Shanghai Restaurant

It's important to keep family traditions alive and in my family we get Chinese food on Christmas. We called around 4:30 to confirm that we did not need a reservation as we were only a party of two. They said nope, come on over. We got there around 5 and there was no one at any of the 3 front desk stations so we just kind of milled around until someone saw us, not more than 5 minutes. We were seated by staff with glasses of water and there was a small sign holder with a QR code for ordering through Toast. It was simple to use. After ordering, we waited for about 10 minutes for them to bring out our cans of Coke Zero. I love that they offer Coke Zero, but I expected a glass of ice to be brought with it, not just flexi-straws. This is a sit down establishment that must have been some sort of steakhouse or hibachi grill (honestly, the mix of interior finishes in this place is interesting- lovely wood slanting beam ceilings in the entrance area and where we were seated, but there was a larger dining area with extremely high ceilings, bright lighting, and white painted ornate ceiling tiles.) The tables do have white table cloths, but they were plastic. Not a big deal, just thought it was a sort of place for glasses, especially since it was a holiday. We ordered the pork bbq steamed buns, the pork bbq baked buns, the pork shumai, and the har gow. I also ordered a bowl of egg drop soup. The bbq steam buns, har gow, and shumai all came out together- steaming and smelling wonderful. I will say that the har gow all stuck together and was difficult to pull apart- not really the restaurant's fault as they are chewy buns- just letting anyone out there who is not great with chopsticks to use a fork or be prepared to fight these particular buns apart. The bbq steam buns were a little dry, but overall good. I really enjoyed the pork shumai- it was flavorful and juicy but not too wet, and reasonably priced. They brought the bbq baked buns out about 10 minutes after the rest of our food. This was expected as they tell you on the menu that this particular roll will take longer as it is baked. These were also good, but I would not order if it was just me as whatever is baked on top of them is sweet, but the fillings were moist and had good flavor. Overall, I feel like the dim sum here is solid, good quality, and well priced for what you get. It's not the most amazing dim sum I've ever had, but far from the worst. My spouse really enjoyed everything and said he'd give this five stars but he's also less picky than I am and has only ever had dim sum once before. Now, to my real issue. THEY PUT CORN KERNELS IN THE EGG DROP SOUP. Their egg drop soup was really flavorful. However, the Toast menu doesn't have descriptions or ingredients in the app so I didn't know it would have corn in it. It had lots of chicken, was deliciously aromatic, and was a rich golden color. If they took the corn out, I'd probably come get this soup for lunch at least once a week. Also, it came out of the kitchen super hot and it didn't cool down enough to not scald my mouth on it while we were at the restaurant, but I was able to take it to go. The corn in the soup is literally the reason this is a 4 star review. So overall, this place is good, reasonably priced, has plenty of parking and seating, and the staff is very nice though your interaction with them is limited. I kind of miss the thrill of dim sum carts racing around tables, but QR code ordering is fine if they would add information to the menu/ordering app. We'll be back, but could be coaxed to better dim sum pastures.

We're from San Antonio visiting and was expecting more from Austin. The standard dim sum picks were ok, not as flavorful as Houston or even SA! The shrimp with rice sheets were not fresh. Also they tack on automatic 15% PLUS service fee and then because I wasn't paying attention, was promoted to give MORE tip with the default on 15% additional tip. No wonder the waiter was grumpy about taking our picture...he had no incentive to provide any good service. We spent $160 including three takeout dishes which at least did not have automatic fees. Would give 1 star for service.

Shanghai Restaurant is located in a strip mall at Huntland Drive and Middle Fiskville Road. It's essentially on I-35 South, north of 290 and south of 183. It shares a parking lot with Galaxy Theaters and some other businesses.If you've never been here before, you'll be seated by a friendly staff member, handed some menus, and then you'll be told that you order by the QR code shown on a sign by the table. Currently, the restaurant uses Toast. The catch here is that once you've ordered, you'll pay immediately, including the 15% service fee, in order to get your food.Once that happens though, food comes out hot and fast: we sat down, looked through the menu, decided to order Shrimp Shumai, Shrimp and Cilantro Dumplings, Chicken Feet, Luo Buo Gao, Xiaolongbao, and BBQ Pork Cheng Fun, paid for the order, and ate all the food, and left, all within 30 minutes.The Shrimp Shumai and Shrimp and Cilantro Dumplings were both stuffed to the brim with succulent, snappy, clean shrimp--no mush, filler, or paste, and no shrimp poop. Seasoning was on point; and the dumpling had a great cilantro aroma inside along with the shrimp.The Chicken Feet were savory, with a slight warmth from the peppers. The texture was soft and with slightly gelatinous fall apart texture, and it was extremely easy to eat and separate the tendon and flesh from the bones.The Radish Cakes were also quite good in terms of flavor. These ones had larger chunks of radish within, they were savory, and they did not require any extra sauce (nor was any sauce provided). They were not mushy from excessive rice flour. Very munchable and easy to scarf down.I would advise against the Soup Dumplings here. First, the soup within with very thin, not rich. Second, they come steamed in these metallic foil tins. No soups are provided, so they are difficult to eat. I ended up using the tin as a spoon, but they deform in shape; you are liable to spill soup no matter how hard you try. Much better soup dumplings can be found elsewhere. Special Noodle is an example which comes to mind.Finally, the BBQ Pork Cheung Fun (Rice Noodle Roll) was pretty atrocious. The roll stacked on top (with less sauce) had an unpleasant tasting metallic herbal taste. It was unclear where this was from the pork or the rice noodles. The BBQ pork itself was quite bland. Only when consuming the rolls on the lower portion (the ones swimming in sauce) did the taste become more acceptable. Of course at that point you are just tasting the sauce, which hides the unpleasant underlying flavor.Overall, Shanghai Restaurant has some pretty good dishes, e.g. shrimp based, but there are certain ones on their menu that can be improved significantly. Expect to prepay for your meal. In essence, this is like a food court or hawker stall, except it's just a single restaurant with AC and plenty of seating. Don't expect much interaction with staff.

