Xiaolongbao (or XLBs to those in the know) are southern China’s answer to the north’s delicious ji?ozi and a source of incessant in-fighting among Shanghai’s fiercest foodies.

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning when somewhere around 20,000 runners and I took to the streets for a form of self-punishment most will never fully understand. I even found myself wondering for a large portion of the 42 km why exactly I was subjecting myself to it. Although most of the course wasn’t