Kevin L.
Yelp
During a recent self-organized Flushing dumpling crawl, we concluded our tour at the New World Mall food court with some soup dumplings (from another stall) and shen jian bao from Liu Liu Sheng Jian. Of the various dumplings and baos we sampled (6-7 establishments in total), these were my personal fave.
Consistent with the general New World Mall experience, the situation here is a bit chaotic. You order at the register (and decide if you want a smaller 6-piece or larger 8-piece portion), then awkwardly stand around trying to not be in everyone else's way while you await your buns. Fortunately, your purchase comes with a built-in show, as you watch the folks behind the counter expertly load, grease, steam, and serve plate after plate of gloriously glistening baos.
Once you pick up your order, be sure to snag condiments (availability seems hit-or-miss) at the counter to the right of the steamer trays, along with utensils and napkins. Finally, good luck finding seating to enjoy your starch-wrapped prize. May the odds be ever in your favor.
The baos themselves are pretty flawless, with crispy, crusty, caramelized bottoms and fluffy, pillowy, chewy tops filled with moist, brothy pork. Be careful, as they're essentially soup dumplings. We definitely had some accidents, with fatty meat juice splashing hither and yon as we inexpertly bit into our buns. Fortunately, no one sustained serious injuries, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed our snack.