Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao

Soup dumplings are the specialty at this Koreatown location of Nan Xiang, a Shanghainese restaurant from Flushing. Expect a boisterous crowd in the brightly lit, modern space with high ceilings and artwork featuring mountains. The room is spacious, but know that there can still be long waits—especially on weekend mornings. Xiao long bao here are bigger than most, which means a couple of things. You get more soup filling, but the potential is high for a busted dumpling (womp womp). Our favorites are the crab and pork, scallop, and luffa gourd and we like the pan-fried udon and scallion pancake. The rest of the food is a mixed bag—some of the dim sum is too bland (turnip ham puffs) or mushy (sticky rice siu mai).