Refreshments and snacks from all over Chinaand the world are available in Shanghai. Local snacks in Shanghai have theirspecialties and should not be missed.

Nanxiang Steamed Stuffed Bun（“Xiao LongBao” in Chinese）is a one of the popular local snacks in Shanghai. It is originatedfrom Nanxiang Town in the northern Jiading District of Shanghai. Dating backover 100 years, Nanxiang Steamed Stuffed Bun features the typical Shanghaiflavor. It is famous for its thin wrap, big stuffing, strong flavor and tendermeat.

Besides the use of refined flour and pork,Nanxiang Steamed Stuffed Bun has many other special ingredients. Water, salt,sugar, soy, sesame and ginger are added to make the stuffing. Even without MSG,shallot or garlic, the buns stay fresh with a delicious flavor. The main porkstuffing is mixed with various seasonal ingredients: bamboo shoot for spring,shrimp for summer and crab for autumn. It's hard to believe that the stuffingis two times larger than the wrap.

The small buns are served hot in the bamboobaskets in which they were steamed, usually on a bed of dried leaves. The bunsare usually dipped in Zhenjiang vinegar with ginger slivers. Unlike otherstuffed buns found throughout China, the fillings of Xiao Long Bao aretraditionally broth and meat, while other fillings are also available. Thebroth wrapped as the filling is the essence of this food. When you bite a XiaoLong Bao, the broth inside will immediately flows out. The delicious taste willmake you become a greediness person and wants to eat more.

The prepared buns with translucent thinwraps are as small as water chestnuts. The appealing appearance of the buns maymake you feel hungry. However, if you are hasty you will probably be hurt bythe hot buns. Someone said eating Xiao Long Bao is indeed an art and atechnique; it is not just about putting the food in your mouth, chew, andswallow. So we should pay attention to appreciate this art as a professor.

Here are tips for tasting this snack: bitecarefully, sip the soup and dip into special Zhenjiang vinegar.

Step 1 Pour some vinegar to the shreddedginger. The snack is always served with shredded ginger and Chinese blackvinegar.

Step 2 Used your chopsticks to pick up aXiao Long Bao, be careful to avoid breaking the skin because of the broth thatfilled inside.

Step 3 Dip it in the ginger vinegar sauce.And then put it on the spoon.

Step 4 Nibble the side of Xiao Long Bao andsuck the soup/broth inside. This is the best way of savoring the meaty, juicy,and flavorful broth/soup inside the dumpling.

Step 5 Add some ginger and vinegar (as youlike) to the dumpling and eat the rest.