Little Shanghai

Little Shanghai is relatively new to the Sugar Land scene and I think for a small family run restaurant, they’re hanging in there quite well. The trick is… You just have to know what to order.
My family came here for the first time last night and we ordered about 8 dishes for 5 people. We wanted to try a little bit of everything. We started off with a bowl of their homemade hot soy milk beverage/​soup. Traditionally and at this restaurant, it is served unsweetened but accompanied with sugar (sprinkle it into your soy milk to make it sweet). The soy milk wasn’t anything special but it was tasty. Next, we ordered five spice/​star anise fish pieces (served cold as an appetizer) and sliced beef with scallions. Out of the two appetizers, I would say skip the fish (it’s very bony and not a lot of meat, but flavor is nice and salty). Try it if you’re feeling adventurous. I personally enjoyed the sliced beef with scallions. This appetizer is definitely worth ordering, the beef is sliced so thinly it just melts in your mouth. Nice and tender and is drizzled with a sweet and salty sauce.
Onto the entrees. This place has some amazing clay pot soups. They’re HUGE and piping hot. A must order. The soup we ordered was a wonton ribbon soup with salty pork belly and bamboo shoots. This soup was delicious. I eyed some other patrons who ordered another clay pot that had lots of vegetables (napa cabbage) and piping hot broth which I would like to try next time. Definitely recommend these clay pot soups.
For our entrée we ordered lots of family style dishes such as xiao-​long-​bao, carp fish, smoked duck, sweet and sour ribs (in a brown sauce not the more familiar Americanized red sauce) green beans, and Shanghai style noodles.
Out of all of the dishes we tried, I highly recommend the xiao long bao (steamed pork dumpling with soup inside), carp fish, smoked duck, and the sweet and sour ribs.
I’m not sure why some reviewers felt that the xiao long bao were «store bought/​frozen» as we could see them make them from scratch in the back and they came out fantastic. None were torn and there was plenty of hot soup inside. Absolutely delicious. One steamer comes with about 6 dumplings and a ginger vinegar sauce. The carp fish is served with an oil based brown sauce and the fish itself is very tender and fresh. Be careful though as this fish has a lot of little bones, so probably not an ideal dish for children or seniors. The smoked duck was smokey in flavor and of course, nice and salty. Big pieces of duck served on the bone. Yum. The sweet and sour ribs were extra tender and covered in a thick sweet and tangy brown sauce. Each piece was substantial in meat and very tasty.
The Shanghai style noodles were recommended by our waiter, but I think I would pass on them next time I’m here. The noodles were great in flavor but lacked in presentation, and ingredients. I expected more vegetables and meat. This noodle dish was mainly just thick noodles in sauce. The green beans were ok. Very limp after being wok fried. Both of these dishes were tasty but I think I would skip on ordering them next time.
Overall, I would recommend ordering the ribs in a sweet and tangy brown sauce, the hot clay pot soup (s), steamed xiao long bao, and the smoked duck. :)

It has been awhile since we dine in this restaurant. Service has improve. When we tried to order, as usual, there were more than a few dishes in the menu that they said they ran out of these and that! There is always so cold in this restaurant during winter time. I took a look at the thermostat, 58 degrees. Please be prepare to wear heavy cloth while u are eating!

So disappointed. Stay away if you’re looking for authentic Shanghai cuisine. There is no hint of Shanghai in the food at all. The soup dumplings tasted like those from the frozen aisle. «shanghainese style noodles» was oyster sauce stir fry udon (udon? Really?). And the wontons were bland and made with again, store bought wonton skins.

My family and I have been to Little Shanghai several times, and it has easily become our favorite Chinese go-​to restaurant in the Sugar Land area. My entire family is from Shanghai, so believe me when I say this place has authentic Shanghainese food! (The head chef and owner are both from Shanghai.) As other reviews have mentioned, the restaurant is quite small and usually packed. However, do not let the simplicity of this place keep you away! The dishes they serve really remind me of a family/​home cooked meal. Some of my personal favorites are the chicken wings, vegetable & pork sticky rice cake, and the salty pork soup with bamboo shoots. (Sorry, these aren’t the actual names of the dishes… but it’s something along those lines.) I strongly recommend all three. Especially the soup. It is SO tasty. I got it in the summer and all the sweat was worth it. I feel that the cause of the low ratings this place gets is mainly due to poor service, but I think quality of food comes first. Definitely try it out!

