The owner of Dim Sum Garden claims to be the 5^th generation descendent of the Chef who invented Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings).  This is obviously hard to verify, but online reviews are consistent in praising the soup dumplings. When we were there was a squad of cooks making fresh soup dumplings and the food flew out of the kitchen fast.  Dim Sum Garden is a narrow restaurant that goes back deep into the block, with some tables next to the open kitchen, it sells beer and is also BYOB. 

The Dumplings:  Dim Sum Garden has a deep menu of dumplings and buns and we tried the pork soup dumplings, the fried pork soup dumplings, the sticky rice shumai and the pan-fried pork dumplings. Al of the dumplings were good and I am happy to report that the online reviews are correct, the soup dumplings were excellent.  The wrappers were slightly chewy and kept the soup and filling in place, and not a single dumpling sprang a leak in the steamer we were served.  The soup was fatty and luscious and the pork filling was delicious. These were some of the best soup dumplings I have had in Philadelphia so far.

But the clear star of the show was the pan-fried pork soup dumplings, the Sheng Jian Bao. Ever since I first had these buns at Yang’s Fried Dumplings in Shanghai I have been obsessed with finding good versions of these buns in the U.S.  Dim Sum Garden has the best rendition of these buns I have found so far.  Sheng Jian Bao are a type of soup dumpling with a slightly fluffy, semi-leavened dough wrapper. The buns are prepared by first steaming them and then pan frying the bottom of the bun until they are charred brown.  The Shanghai style Sheng Jian Bao typically have thinner crispy wrappers, while versions from other regions have thicker bread-like wrappers.  Most Shen Jian Bao served in the U.S. are not Shanghai style and the soup gets absorbed into the thicker fluffy wrapper, which is always disappointing.  The version served at Dim Sum Garden have thin wrappers with lots of liquid soup inside.  Instead of just being crispy on the bottom, their Sheng Jian Bao are entirely crispy and look like puffed up ping pong balls.  This makes me think they prepare them by steaming them, pan frying them on the bottom and then quickly deep frying them.  Putting aside the mechanics of preparation, these bao were fabulous, great charred dough flavor, lots of soup and really tasty pork filling.

The Location:  Dim Sum Garden is at 1020 Race Street between 10^th and 11^th in Philadelphia’s Chinatown which is adjacent to the Convention Center.