"The mere thought of crab roe sends us into a moony daydream. Glorious crab roe. Beautiful, soft orange dollops of crab roe. Sorry, where were we? If you can relate, you’re going to love Xie Bao, a stall in Flushing’s bustling New York Food Court that puts this one amazing ingredient—a Shanghainese specialty—front and center in many of its incredible dishes. If you order just one thing at the counter (the first one on your left), make it the silky, comforting crab roe over noodles. Like multiple dishes at Xie Bao, it’s served with wood ear mushrooms, vinegar, pickled veg, and a soy egg—and there are also complimentary cups of lightly sweet, lightly floral jujube tea. The add-ons are welcome, but the thin noodles are just as excellent adorned only with buttery roe sauce. It’s a testament to Xie Bao’s all-around quality that—if you order correctly—many of the supporting-act ingredients shine just as bright. The satisfying hunks of pork skin in a pot of chicken broth, for example, or the flaky yellow croaker in noodle soup. photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff You’ll receive a buzzer to let you know when your meal is ready, or—depending on how aggressively you ordered—when each part of your meal is ready. Every time it goes off feels like microdosing Christmas morning, as dishes like roe-stuffed meatballs, pork-studded zongzi, and crab roe mooncakes start accumulating in front of you. The food court is uncrowded enough that you’ll find a place to sit, but not so empty that you’ll raise eyebrows among the diners eating lunch, as you try to fit all the black plastic trays on your table, like a horizontal game of Jenga. In case you need more space to spread out, consider Xie Bao’s second location in a strip mall in Edison, NJ. Food Rundown photo credit: Alex Staniloff Crab Roe Noodles The sauce is the perfect balance of salty, sweet, and creamy and the noodles have a lovely chew. You can even get free noodle refills, if you ask nicely. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Crab Roe Meatballs Pockets of salty roe are buried like treasure in the center of two gently molded pork meatballs. (Are we absolutely positive this isn’t what awaits us within the Earth’s innermost core? If not, start digging.) We also love the star anise notes in the thickened, slightly sweet sauce, and the crisp-tender bok choy. photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick Crab Roe & Chicken Soup Pork Skin Pot Floating in a pot of light but meaty chicken broth, the gelatinous pork skin absorbs so much flavor. Get this deluxe, restorative dish if you feel some sniffles coming on. photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick Yellow Croaker Noodles Chopped pickled greens add brightness to perfectly cooked noodles and tender, buttery fish. We love this Shanghai specialty as a contrast to the crab, but if you want to maximize the amount of crab roe per bite you consume here, order the yellow croaker and crab roe-soaked rice. photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick Crab Roe Xiao Long Bao The crab roe mooncakes and spring rolls are more gimmicky than delicious, but the only dish we’ve actively disliked at Xie Bao is their soup dumplings—the wrappers were a little undercooked, the filling a little gritty." - Molly Fitzpatrick
