MR.BUN

"The walls of this Shanghainese restaurant are decorated with cute anime characters contemplating equally cute, smiling dumplings. We understand the impulse to make art inspired by the food here. The chopstick wrappers even offer a step-by-step guide to drawing Mr. Bun himself. An order of pan-fried juicy pork buns looks just like the restaurant’s namesake (without the smile), but don’t stop at the buns. The xiao long bao, sticky rice shu mai, and wine chicken are all great. This is a good choice for dim sum when you don’t want to deal with an hours-long wait, or if you have kids. " - carina finn koeppicus, neha talreja

"This anime-themed casual restaurant has some of the best XLB in Bensonhurst. Five to a steamer, they are bigger than usual, thin skinned, and good in both their pork and pork-and-crab evocations. Other snacks and noodles are worth exploring. The restaurant is lined with shelf upon shelf of anime figures." - Robert Sietsema

"At Mr. Bun in Bensonhurst’s Chinatown, you can get dim sum and Shanghainese cold dishes at any time of day. This is especially appreciated on weekends, when we don’t get up early enough to avoid the hours-long wait at the popular banquet halls filled with roving carts around the city. Come here for sticky rice shu mai, perfect xiao long bao, and pan-fried juicy buns that are ASMR-level crispy on the bottom. With anime-style wall decals and a high-energy playlist, Mr. Bun is a great casual spot to grab dim sum if there are kids or teens in your group." - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman

"At Mr. Bun in Bensonhurst’s Chinatown, you can get dim sum and Shanghainese cold dishes at any time of day. This is especially appreciated on weekends, when we don’t get up early enough to avoid the hours-long wait at the popular banquet halls filled with roving carts around the city. Come here for sticky rice shumai, perfect xiao long bao, and pan-fried juicy buns that are ASMR-level crispy on the bottom. With anime-style wall decals and a high-energy playlist, Mr. Bun is a great casual spot to grab dim sum if there are kids or teens in your group." - neha talreja, bryan kim, will hartman, sonal shah, willa moore

"The walls of Mr. Bun, a Shanghainese spot in Bensonhurst, are decorated with cute anime characters contemplating equally cute, smiling dumplings. We understand the impulse to make art inspired by the food here. The dumplings at this casual restaurant are perfect. There are the obvious wins, like thin-skinned yet structurally sound soup dumplings, with either pork or pork and crab fillings. Then there are the less obvious ones, like sticky rice shu mai with steamed rice wrappers, which are little parcels of glutinous, slightly chewy delight." - Carina Finn Koeppicus