What I really care about at Aroi Salapao is the Shumai. We are talking dim sum here, we are talking pork, and we are talking quality and great taste.

Salapao and Shumai at Aroi Salapao. One with roasted pork and shitake mushrooms and one with black sesame.

Shumai (or Siu Mai) are open-faced dumplings filled with ground pork, shrimps, mushrooms and other add-ins. It is a kind of Chinese dumplings originating from Huhhot, but those at Aroi Salapao has more in common with the Cantonese version. They are among the most popular dim sum offerings at most dim sum restaurants. The wrapping is a very thin sheet of lye water dough (unleavened dough). The seasoning is normally Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and chicken stock. Pepper is also quite common to add. The version sold at Aroi Salapao is with ground pork.

At Aroi Salapao you dont have a big dum sum menu to choose from. Besides the four versions of Salapao, they have one type of shumai. But what a good one that is. It is my only reason for writing this article. Porky, meaty and absolute delicious. They are dense and they are rather big as well compared to most dim sum restaurants. 6 bath a piece is just very cheap for this quality. I suggest you go for a handful of these Shumai’s, then walk over to Mae Lek for some Sai Krok Pla Naem, before you find a seat in the cantina-like-area in the middle of the market to enjoy it all.

Salapao is for me too doughy and not worth spending stomach capacity on, even if the filling is ok. That is not because Aroi Salapao makes bad Salapao as they are fluffy and made as they should be, it’s just not my thing. There are just plenty of more interesting options to dig inn on, both at the Nang Loeng Market and elsewhere. Anyway, the Salapao comes in four versions – minced pork with salted yolk, black sesame, taro and roasted pork with shitake mushrooms.

Name: Aroi Salapao

Food: Four types of Salapao and Shumai with pork

Open: Daily 6 am – 5 pm

Price: 6 bath per Shumai and 18 bath per Salapao

Phone: 02-282-2391, 080-234-7831

Address: Inside Nang Loeng Market

How to get there: No BTS or MRT here. Taxi or walking is the two options. Buss number 5 or 171 are alternatives. If you’re down-town and close to Saen Saep canal, an option is to use the canals and take the boat taxi to Panfa Leelard pier (end pier) – takes about 7-8 minutes from Hua Chang pier (Ratchatewi), then 7-8 minutes of walking to the Nang Loeng Market.