Supreme Dumplings serves six kinds of xiao lengthy bao. {Photograph} by Amber Fouts.

An order of xiao lengthy bao is a fleeting second in time. They’re powerful to make and fast to wither—a hothouse flower of a dumpling, its delicate pores and skin improbably constraining a burst of scorching soup. Dumpling followers would possibly affiliate these with Shanghai, however in modern-day Seattle they arrive burnished with Sichuan peppers, crammed with American heritage pork, or because the calling card of a preferred Taiwanese chain.

Earlier than March 2020, ordering these beauties to-go appeared about as sensible as packing an ice cream cone in your checked baggage. However as society leaned into cellular orders and takeout, native soup dumpling purveyors tailored their recipes to journey, or embraced the artwork of freezing xiao lengthy bao so you possibly can steam your individual at dwelling. Right here, our favourite native spots for soup dumplings.

Supreme Dumplings

Bellevue/Bel-Crimson

Bellevue’s restaurant scene now contains this stylized home of soup dumplings, with polished service and a glimmering neutral-toned eating room seemingly impressed by these translucent dumpling skins. Supreme makes six kinds of xiao lengthy bao. Every basket arrives with a set of tiny bamboo tongs and directions to pinch the highest of every dumpling whenever you switch it to a spoon—testomony to how delicate these are. The rooster and truffle model places a nice, earthy spin on acquainted flavors, however the Szechuan-inspired model, with its pepper-infused broth, pairs the fragile pleasure of a soup dumpling with the tingly, sinus-clearing attraction of legitimately spicy meals. Reservations are one hundred pc important (even for weekday lunch), particularly till Supreme completes its next-door eating room growth.

Din Tai Fung

Downtown Bellevue, Downtown Seattle, Tukwila, College District

The Taiwanese chain’s arrival in 2010 ushered in a golden period of xiao lengthy bao obsession round these components. Now our area boasts 4 DTF areas, all hooked up to main purchasing malls. Each has the signature window into the prep space, so you possibly can watch dumpling makers folding and pinching whereas ready for a desk. The dumplings themselves are gloriously dependable, crammed with high-end Kurobuta pork or a mix of pork and crab. The remainder of Din Tai Fung’s menu hews to equally excessive requirements, from wontons to noodles to even the only facet of greens.

Dough Zone Dumpling Home

Numerous

It started as a mom-and-pop restaurant in Bellevue, luring followers with dan dan noodles, pan-fried Q-bao, and countless steamer baskets of xiao lengthy bao. Now Dough Zone spans 11 areas in three states, with two extra due quickly in Woodinville and the College District. Each serves XLB that belong in a handbook—skinny pores and skin crammed with seasoned broth and pedigreed proteins like Berkshire-Duroc pork. Baskets include simply six dumplings, a delicate encouragement to pattern multiple type of filling. Whereas takeout orders had been uncommon pre-pandemic, the kitchen has tinkered with its recipe to make sure such delicate xiao lengthy bao can journey with out wilting.

Ping’s Dumpling Home

Chinatown–Worldwide District

This spot simply beneath the Chinatown gate is a neighborhood establishment in the very best approach. That is partly due to proprietor Ping Liu’s motherly heat, however largely due to the big array of dumplings made each day in her kitchen. These embody her specialty pan-fried lu bao, all method of pot stickers, and eight kinds of xiao lengthy bao, from crab and pork to beef, even lamb. Sturdy-to-thick wrappers encase a restrained quantity of soup and filling garnished with beneficiant bits of inexperienced onion. They’re nice with a bubble tea in Ping’s trim eating room (and a dose of her distinctive, tingly chili oil); additionally accessible frozen, in baggage of fifty, to steam at dwelling.

Xiao Chi Jie

Bellevue

Among the many extra uncommon pandemic pivots: XCJ’s journey from informal counter inside a Bellevue meals court docket to purveyor of a nationwide xiao lengthy bao subscription service. Like so many different restaurant house owners, Jennifer Liao and Caleb Wang began experimenting with supply and frozen meals in the course of the restaurant shutdown. The outcomes of their in depth R&D primarily reworked their restaurant right into a manufacturing facility for frozen dumplings. Ten minutes in a bamboo steamer, they usually’re as delicate and flavor-packed as something served in a restaurant. You may nonetheless go to the counter for a ready-to-eat lunch of XLB (or their unique signature, the sheng jian bao). Or simply choose up a trendy bag of fifty frozen dumplings (pork, rooster, or shrimp and pork) right here and sidestep transport charges. Greatest to throw in a inexperienced jar of ginger scallion sauce, equally marvelous over dumplings, or straight from the spoon.

Mount and Bao

Lake Metropolis

A temple of carbs occupies a modest storefront on Lake Metropolis Approach’s fundamental drag, comforting us with stuffed pancakes, pan-fried bao, and wontons in chili sauce. Petite xiao lengthy bao, not a lot greater than a coat button, show a marksman’s capacity with pinches and pleats. Whereas different XLB specialists on the town is likely to be a greater vacation spot to fulfill a specific craving, Mount and Bao’s model fortunately rounds out a meal of overarching doughy excellence. A freezer by the entrance register has tons of frozen dumplings, together with soup dumplings in 10-piece packages.

Szechuan Noodle Bowl

Chinatown–Worldwide District

The kitchen whose highlights embody a legendary scallion pancake added xiao lengthy bao to its repertoire so common takeout prospects might change issues up a bit in the course of the pandemic. They’re nonetheless on the menu—petite like gumdrops, with refined pleats that resemble tiny pinwheels. Inside, each soup and pork filling are impeccably seasoned. This neighborhood establishment has tailored its cash-only coverage—considerably—to take funds through Venmo.