Bugis Junction Food Trail 2013: Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant （南翔饅頭店）

Located at Level 2 Bugis Junction, right infront of the escalator. Maiden visit! Not sure why, but when I think of Nanxiang, the brain will conjure up a picture of a humongous xiaolong bun, complete with straw to sip up the soup...

Actually, Nanxiang is a town near Shanghai, and is considered the birthplace of xiaolong bao.

restaurant's logo (like a thumbs up~)

table setting

Without further ado, pictures of appetisers:

Nanxiang Drunken Chicken (@$8.50++)

Shanghai Spicy and Sour Soup (@$8.50++)

The drunken chicken was tender and tasted yummy. Not much of wine taste though.

First impression of spicy and sour soup? It was sharply sour! Was informed that the version served here has been tweaked to suit local tastebuds. Meaning that it's less spicy and less oily. Added some black vinegar (available on each table), and the soup's taste became much more agreeable~

Next, was xiaolong mantous or xiao long bao (小笼包).

hot hot hot! Nanxiang Signature Steamed Bun

eat it with vinegar and ginger shreds

Served piping hot, so do eat it with care.

The Nanxiang brand xiao long bao has been around for more than a 100 years, and we're tasting the latest version, so to speak.

鲜肉小笼 (fresh pork dumpling) @$8.80++ for 6 pieces

Dainty little pockets of pork and soup. The soup tasted light with pork meat flavour. The dumpling skin was rather chewy.

Next, was the supersized (comparitively lah..) King Sized Nanxiang Crab Roe Steamed Soup Bun.

King Sized Nanxiang Crab Roe Steamed Soup Bun (蟹黄汤包) @$7.80++

Braving tongue scalding temperatures, we sipped the soup using the straw. Verdict? "鲜"! Which means fresh. Not just any fresh, but sea-fresh. Makes sense? Not the usual strong umami taste of seafood but a lighter sweet kind. Liked this very much!

simply good soup

Next, we sampled the braised lion head (狮子头). Actually thought "狮子头" as a mushroom dish but turned out to be a pork meatballs dish.

braised lion's head

cut section reveals soft, tender meat

Enjoyed the lion's head meatballs, immensely. Tender, bouncy and tasted chestnut bits as well. Sweet,  fresh, and lightly flavoured.

If you need carbs, why not try the "粉皮" (fen pi) dish. It is kway-teow like, but a little firmer and more translucent. Probably tasteless on its own, these starch sheets allowed the crab roe broth to shine through. Eat it with black vinegar for extra oomph. There's a mee sua (rice vermicelli) version of this as well.

fen pi in crab roe broth

almost translucent starch sheets

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant （南翔饅頭店）

Location: #02-53, Bugis Junction
Website: http://www.nanxiang.com.sg/