Popular Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao reopens at quieter corner in same hawker centre

Those who frequent Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre would probably be familiar with Shanghai Fried Xiao Long Bao, which attracts snaking queues during lunchtime. 

Patrons were surprised when the popular stall, which opened in 2022, abruptly shuttered in June this year.

But that's not the end of them. They have reopened in the very same hawker centre but at a different unit, owner Jiang Naiqin confirmed this in a call with AsiaOne on Aug 13. 

The 51-year-old ex-restaurant chef and his wife Liang Yan, 49, hail from China and helm the stall together. 

Kicked out of previous unit

Back in June, the couple had put a notice outside their Chinatown stall sharing that they had to close because of a "force majeure".

Force majeure refers to unexpected external circumstances that prevent a party to a contract from meeting their obligations. 

Later on, Liang Yan revealed to AsiaOne that after the stall shuttered, the couple went back to China for a few weeks. 

When they returned in July, they found that the stall owner they were renting from was operating in the unit using their signboard.

"The reason we closed was because the owner took back the stall and forced us out," she explained. 

Undeterred, the couple bid for a new unit and managed to get one in the same hawker centre, just a short walk away from their previous location. 

Naiqin told us that the menu items remain the same. 

Address: 335 Smith St, #02-205, Singapore 050335
Opening hours: Thursdays to Tuesdays, 10.30am to 3.30pm, 5.30pm to 8.30pm, closed on Wednesdays

ALSO READ: Hakka Pang closes Bukit Merah and Yishun stalls but has new businesses in the pipeline

melissateo@asiaone.com

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