The dish that built the brand. Eighteen pleats, hand-folded the same morning, steamed in bamboo until the frozen aspic inside melts into a hot, savory broth. Five color-coded fillings plus the famous five-flavor Sampler — every soup dumpling on the Ugly Dumpling menu, with filling guides and how-to-eat instructions.
Xiaolongbao (小笼包) — literally "small basket buns" — originated in the Nanxiang district of 19th-century Shanghai and remain the most technically demanding dumpling on any dim sum menu. The trick: a small brick of frozen aspic (jellied broth) is folded into the seasoned meat filling. As the dumpling steams, the aspic melts into liquid, leaving every wrapper holding its own portion of hot, drinkable soup.
At Ugly Dumpling, every XLB is hand-pleated to order — eighteen folds at the top, sealed with a final twist. Wrappers are dyed using natural ingredients so guests can identify the filling at a glance: white for classic pork, yellow for crab, green for shrimp-spinach, black for truffle, and orange for chicken. It's a small touch that makes a shared steamer easier to navigate and turns the table into a colorful presentation.
Six pieces is the standard portion. Two orders of XLB make a substantial appetizer for two; three orders plus a side or wok dish anchors a family meal. Most regulars start with the five-flavor Sampler ($15) to figure out their favorite filling, then commit to half-dozens on follow-up visits.
Ranked by popularity. Tap any card for ingredients, calories, allergens and pairings.
The classic. Eighteen pleats sealed by hand around seasoned pork and a rich, savory broth — the dumpling that built the brand.
View dish →One of each: pork (white), pork & crab (yellow), pork-shrimp-spinach (green), pork & truffle (black), chicken (orange).
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Black-pleated dumplings filled with pork, earthy black truffle and an aromatic, deeply umami broth.
View dish →Sweet crab folded into seasoned pork — coastal Shanghai-style. Yellow wrapper signals the upgrade.
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A lighter, pork-free option — savory chicken in a clear, comforting broth. Orange-pleated wrapper.
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Spinach in the wrapper, pork and shrimp in the filling. Brighter and lighter than the classic.
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Seasoned Szechuan-style pork in a chili-laced broth. The heat-seeker's xiaolongbao.
View dish →Wrapper color, filling, broth profile, heat level, calories and price — all seven xiaolongbao at a glance.
| Dish | Color | Filling | Broth profile | Heat | ~Cal | Pieces | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pork XLB | White | Seasoned pork | Rich, savory, classic | — | 410 | 6 | $12 |
| Chicken XLB | Orange | Seasoned chicken | Lighter, comforting | — | 380 | 6 | $12 |
| Pork & Crab XLB | Yellow | Pork + crab | Sweet, briny, premium | — | 430 | 6 | $13 |
| Pork & Truffle XLB | Black | Pork + black truffle | Earthy, umami-rich | — | 450 | 6 | $15 |
| Pork-Shrimp-Spinach XLB | Green | Pork + shrimp + spinach | Bright, lighter | — | 400 | 6 | $12 |
| Szechuan Pork XLB | White | Sichuan pork | Chili-laced, fragrant | ●●●○○ | 420 | 6 | $12 |
| Sampler | 5 colors | One of each | Variety set | — | 355 | 5 | $15 |
Calorie figures are approximate per full order. The Sampler shows fewer calories because it's 5 pieces rather than 6.
XLB broth comes out of the steamer hotter than coffee — over 200°F. Here's the safe, traditional way to eat one.
Use chopsticks to grab the pleated top — never the body. The wrapper is delicate; pulling on the side will tear it and lose the broth.
Place the dumpling on a deep soup spoon. The spoon catches any leakage and becomes part of the bite.
Nibble a small hole on the side. Wait 10 seconds, then sip the hot broth from the spoon. This single step prevents 99% of XLB burns.
Dip the deflated dumpling in black vinegar with shredded ginger (3:1 vinegar to ginger). Finish in one bite. Repeat.
The traditional XLB sauce is black Chinkiang vinegar with shredded ginger. The classic ratio is roughly 3 parts vinegar to 1 part ginger by volume, with no soy sauce — soy sauce here is considered a tourist move because it overwhelms the broth.
If you want a touch of heat, add a small drop of chili oil to the side, never directly into the dipping bowl — that way you can dip selectively.
All XLB contain: wheat (wrapper), soy (filling seasoning).
Crab variants add: shellfish · Shrimp-spinach adds: shellfish · Truffle variant: may contain trace dairy in truffle paste at some locations.
No XLB on the menu is currently gluten-free or vegan — check Vegan Dumplings if you need a plant-based option.
Six quick decisions for six common diner profiles.
Sampler ($15) — taste all five fillings before committing to a half-dozen of one.
Xiaolongbao were created in Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai, in the 1870s by a vendor named Huang Mingxian, who developed the technique of folding chilled meat aspic into the filling so it would melt during steaming. The dumplings became a hit at Yu Garden's Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant and spread across China through the 20th century.
The dish gained worldwide recognition in the 1990s through Taiwan's Din Tai Fung, which standardized the now-famous eighteen-pleat rule and rigorous portioning (each dumpling weighs exactly 21g). Most modern XLB-focused kitchens — Ugly Dumpling included — train against the same eighteen-pleat standard.
What makes Ugly Dumpling distinctive: the brand uses color-coded wrappers (rare even at high-end XLB houses) and offers a Black Truffle XLB for $15 — a premium that's typically only found at $50-per-person Shanghainese restaurants in major metros.