Husband and I were there last night for the first time, I’d give it 4-​star (the food is decent — not too salty and pretty yummy!) but had to take away 2-​star b/​c I saw 2 small roaches while there (one on the floor of the dinning room and one in the restroom when I went to wash my hands). Please do something about the pests, or the customers will stop coming…

I went to high school and college in Shanghai, so I know what to expect when you’re trying Shanghai-​style food. To be honest I don’t really like this place.
We’ve been here several times for quick lunch or dinner, since it’s so close to home. Tables are kinda limited… So be patient around dinner hours… So is the service. It seemed to me there’s only one waitress here, and she’s also the cashier. When the small diner is packed, be prepared to be ignored for a while. The food is ok with me, but it’s not worth the waiting time or bad service…
We’ve tried the spicy sauce noodle, pan-​fried buns, mini wonton soup, Shanghai-​style noodle, combination stir-​fry noodle, and a few dishes. They were not terrible, but average at most, but the pan-​friend buns, which I missed a love, were totally different from the authentic ones. Not planning to go back…
The worst experience was yesterday, the three of us went there around 7pm. There’s no small table available at that moment, so the lady asked us to sit at the large table for 6 – 8 ppl. We thought it’s weird, but then a little bit impatient, because even we sit at the largest table, for the next 10 mins, there’s no one say anything/​give us a menu/​water, or let us know how long we’ll be waiting. About 15 mins later, the lady told us a small table will be cleared out and asked if we’d like to move there. We were more than happy to, since we’re not getting anything at the large table. We then had the menu, then more waiting… A family got here about 10 mins later than us, but we saw the lady went to their table and took their order first. We were ready all the time, but she didn’t come back to us until 5 mins after she took the other table’s order. I felt ignored, unwelcomed, and a little bit angry. When sitting by the big table, we found a bug on the table… But she seemed to be the only person taking care of everything except for what’s happening in the kitchen… Hire someone.

Horrible service!!! When i said horrible that means i am too asian, and i use to go to chinatown to eat. So i know the expectation.
Anyway…i called and ordered for pick up. The dragon lady, probably the owner said my food would be ready in 15 minutes. My husband arrived 35 minutes later, and the food not ready (no apology off course). She said «food not ready, we busy just had big order». When my husband asked how long would it take then? Turned out off course they hadn’t even start cooking. OMG!!! Then she said it would be ready in 15 minutes (no apology off course). Btw, there were 2 tables filled up when my husband was there. The rest just empy tables. So it wasn’t like she was busy to think to apologize at least.
So he canceled the order.
And i called the place, and told her that what she did was bad. She could’ve called me since she asked for my ph # when she took my order. Or she could’ve give me the better estimate than 15 minutes to pick up. You know what she did? She said «your husband was here, and he cancceled it already» and HANG UP (no apology off course).
I really think with so many asian retaurants in sugar land open up, this place will close down in no time. Please people no need to bother with this place or the dragon lady. It’s not worth it!!!

BAD SERVICE…
Called and asked the restaurant if the fish soup is available. By the time I arrived (15 mins later), the owner said it was out. (the real reason behind is they are busy, so they don’t want to make it)
Hey, little shanghai! If you don’t want to make it, take it off from your menu and don’t lie to your customer.

