Little Shanghai Restaurant

While the wait staff is ok, management is extremely aloof. The owner thinks she doesn’t need to extend basic courtesy to customers. And shows disdain if the customer requests condiments. What a shame to traditional culture. Now to the food, some of the dishes are ok, but the signature XLB (Xiao long bao) soup dumplings are not authentic at all. Skin is too thick, and soup has all leaked out. They should realize by soup dumpling it means the soup should be inside the dumpling not outside.

Except to wait even with a reservation. I can say it only gives you a priority to have the table.
I believe their food is even better than the shanghaiese restaurants in Hong Kong. You will be great for you if you ignore their service quality.

Came in a busy day and wanted to put our name down. The server said «Don’t need to write your name down, just come again next time!» Right, definitely not coming here again next time. No thank you.

Authentic Shanghai cuisine! We ordered sautéed eel Shanghai and Vegi Tofu Clay Pot as main dishes. Both are very delicious! I especially recommend the sautéed eel (we left almost nothing …). Must go with rice!
Their XLB is the best I’ve ever had in the Bay Area. More juicy than Din Tai Fung’s. Ji-​chai wonton soup is also a Shanghai special. Unfortunately the wontons were a bit too salty.
We came around 7:30 on a Thursday and still had to wait for like 15 minutes. The restaurant was not large but very warm and surround in a sugar & vinegar smell :) Overall, a good place for Shanghai food.

Bad service ever, don’t come, the waiter just too impolite. It will just ruin your day and appetite!!!

Service
–staff did not acknowledge us when we went in at ~8pm on a Saturday; asked to put our party of 4 on the list
–we were next in line, table given to another party whose name was not on the list
–waitress responded that their name was on the list 2 hrs ago… ugh…bs
–left for another restaurant down the block
Food
–can’t speak to this but I do have a bitter taste in my mouth after this experience

**********2.5stars food at the most*********
When u never tried better ones you would think this place is a 4stars! Food’s quality on the low side for the price but the taste is very authentic but not to the point I will return for the taste and quality of the price.
HIGHLiGHTS:
Cold salted ham: B
–Pretty good authentic
Braised eel: A
–Very good, you will regret if u don’t order it!
Sautéed shrimp: B
–Very Shanghai tasty but not delicious cuz shrimp’s quality & preparation were on the low side.
Average — below average:
Pork XLB (6.95) 8pc: C+
Skin not bad, not thick, but it’s juice and core was very so so. lacks definition and taste. But the good thing was not oily! (The best I had in Las Vegas china town on «spring mountain»)
Shen Jian Bao (6.95): F
It’s really pan fry with one side crispy, thin skin, juicy inside & taste meat but this was thick dough Bao, with no juice like a 小包子。not good! (The best was in Shanghai «franchised»
Lion’s head: D
Was a big turn off, the meat was ok but it was all fatty, taste wise has taste but it was very cheap material with not simmered sauce in it.
Over all, it’s good for daily working class.

Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum! Yummy yum.
A friend took me here and ordered all the good stuff (I’m Canto). The restaurant was PACKED, but didn’t have a wait. Yay! My friend and I went here during a work lunch and only had about an hour. We left our building and came back in about an hour, which means service is decently fast! Hooray!
The pan fried pork buns were perfectly pan fried.
The drunken chicken was a little hard to eat, as it was poorly cut. I was eating small fragments of bone.
The soy sauce bean curd was deeeelectable.
I’ll be back if in the area!

Came here because it was my grandpa’s bday and he wanted to eat Shanghainese food. I thought this place was ok. I don’t understand why there were so many people packed in there, and literally standing behind me while I was eating. It was uncomfortable.
We ordered a lot of dishes to try and the one thing that stood out to me was the Shanghainese noodles, other than that nothing else was really great. Everything was OK.
I probably would only come back here if someone else wanted to– wouldn’t be my first pick.

