Shanghai Dumpling Shop

Their dumplings are excellent, we always get them for New Year's. It has become a tradition for us. Lots of choices and absolutely delicious.

Do's: & Dont's

Do:
Salty duck
XLB
Soy milk
Shanghai style chowmein
Soicy pig ear

Don't

Shrimp is flavorless
Salty soy milk (too blend)
Savory rice roll is flavorless
Spicy wonton (use the wrong sauce-peanut sauce and wonton only has meat instead of meat and veggies)

Come here for the soup dumplings! They will come piping hot so be careful so you don't burn your tongue like I did. I also got the Mongolian beef which was alright. Service was good and price point is also great! Quantity is huge and two people can easily share a plate.
Recommend

love this dumpling spot! we've been coming here for a while & everything is always so consistent. we tried their savory soy milk for the first time and it was pretty good. always get the xlb & the dan dan noodles it's so yummy. depending on the hours, it can get quite busy, but the food doesn't take too long. the ambiance is nice & not too noisy.

It's been a while since I've been year, but they've definitely changed something's around. First thing I noticed when I walked in is that they remodeled the entire place, took out the booths, and cut down the amount of tables. Lots of 1 and 2 top tables, with larger tables in the front. It's pretty obvious that they are transitioning to be more of a takeout heavy vs sit down.

When i sat down, I was handed a paper menu, with the new pricing n such (check the photos, I added them there). It looks like they cut down the menu a tad and they don't show their lunch specials or bamboo clay pot items. They still have those things, but its only on the menu that's taped to the wall (which I missed until after I finished ordering).

I ordered my usually pork XLBs. While still good, the dumpling wrapper was noticeably thicker and the dumplings not as juicy. They just didn't taste as fresh as they used to be. All the sauces came in single use plastic containers, and no more table side soy sauce or hot sauce/chili sauce. I also got an order of the of the wonton noodle soup. Definitely not my favorite as the broth and noodles both lacked flavor. Don't think I'd order this again. I was really Kicking myself for not noticing the lunch specials which are around $13.

While this used to be one of my go-tos in Millbrae, I'm not so sure anymore. I'll definitely be back to give them a try again eventually bc I'm hoping that it was just an off day.

My mom and I were craving dumplings so we decided to cry this restaurant in Millbrae.

I would have to say most of the stuff we ordered were kind of disappointing and I will explain why:

- Pork XLB: one of the delicacy of XLB is that it is steamed and you can poke the dumpling for some soup before you eat it. They possibly overcooked it so it was dry when we ate it. Still good nonetheless less

Veggie chow mein: unfortunately this dish was so oily that my family and I felt so sick after eating it. The plate was drenched in oil on the bottom.

Hot and sour soup: usually hot and sour soup contains pieces of pork but this was vegetarian style. I felt it needed more vinegar to give the acidity.

Hot garlic chicken wing: this tasted like soy sauce chicken wing and didn't really taste anything like the garlic sauce I was expecting. I was expecting to be similar to San Tung chicken wings which is why we ordered it. The chicken was super tender but didn't give the crispy crunch.

The lady helping us order was super attentive and I appreciate her patience. I was looking at other tables and saw everyone ordering clay pots so I must give that a try next time.

This location is better than the one near San Mateo and more parking spaces. The dim sum is pretty authentic and unique where you wouldn't see them at other places. They have the basic dim sum down but you should definitely try something that are less traditional here. Expect long wait but service is good and the restaurant is clean.

Bottom line: underrated Chinese breakfast, fire soy milks (both savory and sweet), made FLAMEY when you add the Chinese donut.

Vibez: cruised over on a rainy Saturday morning around 10AM. Shop was about 60% full with steady stream of customers. Located Broadway in what I'd call a downtown shopping district type street, it's a smaller shop with small village vibez inside. Music was the type of station that would play Backstreet Boys and the rest of "today's" best hits.

Soy milks and Donut: sweet soy milk was pleasantly sweet, it's nice to not have to add your own sugar. Dunk the donut, and it's straight FLAMEY. As a stand alone dish the savory soy milk is straight FLAMEY, I guess it helps it has donut already mixed in. The savory has a slight spicy oil kick, and some seaweed to change up the texture. Each bite is awesome. Would come back just for soy milks and donut.

Rice roll: rice is sticky but not dry. Stuffed with donut, sugar, and maybe peanut, it is a nice dish.

Shu Mai and Dumplings: great, not FLAMEY. Meat has great flavor, skin is substantial but not too think. As the saying goes: love, peace, and dumpling grease

Overall the flavors were rather bland. My date and I tried the mushu beef (which only comes with four wrappers), fried pork buns, and spicy wontons. Nothing stood out in terms of flavor.

Also, I wasn't a fan that they charged us $0.50 per person for tea. The cost of the tea was not disclosed to us; they just brought it to the table, so I thought I was complimentary.

Well they definitely changed hands. No familiar faces and the place looks cleaner. Food is not the same.

The xiao loong bao do not have the wonderful broth they had before and you get 8 instead of 10. They gave us one tiny container of the vinegar ginger sauce with our order.

The minced pork noodles were still good.

The ma po tofu was not as spicy and had a sweet flavor.

A new menu item, 3 bbq pork buns for $6 was disappointing. A very strong coconut scent and lack luster filling.

There are so many Chinese restaurants in Millbrae, there must be another one that is Shanghai cuisine. This is falling off our rotation.