Nan Shian Soup Dumpling House in Flushing, NY
Nan Shian Dumpling House
38-12 Prince Street
Flushing, Queens – NY
(718) 321-3838
Elaine Louie of the New York Times wrote an article about this restaurant and claimed that their soup dumplings are the best soup dumplings in New York City, if not the world, and that includes China. That is a bold statement! I got so excited after reading this article that I had to go out there and try it for myself. Can their soup be better than your Joe Shanghai or your local ma and pa dumpling house?
Nan Shian Dumpling House
On this cold Sunday rainy afternoon, Finechinaguy and I + 2 guests decided to come to warm up our bellies by coming to his famous soup dumpling restaurant. After nearly 15 minutes of grueling wait for parking in the Municipal Parking Lot, we were definitely hungry. The time was 2:10pm, and when we opened the door, there was a long queue that almost backed out of the door! Mind you, like what the NY Times article wrote, the restaurant has a capacity of 30 people, so it’s a very small place. Usually in a situation like this, I would just leave and go to the other many soup dumpling restaurants in Flushing, but of course that isn’t an option so we went inside.
When you go inside, you have to tell one of the waitresses how many people are in your party. You will then grab a ticket and patiently wait inside the restaurant, if there is space, or out in the hall like Finechinaguy did. I stood in the restaurant and waited patiently until my number was called out.
My party waited about fifteen minutes and that was considered to be fast because there were some groups who refuse to leave even when they were done eating. They were pretty much lounging around and chit chatting until the waitress asks if they want the check and decides to order another entree of food. In a small restaurant like this, I think it’s just in good manners to eat and then leave.
Nan Shian Menu
Inside of Nan Shian Dumpling House
Nan Shian's Kitchen
Scallion Pancake
Close up of Scallion Pancake
At first I thought I received the incorrect order! There are scallions on this marvelous spectacle and I see others eating the same dish, so this was my order. Usually the scallion pancake comes in pizza-like slices that is usually shared with 2-4 people, and it does not have meat in it. This version looks like it can be shared with 2 persons max and that is ok because it looks great. I can say that this version of the pancake looks like a hot pocket with a nice pastry crust and beef inside! I have never had scallion pancake with beef inside. This was the first and it taste great. The beef is nice and moist and it blends perfectly with the dry lightly hinted scallion crust. Definitely give this delicious appetizer a taste when you come here!
Crab Meat Soup Dumpling
The moment of truth! Now is Elaine Louie right on the money on this being the best soup dumpling in NY or is she just easily amused by this beautiful crab meat dumpling, aka Hai Fun Xiao Lun Bao as it is pronounced in Cantonese.
Before I get into that, I must warn you that you have to be extra careful when transferring the dumpling onto your plate. Make sure you delicately squeeze the provided tongs and lift on to your spoon. Do it incorrectly and you’ll have a war zone all over. And this same concept applies when you’re eating it. Delicately bite on the side of the dumpling so that the soup won’t squirt all over your face. It does happen!
Pork Soup Dumpling
Close Up of Pork Soup Dumpling
Verdict: Both dumplings are very good. Surprisingly, there isn’t really a big distinct difference between the two, except that you’ll just get a slight hint of crab flavor for one and not the other; plus you pay $1 more for the crab. Otherwise, they’re pretty much the same. I really like how this soup is a lighter than version than Joe’s Shanghai and how there is ginger inside instead of you putting it on top of the dumpling. This is my personal preference and I others prefer the latter. To say that this is a one of the best soup dumplings in NY, China, or the World, I don’t know about that. I’ve had many soup dumplings before, but this doesn’t come to me as the best. I love the soup, but I think the meat could use more flavor like the ones in Joe’s Shanghai. My two other guest prefers Joe’s Shanghai instead because they like a thicker soup and they prefer to add soy sauce and ginger on top due to enhanced flavors of the dumpling, but I disagree. I love a light, yet almost flavorful soup, and Nan Shian does just that.
Shanghai Stir-Fried Rice Cake w/Pork
The rice cake is gultinous and very chewy to eat. By cutting it into smaller pieces, it allows the rice cake to soak up all the wonderful flavors that is going on in this dish. With most shanghainese restaurants, the pieces tend to be bigger because that is just the standard. This came out to be a very flavorful dish and it did not need extra soy sauce because you can taste it. Of course this is personal preference, so proceed with caution and think about if you would want to eat something with this kind of texture.
Pan Fried Pork Buns
I think this by far is THE BEST Pan-Fried Pork Buns that I have ever tasted! Oh yum! It is lightly pan fried, you can tell when you taste it, and the combination between the flavored pork, the dough, and the sesame seed was heaven in my mouth! If you know of better pork buns, please let me know! I really love these buns and would definitely get this every time when I visit!
Inside of pan-fried pork bun
Ok, I think Ms. Louie might have exaggerate the soup dumpling just a little bit, but nonetheless it is still a good soup dumpling. I honestly do prefer this over Joe’s Shanghai because the soup is lighter without being bland. Plus I do love ginger in this because it gives your taste buds a little kick. The pork soup dumplings are $5.25 for 6 and the crab dumplings are $6.25 for 6. Very cheap and definitely well worth it for the price!
Now I leave you with the health inspection review!
| NAN SHIAN DUMPLING HOUSE 38-12 PRINCE STREET, QUEENS 11354 718-321-3838 Violation points: 23 |
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| Inspection Date: 12/17/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
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Comments
5 Responses to “Nan Shian Soup Dumpling House in Flushing, NY”
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you have to take me here one weekend
I still think Joe Shanghai’s dumplings are better . . . cost less and large menu options! Not impressed with the rice cake dish!
I tried out this place since I live in Flushing and there are always long line at Joe Shanghai’s. All I can say is that the soup dumplings were just ok, the flavor was nothing special and one thing that did p*ssed me off was the skin always breaking. What make soup dumpling so special is the juices in the dumpling, that all goes to sh*t when the skins breaks – no juice, no fun in your mouth.
And this Elaine Louie of the New York Times doesn’t go around if she think the best juicy dumpling are in this dump. The best juicy dumplings I had are in HK, baby. Yes, airfare is cheap now, book a flight. Stay juicy, later.
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
Joe shanghai is for tourists who takes their time eating their food, that is why their line is so long. This place, even before there were the “take their time eating” tourist, had long lines, now it is worse, because it is filled with people who only orders soup dumping, but spends two hours eating it.