This place has really delicious xao long bao and fried pork buns. My friend and I (both dumpling and dim sum lovers) have declared this our go-​to spot in this area. The price is reasonable compared to other dim sum places I have been to in this area.
The food:
Again, both dishes I ordered are delicious. The proportion of filling and dumpling wrap was perfect. There is nothing worse than getting a dumpling that has little filling and a thick layer of wrap. The dumpling wrap was not too thick which is what I enjoy in my dumplings (other people might have other preferences). The fried pork buns were also really good and looked amazing. Again, the amount of dough used for the buns was not too much.
The service:
The service was surprisingly great for a Chinese place. The English is not super great but it is better than most places I have experienced. They are very prompt about getting you what you ask for.
I ordered 2 xao long bao (8 dumplings each order), 1 fried pork bun (6 buns each order), and 1 sticky rice ($ 3). The check came out to be around $ 24.
One thing that made me sad about eating here was that they didn’t have the spicy «yellowish mustard» sauce that usually comes with the chili sauce at dim sum restaurants. I have no idea what that sauce is called, if you know, please let me know. I am assuming it has horse radish in it because it clears my sinuses if I eat a good amount at one time. They might not have understood what I wanted, so that could be a reason why I didn’t get it. Other than that, this place is great! I would definitely recommend this place.

Mmmm… XLB and Shanghai chow mein. Get their green onion pancakes as well and their fried buns This place is my reliable comfort food place for Shanghainese food.
Also, service is great. Come early on Sundays to avoid lines (I’m talking like 11am). Lunchtime gets crazy.

Tonight my 4 co-​workers came over with food from this restaurant they’ve been raving about for months (but I’ve never been) so we could stuff ourselves & catch up.
This is what they picked up to go, and we shared:
Dong Bo Pork
Xio Long Bao
Drunkin Chicken
Dan Dan noodles
Pork Fried Rice
Green Onion Pancakes
Steamed vegie buns
Shanghi Stir Fried Shrimp
Pork Belly
We had a ton of food, which I found i really liked esp the Stir Fried Shrimp, Xiao Long Bao and the Green Onion Pancake. Yummo! I’ve tried shanghanaise food before, but just not this place.
Definitely would return. Had a blast with my coworkers.
Flavorful food, and as i said, Yummy! Think it reasonably priced (I didn’t pay).

I really liked the food here. It is one of the few places I’ve been to in the United States that offers decently made and authentic Shanghainese cuisine. Also, it was a testament to how good it is that every dish we saw get taken back to the kitchen was completely clean, like it had been licked.
The service was not great at first, but got better. At one point, one of my party asked for a refill on ice water. The host gave him a dirty look but came back with an entire pitcher of water and left it at our table. It probably helps if you speak Mandarin, but even more if you speak Shanghainese or go with someone who does. The quality of the food, in my opinion, is worth the bad service though.
We ordered:
— Soup dumplings (xiao long bao)
— Sauteed Eel Shanghai Style
— Steamed Buns with Pork (shen jian bao)
— Tofu in Clay Pot
— Dumplings in Spicy Chili Oil (Hong You Chao Shou)
— Shanghai Style Rice Cake
For the dishes I would get again, I would definitely recommend the soup dumplings. They are quite tasty and made well — the soup inside is quite delicious. I’ve been to some restaurants where the soup dumplings are completely dry, not so with these. I also really enjoyed the sauteed eel dish. If you enjoy eating eel, I would recommend. My dad used to make this dish at home for us all the time, so it is reminiscent of home. The tofu in clay pot was also quite good, it is a bit spicy. It is basically tofu in spicy sauce with vegetables. I would recommend this if you really like tofu, but you could skip it if you want to make room for other dishes. The Shanghai style rice cake is also on the would recommend side. It was the right amount of chewiness and the flavor was also just right.
The other dishes we had were not bad, but I would probably pass on them next time. The steamed buns with pork (shen jian bao) were good, but they were not the best I’ve ever had. The best ones have soup in the middle and the flavor of the inside and outside of the bun perfectly complement each other. The buns here were dry on the inside with no soup. The dumplings in spicy chili oil were also just alright too. I suppose that’s not really a Shanghainese dish, but the spicy sauce was just lacking. It did not taste as good as many of the Sichuan places I’ve been to.

This would be a place I’d take my picky Chinese parents.
Delicious and authentic.
We had pig ear slices in chili oil, loofah with dried shrimp 開陽絲瓜, tofu noodle 楊州炒乾絲, sweet and sour spareribs 糖醋排骨, cold steamed chicken, stir-​fried bamboo shoot with eel, and this very yummy and light veggie dish with bits of tofu.
My kids LOVED the steamed chicken and tofu noodle.
The chili oil/​sauce/​marinade in the thinly sliced pig ears dish was delicious — that was my favorite.
There wasn’t much service to speak of, but food came out quickly even though the whole restaurant was PACKED. I didn’t mind having to flag someone down or walk up to the counter — that’s kind of the «thing» with Asian restaurant. I’d go back for the food any day.

