kao chi >>> din tai fung

I have been hearing about a Xiao longbao 小籠包place called Kao Chi高記 that is a bit cheaper and tastier than Din Tai Fung, the worldly famous (overrated if you ask me) XLB place. Well, I finally got the chance to decide for myself... And it was better than Din Tai Fung. The atmosphere is definitely more relaxed and peaceful. You don't have people towering over you, waiting for you to finish eating, thus you don't have to force feed yourself and instead can take in the xlb's slowly and enjoy every bite. 

A family friend, visiting from my hometown, took me to eat at the branch on Yong Kang St. We shared a crab egg xlb 蟹黃小籠包, shrimp shaomai/Shanghainese dumpling 蝦仁燒賣，and noodle soup (made with chicken stock, fried tofu, dongfen thin glass noodles, and pieces of pork dumpling). The crab egg xlb was oh-so-heavenly. It is small enough to eat in one bite, but curious me wanted to see what the meat inside looked like. Well, the crab egg xlb is deliciously juicy, that taking that one tiny bite made the juice squeeze out all over my shirt. Oops! I learned that you're supposed to hold the spoon in one hand and the other with chopsticks, placing the xlb in the spoon to catch whatever spills out. 

Here is what the shrimp shaomai looks like.

Sorry, no pictures...I didn't bring my camera this time because I walked all the way over there from my dorm (approx. 3 mile walk in the humidity). But, I will certainly be back for more 小籠 包!!!