Shanghai Dim Sum

I love love love this restaurant and hope that this review will bring more people in to eat there so I never have to worry about them closing ! ;) If you’ve been here but didn’t like what you had (I’m already inclined to think you have bad taste since I haven’t had anything I haven’t liked here ;)) or if you haven’t been here yet, let Auntie Em tell you what to order … (As whitewashed as I am, I still only order in Chinese and have no idea what it’s called on English so I’ll provide the best guess possible) .
1. Zao pai dou fu (English translation: The-​amazing-​house-​tofu-​dish that will delight your taste buds and possibly give them an orgasm)
2. Hong sao hua shui (English translation: The-​amazing-​fish-​dish-​in-​sauce-​that-​may-​give-​you-​an-​orgasm)
3. Qing cao xia ren (English translation: bite-​sized soft shrimpies with optional vinegar sauce)
4. Jiu niang tang tuan (English translation: a sweet dessert with lots of balls with black sesame inside in a flower spiced soup)
… apparently I never finished this review from a year ago and this restaurant is now closed. BAH !

not really a dimsum place. the soup dumplings are okay. however, the shrimp shumai (hagao) was too mushy. The wrap was overcooked and not a lot of flavor in the filling. The beef wrap was not bad with the sauce and green onions. We also tried the chives dumpling (chives box). It didn’t have a lot of filling and the wrap/​dough was a bit too thick. I guess it was crunchy however, a bit too much dough. Also, again, chive box filling did not have a lot of flavors.
We didn’t try the stirfry dishes or the other mains. Maybe it’s a different story? however, it is kind of strange that it’s called Shanghai dim sum with somewhat sub-​par dim sum.

The food was quite bland. We ordered some crab and ground fish special. I don’t know what it was but it had neither fish or crab. The pork dumplings were good. The ham and vegetable claypot rice was very bland and had not a drop of needed oil.

The XLB here was good. I preferred the one with crab inside. I also really liked the egg tofu with the snow peas. This place is comparable to the other two places we like for XLB, bamboo garden and Shanghai garden and we will be adding this place to our places to go. An added bonus is that this place does not use MSG.

I should have gone to New Port.
A friend claims this place was good some years back.
We were greeted by two Chinese women; one old, one fairly young. The old woman was nice. The young woman was not interactive when serving us. First we ordered peking duck among other things, and the duck comes out WHILE we were still ordering. You can guess it came out cold since it was made a while ago. If you’re going to serve old food, as least warm it up and serve it at least SEVERAL MINUTES AFTER ordering to at least try to trick us into thinking it’s fresh.
It tasted like chicken.
«Maybe the next dishes will be better.»
We also ordered pork and seafood dumpings (xiao long bao), salty ham, chestnut chicken, and rice. To sum it up, they were ALL terrible.
The dumplings easily fell apart, which my Taiwanese friend said should never happen. The taste was awful anyway. Very low quality.
The salty ham was flavorless and was probably spam.
Chestnut chicken was edible, but so devoid of any good flavor.
The rice was very low-​grade and not worth ordering.
Maybe, maybe I can forgive the poor service because I am Asian and I understand Asian restaurant culture.
Despite our hunger, we could not eat much of the food. We boxed it up and gave it to a homeless person.

We came for Dim Sum. I think it was tasty! The steam pork (soup) dumplings were tasty. The pancake filled with red bean was OK, you could taste the oil they use to fry it which was a little off putting. The BBQ Pork Buns were great! The texture of the inside pork mix was lovely and didn’t feel fake or filled with too much sticky goo so I appreciated the inside — the outside dough … the BEST pork bun dough I’ve ever had, lovely taste and texture.
It was quick and tasty, I’d come here again!

