's slogan promised the quality of Din Tai Fung, the taste of San Liu Jiu and street-stall prices. Michelin also recommends the spicy stinky tofu, served in a ground-pork sauce with dried shrimp and chili bean paste. Cash only.
Taipei
Known forXiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings)
Zhou Jia Steamed Dumplings and Xiaolongbao
周家蒸餃小籠包
A steamer shop on Gongzheng Street whose name states its specialties: steamed dumplings and xiaolongbao. SETN reported in 2022 that the shop had frozen its prices for nearly fifty years, finally raising a xiaolongbao from NT$5 to NT$6 in May 2022; on Facebook the owners said they were carrying on the way their father ran the shop. The county tourism site lists xiaolongbao among Hualien's local favorites, and the Hualien food guide on gofunit (updated October 2026) names the shop among Hualien's top ten, with hours of 10:00 to 02:00. It once ran around the clock; SETN says that was later dropped. After the April 2024 earthquake the nearby Fukai Hotel tilted and had to be demolished, and Zhou Jia suspended business for a time because it was inside the control zone. For its current status, look at its Facebook page or contact the shop directly. When the xiaolongbao arrive, look at whether the skin is thin and the soup plentiful: bite a small hole, sip the soup, then dip in ginger vinegar and mind the heat. Gongzheng Baozi used to be next door, but SETN reported in April 2024 that it has moved to Renai Street, so the two are no longer neighbors.
Hualien
Known forXiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings)