Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao Review: Michelin-Recommended Stall Opens Restaurant In Alexandra

Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao opens restaurant in Alexandra Retail Centre

I love me some Shanghainese dumplings, so when I heard that Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao, a super popular stall at Alexandra Village Food Centre, had opened a restaurant nearby at Alexandra Retail Centre, better known as ARC, I hurried down to give them a try.

The restaurant and hawker stall are both run by the same family, the stall having been founded back in 2011 by a husband-and-wife team who are Nanjing natives. Their stall sees very long queues daily, and the cherry on top is their inclusion in the 2023 Michelin guide.

Food at Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao

We started with their star dish of Steamed Mini Buns ($6.80), AKA xiao long bao. which came in a basket of six piping hot, freshly steamed dumplings.

I was disappointed to see that the tips of these XLB were quite thick, and picking them up didn’t result in a drooping, soup-filled bottom that was on the verge of bursting.

In essence, the XLB skin was thicker than I would have liked it to be, with a small nubble of pork within, though there was a nice amount of soup. It wasn’t too rich in flavour, which allows you to indulge in more of these without that cloying, greasy feeling—heavy dumpling skin aside.

We also ordered a portion of Szechuan Spicy Wanton ($8.80), a very generous plate of 10 meat-filled wonton in an appetising-looking sauce mix. This sauce was not as spicy as it looked, and tasted more like soya sauce than anything else—we remedied this by adding some Chinkiang vinegar, which balanced it more to our liking.

Unfortunately, while I usually love silky wonton skins, and there was a lot of it here, I didn’t quite like the meat filling within.

It was just a touch too single-dimensional in flavour, with the pork mince being a little too dense. I wished there was more filling too, since the wrappers were so huge.

After the middling XLB and spicy wonton, I was surprised to find myself enjoying the well-fried, lightly crisp Panfried Dumplings ($9.80), also served in a plate of 10.

The skins of these guo tie were nicely thin and contained a hearty portion of well-marinated chive-and-pork filling. As a fan of chives, I loved these dumplings, with just the right amount of the herb’s characteristic flavour.

If not with ginger and vinegar, you can also dip the guo tie in the provided bright, tangy chilli, which was a great complement to the fried dumplings, cutting through the heavier flavours.

One of the new items on the menu is Pork Ribs Noodles ($7.80), which we were underwhelmed by when we saw our bowl. The image on the menu shows whole, bone-in pork ribs on a bed of noodles, but what we got were very broken-up pieces of meat floating around in the soup.

I admit that once you get over the surprise, the fact that they peeled the braised meat off the bone makes it easier for diners to enjoy the dish.

I felt the meat was slightly dry but sufficiently tasty, but my colleague found that the black fungus in the noodles was overcooked.

The broth was light and savoury, with an added flavour boost from the braised meat.

On the whole, it is a pretty comforting bowl of noodles, and I appreciated how the la mian held up well in the soup, retaining a good amount of chew.

On the flip side, there’s the flavour-rich Szechuan Spicy Noodles ($6.80), otherwise known as dan dan mian, which was my other favourite dish at this meal.

The sauce of this was creamy and nutty, with a touch of acidity that’s probably from added vinegar, making each bite very easily palatable.

There was more than enough of that sauce, plus minced meat to have with the la mian!

Ambience at Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao

ARC is located just seven minutes away from Labrador Park MRT Station, and is surrounded by lots of office buildings including at the MapleTree Business Centre just behind. It’s a self-service restaurant, which means you have to pick up your food on your own from the pass—essentially a small window to the kitchen behind.

The tables are all pretty compactly squished together, and there are some lined up against one of the walls—perfect for solo diners. Thanks to mirrors on the wall and how the space is brightly lit, the restaurant feels less cramped than it is. We arrived at approximately 1pm on a weekday, and the place was packed, though the predominantly office crowd was finishing up.

The verdict

I’d recommend Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao to people who work or live nearby, and would probably visit if I had a guo tie or dan dan mian craving. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of their xiao long bao, dining here makes for a satisfying and affordable meal in air-conditioned comfort. Even though prices are slightly more expensive here than at their hawker stall, it’s still incredibly wallet-friendly on the whole.

For more xiao long bao options, there’s Shang Hai Fried Xiao Long Bao in Chinatown Complex, otherwise Rong Xing La Mian Xiao Long Bao in Redhill has cheap and good Shanghainese grub too!

Address: 460 Alexandra Road, #02-23, Alexandra Retail Centre, Singapore 119963
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 11am to 3pm, 5pm to 8:30pm
Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao is not a halal-certified eatery

Photos taken by Casandra Nicholas.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg