Popular Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao Stall Reopens In ‘Ulu’ Unit, Shorter Queues & Cheaper Prices Now
If you frequent Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, you might have seen the famously long queues at Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao, a well-loved dumpling, fried bun and la mian stall which abruptly shut down at the end of May this year. Now, just two months after its closure, the joint has resurfaced at the same hawker centre, albeit at a more obscure unit on 3 August.
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Former head chef at Paradise Group
Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao is owned by ex-restaurant chef Jiang Naiqin, 51, and his wife, Liang Yan, 49, who come from Jiangsu, a province near Shanghai. Naiqin moved to Singapore in 2005 to work as a dim sum chef at Crystal Jade for nine years, before becoming head chef at Paradise Group (he shuttled between different branches to QC the food) till he quit in 2021 to set up his own hawker biz.
Original pan-fried pork bun (sheng jian bao)
Reason for abrupt closure
The couple, who are now Singaporean PRs, are known for their offerings of authentic Chinese street food like their signature crisp-bottomed sheng jian bao (pan-fried pork buns) and succulent xiao long bao. They opened their hawker stall to much fanfare in 2022, but shut down with little notice on 31 May 2024. At the time, the couple made no social media announcements about their closure, only leaving a note at their storefront reading: “We regret to inform you that due to force majeure, business cannot continue”.
Classic xiao long bao
While they didn’t elaborate on their reason for closure back then, Liang Yan tells 8days.sg that they closed because the previous landlord had taken back the unit. “We used to rent the shop from someone else, but the owners wanted to take it back, so we decided to bid for our own stall,” she says.
Moved to a “less central” location with cheaper rent
Despite relocating within Chinatown Complex, Liang Yan says their current stall is at a less accessible location. “Our shop is a little more inaccessible now. Last time’s location was better, it was right in front of the escalator. [The current unit] is not exactly hard to find, it’s just not so central,” she says.
Prior to the shift, Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao was located at the forefront of the market’s red zone, near the top of the central escalator. Now, it’s moved to a unit tucked in the middle of the blue zone on the opposite side of the hawker centre, but has retained its showy poster of Naiqin in chef’s whites.
Chilli crab sheng jian bao
As many customers haven’t heard about their new location, Liang Yan says their shop, which used to have over 20 customers in the queue at any given time, now has around 10 to 15. Waiting times for the sheng jian bao can still take up to 30 minutes though, as Naiqin prepares it fresh by the batch.
The couple are paying significantly cheaper rent now - Liang Yan says they fork out less than $2K a month for rental now, versus their previous $4K rental.
Cheaper menu, new items
Because of their cheaper rent, the hawkers have decided to price their menu items more affordably: “We wanted to lower the prices so that customers who come can eat cheap and yummy food. Hawker centres are meant to sell affordable food, and if the prices keep going up, the food here will be too expensive for the elderly,” Liang Yan explains.
Most of the items are now roughly 50 cents cheaper. For instance, the Chilli Crab Sheng Jian Baos now cost $6 instead of $6.50 for three pieces, and their Original Xiao Long Bao costs $4.50 instead of $5 for six pieces.
“Restaurant-standard” Chilli Crab Sheng Jian Bao, $6 for three pcs
Our colleague recommends the Chilli Crab Sheng Jian Bao, which she says is “restaurant standard”. “It ‘burst’ when we bit into it ’cos it’s very juicy. The dough isn’t too thick, and there’s a good balance between the slightly spicy filling (mostly pork with a piece of crab meat) and bao. The base is very crispy too,” she says.
The xiao long bao (there are classic and truffle versions) is equally good. Our colleague adds: “It’s very nice and close to what you’d get from restaurants like Crystal Jade”.
Scallion oil noodles
The hawkers have also introduced five new menu items: Fried Dumplings ($6/eight pcs), Yang Chun Noodle ($3), Braised Meatball Noodle ($5.80), Scallion Oil Noodle ($4) and Homemade Tea-Boiled Eggs ($1).
Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao is at #02-205 Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, 335 Smith St, S050335. Open Mon, Tue, Thur-Sun 10.30am - 3.30pm; 5.30pm - 8.30pm.
Photos: Glyn Seah
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