Ligaya Mishan Finds Flawless Soup Dumplings on an Otherwise Inconsistent Menu at The Bao

This week Ligaya Mishan weighs in on The Bao, the popular new East Village soup dumpling spot. Those dumplings, she says, are spot on:

Other specimens in town tend to the thick, to prevent leaks; here the dough is ultrathin, less armor than envelope for the broth - pork-stock jelly, which melts into soup as the dumplings steam - and the ball of minced pork at the center, loose and yielding, as if itself in midmelt.

The rest of the menu is a mishmash of "greatest-hits Chinese" dishes, some great (fried chicken, pickled string beans), some not so great (bitter melon, salt and pepper shrimp). The Bao, 13 St. Marks Place