Sometimes confirming stereotypes is a bad thing.
Especially when other aspects of the meal make you torn between giving three or four stars for your experience.
A good friend invited me here for a while and, with a few more friends, we met here for a recent weeknight dinner. After a failed trip several months ago due to remodeling, we rain checked that into a meal for five with two coupled friends who’ve never met.
Being the last to arrive made for a comedic situation where they sat at two neighboring tables. We merged into a larger round table, causing a little confusion for the wait staff. After settling in, our gracious host ordered our meal based on his extensive experience here. Here’s what we had:
Appetizers
1) Drunken chicken (
) — Flavored just right as many places either overly marinate this in wine or not enough. The meat was tender and not chewy.
2) Xiao Lung Bao — Sorry, no pics as we were too busy talking. Good, but nothing spectacular. The skin was not paper thin, but decent soup inside. Our host taught us the step by step directions to eat these ‘correctly’. Pinch, open, add vinegar and ginger, devour!
3) Fish head soup (
) — A traditional soup served in a clay pot or casserole crock, the soup was clean tasting with a good assortment of ingredients and flavors. Not quite the best I’ve had as the deposed Sunny Shanghai had more flavor and ingredients.
Mains
4) Dong Bo pork (
) — Similar to braised pork belly, the stewed pork is melt in mouth tender meat topped with a somewhat gelatinous layer of skin and «fat» (?). The sweet soy braising sauce is a MUST with rice.
5) Fried gluten with pork (
) — Didn’t expect this one which was surprisingly excellent. Loved the veggies which offered a crunchiness to the pork stuffed gluten which reminded me of a meatball.
6) Shanghai stir fried shrimp (
) — Classic Shanghainese dish that was not too oily. Wish the black vinegar came a little earlier.
7) Stir fried veggies (
) — This was not on the regular menu and was a special order (meaning locals know) by our host. Reminded me of Ong choy (often described as water spinach). Liked the large garlic cloves which flavored the veggies well.
8) Veggie and pork rice (
) — Again, a better rendition than most as the rice was perfectly moist with a smoky flavor. Don’t think there was a grain left in that claypot!
Dessert
9) Black sesame dumplings (
) — The soup had an interesting flavor and the dumplings weren’t overly sweet like most places.
Overall, the food rates four stars for me as the Shanghai cooking style seems authentic. The big knock comes in the service department for me (stereotypes). Arriving just before 6:30 pm, the restaurant was about half full with two decent sized dining rooms. By mid-​meal, the restaurant was full, but I did not see a line. At first, our waiter was attentive in apportioning our soup, but that’s when everything started to slide downhill. Our wait for refills on our teapots were extremely slow, with our teapot disappearing for a good fifteen minutes. When the rice came, I requested extra bowls as many of us did not finish our soup yet; sadly, they never came. Then, by the time we reached dessert, the waiter plopped the large bowl on the table with empty bowls; I thought that he would return to apportion them like the soup, but he never returned.
The most torturous part was getting three small boxes for the leftovers. I asked three different waiters (not sure if there were two waiters and the owner or actually three) for small boxes and a bag. They acknowledged my request, but it was a good twenty minutes before it came (plus two waiters brought them separately). Now, if the restaurant were slammed (meaning line out the door and packed), I understand; but, by this time, the dining room was back to being only half full. Fortunately, the rest of our party was enjoying the conversation so it didn’t seem to be a big deal or maybe I’m just too picky. Some constructive advice to the restaurant: your food is good, but please do pay attention to these issues as others may criticize you more harshly.
Thanks again to my kind host in introducing this place to me. Hope things are better next time

Tasty. Authentic. Affordable.
I’ve been coming here with my family for years and it’s always a home run. My family is Shanghainese so they know what is authentic and what isn’t.
This place is legit.
Order the Shanghainese style soup dumplings (xiao long bao), pan-​fried dumplings (shen jian bao), and the rice cakes with pork (tsao nein gao). My pinyin is not good, but those pronunciations are pretty close.
The place gets pretty busy so be sure to plan accordingly. The food is 4-​star+ but I’m giving it the extra kick because there is truly nothing else like this on the Peninsula.

