Soup Dumplings: Where The Uncontrollable Obsession Began

Shanghai Bun is not a place that I can judge fairly. It’s only about an eight minute drive from the house I grew up in and was a quintessential part of my culinary obsession’s growth during my high school years. The small shop’s name is a cue to their most popular dish – a dish that goes by many names. This dish was at the time completely foreign and unfamiliar to me, but quickly became the focus of my ever-growing need to find the best version around. Before my friend introduced me to Shanghai Bun, I had never before had the pleasure of trying freshly steamed Xiao Long Bao (aka soup dumplings, steamed pork buns, tiny steamed buns, Shanghai dumplings, juicy buns, and more). But, all it took was one time – my soup dumpling addiction was triggered and I never looked back.

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A Great Place to Experience Pan-Fried Soup Dumplings in Silicon Valley

If you’ve got a car and are willing to drive to strange strip malls in Silicon Valley, there are plenty of interesting Asian foods to find. It’s always hard to know if a dingy shop is one of the good ones or the bad ones until you try it for yourself, so as I approached Shanghai Flavor Shop in Sunnyvale, I prepared myself for the whichever side of the coin it was going to land.

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