If you want dim sum and don't want to drive out north or north west or don't want to pay $15 for shu mai then this a good casual home style option.The dim sum isn't refined by any means and it probably wouldn't pass the thin wrapper skin test or it won't have a high number of intricate folds but you can satisfy your dim sum cravings here. The dishes are a dollar or two more than the quick stuff you'd find at the deli counter of 99 ranch. Definitely better than there or any of the frozen stuff you can buy.Ordering was simple - you can do it through QR code. I do wish they had free WiFi if you can't connect but they can also do paper menu and you can check off what you want to order.The shu mai and soy sauce chow mein were my primary draw. I thought the shu mai was ok. The filling could've been chopped better with a better ratio of pork and shrimp and the soy sauce chow mein was a little on the salty side. It wasn't too oily which is always a good indicator. I got the pork ribs with black beans - could be less fattier with more black bean and steamed a little longer. The sticky rice was fine which the filling had a little more Chinese sausage. In all solid 3 stars as it hits the spot. I'm finding 3-4 stars a good sweet spot these days as I'm getting tired of paying for the more expensive fancy restaurant group places opening up. Plus it's easier to eat here since you don't need a booking many weeks in advance.Tea isn't free but I think that's the norm these days.I ordered way too much but feel satisfied. The other reviews talk about their Chow Fun so will have to try that next time.

Scan QR code to order and pay thru your phone. Food is usually pretty fast and piping hot. Food is not highest quality but will satisfy your dim sum cravings. Great for family style sharing so you can get a little of everything.

Our favorite dim sum place in Austin! If you haven't had the dim sum here... you are missing out! Theirs is the only place I can get authentic dim sum that is made fresh and so good! The chicken feet, pork shumai, pan fried leek shrimp dumplings, shrimp eggplant, and crispy shrimp balls are our favorites! The pork puff and bbq pork steak buns are usually our favorite too but the filling was lacking. The ratio was not balanced. Their new item salt and pepper tofu was super crispy but it was missing seasoning and a sauce to dip the tofu in. The steamed black bean pork is usually my favorite but there were chunks of fat and hardly any meat. We didn't see any black bean in the dish when usually there is. The shrimp eggplant was missing green onion and more sauce but it was still really delicious and came out hot. Shanghai has became a staple for our go to for dim sum! How to order: after seating, scan the QR code and place your order and pay. Every tab automatically add 15% tip but you can add more if you wish. Service is fast and food always comes out fresh and hot! Shoutout to our waitress Amber! She was phenomenal and was friendly and made us felt special. Thank you for providing the best service and being so attentive while running multiple tables. She deserves a raise! Do I recommend this place? YES! Don't walk... RUN to go grab you some dim sum here! Best in town and highly recommended! Don't be worried about the outside, the dim sum will blow you away!

I was hoping the Yelp reviews were because people don't appreciate authentic dim sum. I have had my fair share and this was not a place I would return to. Nothing was exceptional enough to have more than one piece but the pork ribs and the beef ribs were just plain bad. All bone and on the pork it was all chewy fat. No meat. On the beef it was just not tasty and it was chewy. I am quite disappointed. Attached is a photo of what we ordered to go. We ate 2 mins away so that didn't affect the integrity of the food. Yelp 2 stars = I've had better. I can't give this meal more stars.

The best dim sum in Austin! I haven't reviewed any restaurants in years, but I'm compelled to give this my highest recommendation. In fact, I couldn't even wait to write this at home - instead, we couldn't get enough and just order more.

Simply the best in town. Nothing compares. I recommend the pork shumai and the fried shrimp balls. Additionally, service is always great , shout to Amber , and the owner, Mr.He, is always very welcoming and accommodating.

This place is more than just a dim sum restaurant--they serve excellent Cantonese dishes too, like the roast duck and BBQ pork (cha siu)combination platter, lobster noodles( we call it lobster yee mein) and free-range chicken with the finely minced ginger and sweet soya bean source(we call it jauh deih gai) that's tender and flavorful. During my last visit, I was surprised to see that they also offer an off-menu Sichuan boiled fish that's not numbing or overly spicy but packed with amazing aroma and flavor. The best part of it is that it doesn't taste so oily. I did enjoy the hearty meal here.