XLB

(Joe Riedl)
By Mattie John Bamman

XLB is home to the city's best xiao long bao ($11)—those little dough pockets filled with broth and meat. Chef Jasper Shen spent years practicing the deft twist of the wrist required to make the dumplings before opening in 2017. After early inconsistency, they now burst with savory, herbal, warming broth, accented with an on-point vinegar-shallot dipping sauce. Other entrees have been successful from the start, in particular a light-battered five-spice popcorn chicken ($6, $10) that was sweetly clove- and cinnamon-heavy with a slight afterglow of numbing Sichuan pepper.

GO: 4090 N Williams Ave., 503-841-5373, xlbpdx.com, 11 am-3 pm and 5-10 pm daily

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