Xlb were very juicy and flavorful. About as good as anywhere else, not the best ever though.
Good spicy garlic eggplant.
Their pan fried pork buns were a bit below average.
This mushroom snow pea veggie dish was quite delicious.
Chow fun was not so tasty.
Friendly service.
Everything was about $ 9? I forget, parents in law treated us. Thanks guys!
More detailed review to come later if i have time =]

Food: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
xlb was better than Shanghai garden! ~$ 5-​$ 6 came really hot, and juicy. However, the filling was quite greasy, I wanna see a restaurant that does their soup dumplings with less oil. In any case, both the crab filling and pork filling were satisfying, the dumpling wrap noticeably thinner than local places around here. Bf and I downed two steamers of these and moved onto…
Sheng jian bao: 3.5 stars (less stellar than Shanghai garden) ~$ 6. These were good but a little large for me. Also wasn’t as juicy as the ones from Shanghai garden. But… bf and I still down’ed this plate!
winter melon with egg yolk: 4 stars if not so expensive at $ 9. yummy! if you want something stir-​fried that goes well with or without rice, you have to try this. I love that it wasn’t too salty or too oily. Just perfect. Finished this one down to the bits as well!
We also noticed outstanding service by the one woman waitress. She was so efficient and friendly. To the solo patrons who walked in, and equally to the english speaking customers who didn’t know what was what on the menu, she patiently explained each item. She would walk into the kitchen and come out with the check, the food, and water for 3 different tables, never forgetting each little request we ask for. Good job! :)
$ 30 happily spent for lunch between two happy campers.

I love this place! I’m a faithful customer and have been for years. This is my favorite! Excellent food! The chef is awesome and always says hi to me. The lady knows exactly what I want, I have no complaints about this place! I always left feeling fully satisfied. I recommend this place to everyone!

Came here to try the xiaolongbao and also cause we were starving… first off I noticed my tea cup was a bit dirty so I ignore it cause I wasn’t planning to use it anyways. Then I saw the waitress literally blowing something off the bowl and gave it to the customers. That’s completely disgusting.
Once our orders came we tried the XLB and it wasn’t too bad but could have a little more soup in those dumplings. Then the pan fried version came. I like the overall crispiness of the exterior but once I bit into it, it was nearly hallow with a tiny amount of meat. It tasted like they made it in advance, took out of the freezer and cook it. IMO, the thickness of the dough was a bit much with hardly any meat/​broth. Had better ones elsewhere but the service was prompt and courteous.

We had 3 dishes, 夫妻肺片 (fujifeipian), a cold appetizer dish with slices of beef and tendon. 小籠包 (xiaolongbao), pork steamed dumplings, and 豆腐牛腩煲 (tofu beef clay pot).
Fujifeipian is a Szechuan dish and this is a Shanghainese restaurant so it wasn’t the best but definitely decent. The xiaolongbao were ON POINT. Freshly hand made, the skin was perfect, not too thick, and the meat was great and had lots of juices. The last dish was the biggest disappointment, the claypot had this sour taste to it that I didn’t really like.
Service was great, lady was very nice and made our fujifeipian extra spicy like we asked :-)

Four star because this place serves excellent xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). Their xlb are more similar in style to the ones at the infamous Joe’s Shanghai in NY than to the dainty little ones at DTF. If you like xlb and can eat only or mainly this as a meal, you should definitely check this place out. You won’t regret it.
The xlb here are made fresh to order. One order comes with 6. Thin skin that holds it’s shape when you pick it up. Meat inside is of the right smooth texture. Soup is flavorful and a little sticky from the fat and collagen. They don’t skim on the ginger in their vinegar!
Their other stuff is decent but not as outstanding as the xlb. If you want variety, stick with their Shanghainese offerings (e.g. their specialty dishes on the first page and Shanghai-​style dim sum like shengjianbao (pan fried buns), zongzi (sticky rice tamale) on the last 2 pages).
PEOPLE, this place serves Shanghai dim sum. If you want Cantonese har gow/​siu mai, go somewhere else.
This is a husband and wife kind of place. Husband is behind the kitchen along another chef. Wife runs the front of the house with one or two waitresses who are all very friendly.
Like many Chinese places, credit card minimum is 20 bucks.

