The story
Soup dumplings have older roots in filled buns from northern China, but the xiaolongbao is credited to Huang Mingxian, who ran a pastry shop called Ri Hua Xuan in Nanxiang, a market town northwest of Shanghai, around 1871. He made the buns smaller, with thinner skins, and mixed jellied stock into the pork filling so it melted into soup when steamed. Nanxiang xiaolongbao became famous, and shops soon opened in Shanghai's old city, including the long-running Nanxiang Mantou Dian near Yu Garden. Nanxiang is now part of Shanghai's Jiading district.
Rival claims
Kaifeng's Song-dynasty filled buns are cited as ancestors, and nearby Changzhou and Wuxi have long-standing versions of their own, but the soup-filled xiaolongbao is generally credited to Huang Mingxian in Nanxiang in 1871.
Also known as soup dumplings, xiao long bao, XLB, Nanxiang xiaolongbao, Shanghai soup dumplings.
On the Meridish menu
Xiaolongbao was the starter course on menu No. 4 on October 4, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Thin-skinned soup dumplings, born in a town on the edge of this megacity in the 1870s.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-GlobalTasteinShanghai2026-LocalFlavors/20260316/00b0c6d1698d406c8d532a6e169e1a1e.html
- scmp.com/lifestyle/food-wine/article/1129426/legends-two-stories-behind-xiaolongbao
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolongbao
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
