Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao Review: Hawker La Mian and Dumplings By An Ex-Crystal Jade Chef

It was a mouthwatering delight, and on my parents’ pockets, I went on to order baskets after baskets of the Shanghainese steamed dumplings. These days, with bills to pay, I’m always on the lookout for hawker stalls dishing up quality XLB for the sake of my pockets. And one place that I’ve been dying to try is Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao .

Began trading by a husband-and-wife duo, the man of the house used to cook for Crystal Jade, before he finally decided to open his own stall at Holland Drive. Food at Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao Food made by hand are always a sign of good things to come. When we arrived there a quarter past 11am, we found the wife busy hand-rolling each wrapper for the dumplings, while the husband painstakingly shredded strips of ginger with a knife.

I gently lifted the wobbly Shanghai Xiao Long Bao ($4.50 for six pieces) off the steaming hot bamboo basket, praying hard that the translucent skin wouldn’t break – it didn’t. Before stuffing the entire dumpling into my mouth, with more confidence, I dunked it into the vinegar sauce and topped it off with strips of fresh ginger.

I do feel it is less rich than the ones found in Din Tai Fung, but for the quotation, I would say Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao’s XLB takes the cake. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and ordered their Pork Dumpling Noodles Dry ($4) .

This way I could sample their Pork Dumpling with Chilli Sauce ($4 for eight pieces) at the same time. It carried the fragrant chilli-sesame oil well, and each mouthful of noodles delivered a sharp, spicy cut to my throat. But most of the time, the ones served at hawker centres are measly; the wonton wrappers tend to be either too thick or so thin it falls apart.

This was not the case at Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao. Their dumplings had a good proportion of skin to the minced meat and Chinese chives filling too. I would order these dumplings over the xiao long bao the next time I’m here.

While I really enjoyed the pork dumplings noodle dry, my colleague much preferred the Beijing Minced Meat & Mushroom Sauce Ramen Dry ($3.50) – or zha jiang mian , as it’s more commonly known. It looked sad, and I felt they could have loaded up on the minced meat.

Ambience at Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao Located in a small coffee shop at Holland Drive, Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao was teeming with shoppers by noon. I suggest coming down before or after the lunch crowd pours in, so you don’t have to scramble for a table or worse – find one only to realise that it has already been choped by a packet of tissue paper. But in the rare moment I find myself at Buona Vista or Holland Village, I will most probably make my way down to Supreme Ramen Xiao Long Bao for their pork dumpling noodles that’s doused in chilli-sesame oil and affordable xiao long bao.