We were planning to go to Mama Chen for lunch BUT it was already closed (we got there around 2:45)…and I was starving and didn’t want to look further so decided to gamble on walking into this restaurant (they were open and the restaurant only had 2 tables with customers).
Not sure if the waitress realized that I’m a Unilocaler (I think she saw me «checked in») or she was just «nice» but she really was super friendly to us… and overall… service was good!
We ordered the cold dish: spicy sliced beef & tripes, Shanghai style fried rice (I think it says ham fried rice on the menu), the pan fried chives & eggs dumplings, stir fry loofah and squash, and Orange Chicken.
The favorite dish was the spicy sliced beef & tripes. The size of the dish is pretty large for appetizer, certainly could be a dish for itself and the price tag was good (I think it was $ 5.95). It had some peanuts and a tad spicy. but my caucasian dining companion could eat it and actually LIKED it a lot…(despite the fact he actually doesn’t like tripes!!!).so come on now, don’t be a baby about the spice level!
The fried rice had the good flavor. although for some it maybe a bit too light. but I thought it was delicious!!!
The pan friend chives & eggs dumplings were good for 2 – 4 to share (assuming you order other stuff)…I kinda thought it was a bit blend and needed more salt but the skin was not too thick and it wasn’t oily.
Orange chicken was good too with lots of flavor… good portion… the batter around the chicken pieces weren’t too thick.
The loofah and squash dish also had great flavor but not all the squash was fully cooked… I think they didn’t want to overcook the squash but then some of them were still a bit raw.
We licked our plates clean…(it was my 1^st meal of the day. I was starving!!!)
I think the total including tax and tip was about $ 47…but we certainly ate a lot lot lot lot!!! definitely enough for 4 smaller stomach!!!

I came Sunday for lunch and was seated immediately. I got great service with a smile and the waitress was bilingual.
The sweet soy milk was everything that it should be, sweet and creamy, in a medium bowl at $ 1.75.
The Chinese donut was fluffy and not too oily, honestly, one of the best I’ve had (1 whole donut cut in half) at $ 1.95.
The beef pancake was a little different. The pancake itself was a plain pancake and the meat was plentiful, definitely will be coming back for that. It was one whole pancake cut into thirds at $ 2.95.
The salty rice roll was awesome. It had the usual suspects of pork sung and Chinese donut rolled up with sticky rice with the pleasant addition of pickles, one roll cut in thirds for $ 2.50.
The star of the meal was definitely the shanghai steam pork buns with the regular meat (they give an option of shrimp). The skin was thin as it should be and the meat was a nice sturdy contrast. The soup was absolutely incredible. Being the authentic Shanghai restaurant it is, they naturally give it with vinegar and ginger (don’t you just hate it when they don’t?!). I loved it and ate most of the tray on my own! It was 6 pieces for $ 5.95.
Aside from the shanghai steam pork buns, everything else is on the weekend dim sum menu. The prices were reasonable and it was a comfortable eating experience.

I can’t believe I was able to pick up freshly steamed and fried dim sum on a Tues night! I ordered crab XLB, ha gau, and fried pumpkin balls with red bean paste. It could be because I was starving, but everything was excellent. They were definitely fresh. They don’t add MSG. The food was ready in 15 – 20 mins. What more could I ask for?
BTW, they make all their dim sum in-​house. Nice!
Here are the details.
crab XLB — cute dumplings with typical soup inside. I like the fact that it’s crab instead of pork. Different from the typical XLB. Only thing is that they didn’t pack ginger w/​the sauce. I wasn’t sure if it’s because it’s Shanghainese.
ha gau — small but tasty. Because they’re smaller, one order is few more than the typical dimsum places. The outside was a little thicker than other places, but I wonder if it’s because they make the wrapper. Not sure. Great with hot sauce.
fried pumpkin balls with red bean paste — Initially, I asked for fried sweet potato cakes, but they didn’t have any and recommended these. These were just plain awesome. Sweet rice ball with outside reminiscent of croquette. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I typically don’t order fried items much at dimsum, but since they didn’t have a menu online I had to try to find yummy items from the reviews here. This one did not disappoint.
I might stop by again here on another night if I get a dimsum craving mid-​week rather than waiting for the weekend to come.

