祥源记上海生煎包

It took a while before we managed to lunch at Xiang Yuan Ji《祥源记》to eat its 'famous' Shanghai fried dumplings (上海生煎包). We had stopped by a few months ago and they told us the chef had gone home to China, and there were no fried dumplings on the menu. We didn't know whether it was a matter of home leave or the chef quit and they had to find a replacement, but the eatery didn't have fried dumplings for weeks.

I was at the gym before lunch, and found a salad bar to quaff a pumpkin and kidney bean salad first, just to pad the stomach for the incoming puddle of oil. The decor and vibes certainly make you feel like you're in a Chinese city. :P I'm by no means a decent judge of what makes a good Shanghai fried dumpling. But from all 'expert' accounts, the eatery seems to serve a really good version. At least the friends like it very much. I was the curious one and tagged along just to check it out.

We don't take that much meat nowadays, and if a meal includes this much meat, that means we have to be in a mood for it, and to be sure the stomach could keep the pork down. These food items are rather oily, and keeping the meal small would help with digestion. Ordered two servings of fried dumplings (招牌生煎包), and added on pork cutlet (炸猪扒), and two bowls of dumpling soup (上海芥菜大馄饨汤). The portions were easily shared between a table of four. Lunch was expectedly mad oily, and after that, we had to guzzle a ton of water to balance it out.

祥源记上海生煎
405 Jalan Besar Road Singapore 209011
T: +65 62911101
Hours: Daily 11.30am to 11pm; closed on Mondays