Ate here yesterday and thought it was pretty darn good. I live in the east bay, so I’m familiar with spots on my side of the water, but not over in San Mateo.
Anyhow, it was a nice spot with quick service and good food!
The xia long bao were pretty good; I wish there was a little less meat and a little more broth since the soup makes that dumpling my favorite! Still yummy and came with 8 in one order!
They had sheng jian bao! That was exciting bc so many places don’t have that, and I’ve always wanted to try it. The bottom was pan fried perfectly and there was a good portion of pork filling. It was blander than I had expected, but it was still something I enjoyed and would get again!
The vegetable fried rice in a clay pot though! Definitely my favorite part of the meal! It was delicious. The clay pot is hot so it Browns the edges of the rice to perfection. I could eat that everyday. Pretty sure it had tiny pieces of BOK Choy in it too. Ugh! I was in heaven!
The dry sautéed string beans were good too. Spicy like I like, but they were a little on the salty side.
Overall, I thought this place was pretty good! Definitely worth trying out if you’re a dim sum addict like myself! ;)

We had reservations at 8pm and did not get seated until 8:15. I guess it was okay since no one in my party arrived yet but me (–_​_​-​) Haha, the food was delicious! I’ve been here a couple times and the food does not disappoint. We ordered a bunch of food! Three hungry men…+ me. We got two orders of xiao long bao, minced beef and egg white soup, shanghai style sweet and sour spareribs, shanghai shrimp noodles, and a spicy tofu clay pot! A lot of food… but we did a pretty good job!
The xiao long bao was pretty good! When you take a bite of it, it just melts in your mouth. So so good. The skin is not too thick, but just perfectly thin which I like. The soup was very flavorful. The sweet and sour spareribs was good as well. The Shanghai style is different, tangy, sweet, and tasty! Yummy. It is one of their more popular dishes aside from xiao long bao. The shanghai shrimp noodles was tasty as well. There is a good amount of shrimp and the shrimp are a good size! Lastly, the spicy tofu clay pot was just okay. It was nothing special. I would not order it again.
Overall, the food was pretty tasty. It was nice trying new dishes. When I usually go here, I get the xiao long bao and sweet and sour pork. Always get their xiao long bao! It is what their known for! GET IT. Your tummy will thank you.
The service was good and attentive. There is a small parking lot that usually gets filled so I recommend just parking on the street. I was surprised to how it was still so busy at 8pm. Get here early to avoid waiting!

Affordable, authentic Chinese food.
Ordered their xiao long Bao, sweet soya milk, Chinese donut and a pork chop noodle soup. Everything taste great. Cost us around $ 25 for two inclusive of tax.
Their portions are huge, each dish ideally be shared by at least two. The noodle bowl was so huge, we reckon it could feed at least four pax. As the food serve really quickly, best not to over order and pace yourself.
The Chinese donut (油条）is by far the best I tasted so far outside of Asia. Fantastic on its own, even better when dunk into the soya milk.
Their service speed is fast. Just a few minutes after you order, everything will be served. They are fast moving so it’s best that you know what you want to have before asking the waiter to take your order.
We were there at noon and there was quite a queue. Shuffle yourself to the counter and put down your name and wait nearby. We waited around 10mins to be seated (2 of us), bigger groups will probably have to wait a lot longer. Be prepared to share tables with others too, will help to shorten your wait.
Minus one star for hygiene. Found a strand of hair on the xiao long Bao.
Despite the hygiene bit … I think we will visit again cause the food really tasted like what we have back home.

3 stars because of a poor ordering experience, even though the food and atmosphere was great. I was brought here by a Chinese friend after I mentioned craving dumplings. This is apparently one of her family’s favorite places to go when they eat out. The place was crowded at 11:00am on a Saturday and the hostess offered us the option of waiting or sharing a large round table with a lazy susan. We opted to share, were seated immediately, and it wasn’t awkward at all.
Ordering, however, was very awkward. We had a lot of questions about the picture-​less menu. Because my friend was Chinese, the waiter insisted on speaking Mandarin even though neither of us understood her (my friend is Cantonese) and we only asked questions in English. I, being not Chinese, was totally ignored. We went through a lot of effort to determine whether the pan fried noodles came with meat or not; I’m still not sure if it came with chicken or if they added chicken to it per our request.
Still, when the food came out it was well worth it. Our Shanghai Steamed Dumplings were meaty but still filled with soup — easily the best part. The panned fried noodles (and I recommend getting it with chicken) was oily but delicious. It reminded my friend and I of the street food we’d had on trips abroad to Hong Kong and other asian cities. I’ll definitely be back now that I know what to order.