Shanghai Cafe
“I typically get the regular (pork) soup dumplings but the crabmeat & pork soup dumplings are also pretty good.”
“Also, excellent braised noodles, and the Rice Cakes with Preserved Cabbage and Pork are not to be missed.”
“They also have sheng jian bao (fried tiny buns), which is a Shanghai specialty that is definitely worth trying.”
Shanghai Cafe
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Don't want to wait in line at joes Shanghai? Come here instead! Satisfies my craving for soup dumplings since I'm not from the city! Soup dumplings here are just as good with cheap fast service!
Pan fried noodles were surprisingly tasty too!
Cash only!
This place has great soup dumplings. Dinner for the 6 of us was about $20 each including tip. We came in at 8pm on Monday and there wasn't a line.
We were looking for somewhere to eat in Chinatown that wasn't going to be typically touristy! A little research and I read the rave reviews about dumplings here, and wanted to try! The restaurant was busy during lunchtime, so all tables were occupied when we arrived. There were 2 individuals who walked out while we were standing there, because they felt staff ignored them. We were happy to wait, and soon got seated. It is a small restaurant, so be prepared to make friends as you are practically sharing tables! This worked out for us, as our new friends recommended some dishes for us, and taught us the trick to eating pork soup dumplings. Staff are not the most attentive, but the food tasted good and it was a fun experience trying new dishes!
At $4.95 for (8) pork xiao long bao, this place is on my new favourite stop for soup dumplings.
Great quality dumplings, skin is a good thickness, broth plenty.
The other things on the menu are pretty bland or just greasy, would not recommend coming here for anything other than good, quick, tasty xiao long bao.
So this review is just for the soup dumplings (because that's the only thing I had….)
Delicious dumplings with the perfect amount of soup and meat and doughy exterior- we tried both the crab and the pork, and both are excellent. I felt the crab was especially good- some places, it tastes a little too fishy, but it was just right here.
Cash only! (but not like you need that much- the pork dumplings are 8 for $5, and the crab were 8 for $7, and we were stuffed after 3 rounds of dumplings!
I only came here for the soup dumplings. Very similar to Joe Shanghai. The wait is less and the taste is incredible. Cheap price and the order comes out fast.
I liked the pork soup dumplings over the crab ones.
I'm a sucker for soup dumplings. So trying new spots for soup dumplings is really exciting for me. After having Joe's Shanghai a couple years ago, I was pretty excited to try another soup dumpling great.
INTERIOR:
Looks like it used to be nicer and fancier at one point. Not so much anymore, but I remember it being slightly cleaner than Joe's Shanghai. I wouldn't want to walk barefoot on the floor or lean against the wall, though.
SERVICE:
The typical rude Chinese servers who forget about you as soon as they give you what you ordered, but will wait nearby when you ask for the check and they see you pull out your wallet. I didn't even count how much money I was about to put down in the tray before the money was swiftly swept away by a conveniently passing server. She wasn't our server, but I'm sure anyone if the servers would have swooped down to grab it. Yikes. My sister told me the rumors of this being the renowned restaurant who would chase you down if you didn't tip enough. Thankfully, we didn't have this problem.
FOOD:
We came specifically for the xiao long bao, but also ordered a few other dishes to share:
Pork Soup Dumplings: delicious. The meat was juicy and the soup was hot. The dumpling skin was a little tough on top, but otherwise, it was a darned good soup dumpling.
Crab Soup Dumplings: I don't know why I keep ordering crab soup dumplings. They always taste the same – just not natural. I'm sure they taste fine, but it's just not what a xiao long bao is about!
Lo Mein: your typical lo Mein. Nice and saucy, chock full of veggies, which my sister "graciously" left to me.
Red Bean Buns: they are just red bean paste in a bao. That's it. Nothing special but definitely warm and soft.
Overall, I would probably come back – I'm just glad we didn't have to share a table with strangers or have to wait for our table number to be called like at Joe's Shanghai; although I suppose it has to do with going during the late afternoon versus peak dinner time. Pricing is so reasonable I don't see why I wouldn't come back for just a steamer of Xiao Long Bao and a veggie dish.
Dumplings were ok. Go to Shanghai manor for better ones.
THAT $5.95 FRIED RICE THOUGH!!!!!!!!! Will def be coming back and ordering 4 of those to take home.