Was actually going to another place to eat, but found out it was closed in honor of Lunar New Year (and than I cried+cursed in my car cause I was really craving some xiao long bao) I googled to see if there was another restaurant close by without having to go to Bellaire blvd (I wasn’t that desperate.) when this restaurant came up. At first I was alil apprehensive cause it was pretty empty but hunger won me over. The price range for a lot of these dishes were fairly reasonable! I ordered the Chicken lo mein which was so delicious! And their egg pancake was also on the money! And I finally had real mapo tofu «not that weak Cook-​Do crap!» It was so spicy that it numbed your tongue and lips, but it was still so good! Sadly they ran out of Xiao Long Bao, but I ordered fried pork buns in return and those were also very good!
I can’t wait to go back here and would recommend it to other people!

Ok so when I saw the review with one star regarding the to go order I was skeptical since this place was recommended by a Chinese friend. I had some friends coming over and they wanted some Asian food so I thought what a great time to try this place. when I walked in it was full but the place is tiny about six tables I think. I walked up and the Asian lady rudely asked what I wanted. I said I would like to order some to go. she said «right now?» I replied yes and she said «no. you don’t see everyone in here? I have to feed them first. you sit down then I feed you.»
I think that was verbatim of what she said.
then of course I said okay and left.
I usually do not like marking a restaurant a one star if I actually did not get a chance to eat there. and I am Asian so very used to the rude service you get in some of the Asian establishments. but the fact that this place can’t even be polite and said that there would be a long wait if I wanted to order and essentially pointed me to the door was enough for me to let others know about the horrible experience and they do not deserve my money or yours.

I came here asked for a togo, there were 2 table open, they told be we have not time for u, no too go. What a horrible service. Never heard a place that says that. Reject a customer…
Whither too go or eat there a customer is still customer, a good restaurant should not reject a normal paying customer.
Let me ask you this question: how would u feel if a restaurant told u to leave because they simply don’t have time for you…

It’s a pretty small restaurant but we got there at 11am and they weren’t busy so seating was never an issue for us. The food here is pretty good. I’m one who likes less salty foods and thought this place didn’t put enough salt in their food … BUT, the food still was pretty yummy. We had the xiaolongbao and it was perfect. We also had the eggplant dish and it was cooked perfectly except the flavor was just bland. Like I said though, that’s pretty subjective. I’d come here again and check it out, even if just to see the flavor part was just a fluke or something the first time!

Wait, what?! I haven’t reviewed this place yet? I could have swore I already did…
Anyways, I am a fan of this place and their many dough + meat combinations. Soup dumplings? Gooood. Pan-​fried meat buns? Gooood. Wonton noodle soup? Gooood. Make sure to always eat the soup dumplings with vinegar and ginger. They can be hard to eat for someone who hasn’t tried them before, but just bite a hole in the top, let the steam come out, suck all the juices out, and then slurp the rest of the meat and skin into your mouth. YUM!
Some of the best Chinese «small eats» in Sugar Land. Granted, I haven’t tried any of their family style dishes, but I’m sure I’ll be back soon enough to expand my knowledge of the menu here!

We’ve eaten here four or five times since they’ve opened. I’ve enjoyed it every time and especially like their yu shang pork and mui choy pork dishes.
One time we ate there the food seemed a bit salty, but the other times have been perfect. Definitely a great addition to the Asian restaurants at the various corners of Hwy 6 and Dulles/​Austin Parkway.
Now all we need is a Chinese bakery nearby…

This new shanghai restaurant just opened in my hood, so I dragged Jason in to try it. We ordered three dishes: pork with Mei style preserved veggies, fish with spicy bean sauce, and gangnam style stir fry veggies. Mei style pork is one of my favorite dishes. Most restaurants don’t get it right, but this little restaurant did a great job.
I don’t eat spicy food. So Jason reviewed the fish: it was okay because he doesn’t like spicy oil.
The gangnam style veggies was a sleeper hit. We actually just ordered it for the name, and it turned out delicious. Some of the veggies are carrots, tofu, snow peas, bamboo shoots, tofu skins (two types).
Overall, we both enjoyed dinner. Our tab came to $ 30, and we had plenty of leftovers. I would say Little Shanghai is a nice addition to the Jade Garden shopping center which now contains 5 style of Asian food (Cantonese, Southern, Northern, Thai, Taiwanese). Little Chinatown of Sugar Land!