This Soup Dumpling Is So Big, You'll Need A Straw To Slurp It All Up

The secret ingredient? "Love." (And 11 hours of prep time.)

Jumbo-sized soup dumplings are the latest food to go viral in NYC.

Michelle No

So jiggly!

They're so big that you actually have to (LOL) sip the broth through a straw.

Michelle No

Filled with a seafood- and pork-filled broth, these dumplings are fun to poke, and, obviously, popular with the Instagram crowd.

The so-called XL XLBs (Extra Large Xiao Long Baos) are sold at Drunken Dumpling in the East Village. They only sell 25 a day and often sell out within 30 minutes.

Michelle No

Each dumpling takes 8+ hours to make, so the quantity is super limited. Normal New Yorkers with 9am-5pm office jobs should NOT attempt a lunch hour trek.

Last week, I braved the line to see what all the fuss was about. TBH I was pretty skeptical. Sure, the dumpling looks cool, but wouldn't it be impossible to slurp?

Michelle No

As a coffee drinker with burnt tongue PTSD, I was mostly worried about the hotness of the soup. Thankfully, the broth was served at a drinkable, hot-but-not-scalding temperature.

Though the liquid is more delicately seasoned than your standard soup dumpling’s — the broth draws all of its flavor from the seafood, beef, vegetable and chicken, sans MSG — it’s savory and delicious.

“My mom spends a lot of time cooking the broth to make sure the flavor comes from the meat, and that it's healthy," owner Yuan Lee said. “It’s home-flavored and basic, but basic is always the best.”

After sipping the broth, I tore into the XL XLB to scavenge for shrimp and pork ball dumplings.

Michelle No

Then I quickly finished off most of the tender dumpling skin.

Michelle No

And, guys, it was good. Perfectly al dente and soft to the bite.

HOT TIP: Make sure to look under your steamer basket for extra broth. You'll want to slurp up every last bit.

Michelle No

For traditional flavors in untraditional swag, I highly recommend the XLB.

If the XL XLBs are gone by the time you get there, there are normal-sized soup dumplings, too.

Michelle No

And honestly, they're worth trying either way.