³⁄₅ solid stars
We came here after a run and decided to chow down!
Ordered:
1) Green onion pancakes: ³⁄₅
2) Of course XLB: ³⁄₅
3) Fried sweet potato cakes with red bean filling: ⁴⁄₅ Yum
4) Shanghai pan fried buns with pork: ³⁄₅ Delicious, but pretty unhealthy! FRIED!
5) Beef pancakes: ²⁄₅ Pass! It was disappointing!

On the way to Michelle’s Pancake House, we spot this place on a weekend and decided to try it for lunch instead. Shanghai dim sum only available on weekends after all.
We get the standards:
Soy-​based soup. This is a thick soup made from soy milk and has preserved salted veges, in it. An unusual rich and salty tasting soup.
Sticky rice roll. Made with an outer layer of sticky rice, filled with dehydrated pork and Chinese doughnut. Soft sticky rice with a chewy doughnut and salty dehydrated pork. Mish mash of textures and flavors.
Chive filled pancake/​dumpling. 2 large dumplings and kind of flat so similar to pancakes. They’re filled with chives, glass noodles and eggs. Slightly crispy outer skin gives some good texture.
Friendly and prompt service with some tasty food indeed.

One of my good friends was visiting me from L.A., and we came here to get our grub on before he left. Of course, it’s hard to compare to the plethora of dim sum establishments in the 626, but Shanghai Dim Sum turned out to be one of the best joints in the South Bay.
It’s a very simple place. You walk in, sit down, pick what you want, and wait. No fancy tables, décor, or silverware. The simpler the better. Service is basic, but they will refill your tea instantly and the wait for items isn’t too long.
— Xialongbao: Very thin skin, well steamed, and very tasty soup inside. Some of the best I’ve had.
— Chinese Donut: Fluffy and delicious. Many places make it in batches and keep it out for hours, which leaves it rubbery. Here, it tasted like it was made on the spot
— Pan Fried Chive Pie: Forgot the real name, but it’s basically a pocket/​pie filled with chives, egg, scallions, and a bit of vermicelli. Although it’s heavily grilled, the inside has a very healthy, but delicious flavor. Fantastic mix of the egg and chives.
— Shanghai Pan Fried Pork Buns: These are what this place is famous for and they sealed the deal. Fluffy, light, and plenty of pork inside. Every bite brings you so much pleasure, but makes you realize you’re getting closer to running out of them.
— Beef Pancake: Also not sure of the official name. A pancake folded over with slices of beef and scallions inside. The beef is well marinated and spiced. It’s a nice quick and delicious meal.
Overall, everything here just tastes exactly how it should. It’s a small hole in the wall that might get overshadowed by the more vibrant establishments in the plaza, but it’s definitely worth a visit.

The 3 newcomers, Mama Chen, Michelle Pancake House and Little Sheep Hotpot, certainly brought a lot of life to this once deserted strip mall location. Shanghai Dim Sum was painfully quiet compare to its popular neighbors. It was not even half full when there were a sea of people waiting in lines for the other places. Competition is fierce. Days ahead could be even tougher for this little Shanghainese restaurant if they don’t step up their game.
People sometimes get confused by the name of the restaurant. They do serve some Shanghainese small bites, dumplings and appetizers but you won’t find any rice rolls or har gow here. Those are Cantonese dim sum.
The food actually wasn’t bad at all. I tried a variety of dishes and found most to be well prepared and likable. There were only some minor issues that tickled me a bit — the bean curd appetizer was served a little too cold, sauteed shrimp came with regular vinegar rather than the more fragrant dark vinegar and the staff were constantly having loud conversations which I found rather distracting.
Quality of service is a problem here. The staff seemed outright indifferent. A little enthusiasm would really go a long way.

Onion pancake was decent.
Thank goodness it was open late (930)!