Shanghai Bites:

For the last five years or so, I’ve been the registered owner of the xiaolongbao.com domain name. I never did much with it, just put up a placeholder web page with links to a couple of other of my websites, thinking I would figure out where I wanted to go with it. Mostly I just enjoyed the pride of ownership; I relished telling people I was such a nut for xiaolong bao that I owned the domain name. I even rebuffed an anonymous suitor whose offer for the name (via a broker) climbed to $2500 before he/she/it gave up; I’d be damned if I would give it up to someone whose intentions may not be completely honorable. But when a young man named Edward Chiu came along and pleaded for me to give him the name so he could memorialize his undeniable love for xiaolong bao, my hard-as-a-Jinhua-ham heart softened and he is now the proud owner of the domain name. The terms of compensation are in final negotiations, but will likely be 64 dumplings made by the “best dumpling maker in Shanghai”, Ed’s mother.

So check into Ed Chiu’s xiaolongbao.com website from time to time to see how he’s doing, and if he’s neglecting the little darlings, let him know that you are hungry for more. I will.