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Shanghai Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
930 Webster St(between 10th St & 9th St)
Oakland, CA 94607
Neighborhood: Oakland Chinatown
(510) 465-6878
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
siying z. said: "The one of the best Sichuan Restaurants in SF. I am craving for Sichuan food right now, Yummm..." read more »
90 reviews for Shanghai Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"Their Xiao Long Bao is really well made and delicious, too." In 18 reviews -
"my favorite shanghainese food restaurant bar none." In 11 reviews -
"...definitely one of my go to spots for shanghai dumplings." In 42 reviews
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90 reviews in English
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Review from Markito M.
Oakland, CA
2/15/2012 8 photos
Home Run!
We started with the soup dumplings and while they were good they were a bit lacking in soup inside. Tasty nonetheless.
Then had the pork buns with crispy bottoms. Hadn't had this particular dish and they were very good.
Had the pork and greens (water spinach?) soup. Asked for it without tofu (sad allergy) and the waiter graciously asked if we wanted to substitute mushrooms. Hell yes! The soup was amazingly good - comforting with delicious minced up greens and lots of well fried mushrooms. Yum.
Then we had the sauteed "squash" (I think it is called su qua and very similar to moqua) - again asked for no tofu and they added garlic and goji berries. Fantastic. Love that they substituted stuff.
Interior is no frills - no quite a dive but almost. The waiter was great and next time will ask for his suggestions.
Can't wait to return. -
Review from Berna T.
1/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
I am so determined to change my boyfriend's mind about Chinese food, that I've enlisted the help and guidance of my most epicurean of Chinese friends. He usually gets an upset stomach after eating Chinese (I blame it on his poor choices of restaurants), but this time...I lured him with tales of Xiao Long Bao.
My friends Ed and Cindy met us out in Oakland for XLBs and noodles. Over-ordering is our specialty, so we filled out tiny four person table high with food and ate it all. Boyfriend had never had XLB before, and he loved them (and these are not even the best I'd ever had!). I believe I'm beginning to wear this man down into Chinese food submission :) -
Review from John Paul P.
San Jose, CA
1/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
My search for food resembling the deliciousness I had in Shanghai continues here in Oakland, at the appropriately named Shanghai Restaurant. Located near the Asian Health Center where I used to work, I had passed by on my way to Cam Huong without a second thought. Now, on a dreary Farmer's Market Friday, we stopped in for a quick snack/lunch.
Had the xiao long bao (XLB). Smaller than expected, but similar in size to the ones I had at Nanxiang in Shanghai. Nowhere near as good. The wrapper was a bit thick, and the soup a bit sparse. Decent flavor though. The vinegar dipping sauce was merely average.
Also got the pan fried buns which were decent in size (towards the smaller end) but didn't have much of a pan fried crisp on the bottom as I'd like, very bland, and the bun was on the thicker side and overpowering. Not impressed.
May come back and try the noodles or the wonton soup. -
Review from Jake L.
Oakland, CA
5/5/2012
Tried the Sheng Jian Bao; not authentic in the least. Tastes like regular baos. I'm still trying to find a place in the Bay Area that actually knows how to make them. It wasn't that cheap either, $5.95 for 6 small ones, and service/decor was unremarkable.
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Review from Jill B.
Oakland, CA
Good xiao long bao, the only place I've found here in Oakland. Very dainty in aesthetic. Clean place in Chinatown, with attentive service, and quick & tasty dishes. Definitely recommend!
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Review from cindy f.
Oakland, CA
2/5/2012
My little kid has been reading a book about dumplings, so for the past week she's been on us to take her to eat xiao long bao. So her we came. I've been to this place many years ago, but I couldn't remember if they were good or not. So now, we know. Not the best for sure. My little kid determined that the XLBs did not have very much soup in them, as her book expressed. We found them tasty, but just not up to par. We also tried the onion pancake. Really not what I expected. The puppies came out and they looked like the frozen ones you get at the grocery store. So wrong. Gotta, say we have to continue on the search.
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Review from Uland W.
9/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
Specialities are the shanghai dumplings and soymilk (hot).
This place is quite small and the staff has very limited English. If you are fortunate enough to know Mandarin then ordering will be easy. Since it was a Shanghai restaurant we tried 3 items on their meal that mentioned the S word. Sadly the name didn't live up to the hype of the South East Asia. The dumplings didn't was a little dry, the noodles was oily, and the sticky rice was nothing to write home about.
2 stars will sum this place up, I have experience better. -
Review from Noa P.
Emeryville, CA
3/5/2012
I only had the Shanghai dumplings which I usually love and they were not that good here. Did not seem to be made fresh at the restaurant but rather frozen and simply steamed.
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Review from Jin S.
San Francisco, CA
9/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
Was in the area and thought we should try this place.
1. XBL - a little smaller than usual, but does not lack in flavor or soup. Above average, but still not as good as some other XBL places in SF.
2. Pan fried dumplings - I ordered this because I saw it on another table. it looked good, perfectly seared and that was about it. Lacked taste and well, lacked taste.
3. Deep fried chinese doughnut - this was ok, crispy on the outside but over saturated with oil. Just a little too greasy.
4. xiao wonton in soup - this was actually really good. The last time I had this was actually in Shanghai(last year) and I have to say, this was at least as good if not better.
5. Stinky tofu - I was super excited when this came out, it sure smelled like what stinky tofu should smell like. But after the first bite, not quite there in taste. This was still better than most of the stinky tofus I've had in the past, but it just doesn't compare to that little hole in the wall that used to be on Jackson in SF Chinatown. My taste for stinky tofu has been ruined, I fear I will never experience great stinky tofu again. -
Review from Michelle S.
San Leandro, CA
5/23/2011 3 photos
Service-so so.
decor-small, simple & clean.
Food-I love how their shanghai dumplings are filled with pockets of soup the way it should be :)
The skin isn't too thick or too thin where it will break on contact.
I also like getting the pork dumpling with chives and the round flat noodles. Their tea duck is also very good.
It's definitely one of my go to spots for shanghai dumplings. -
Review from Eugene L.
3/1/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I was sworn in to be a Juror on a Capital Case and was let off for Lunch. Downtown Oakland will be my home for a few months which is a drag but a foodie blessing ,as there are tons of restaurants to try . Shanghai Restaurant will be one of the many places Ill eat at .
I Street Hiked to Shanghai Restaurant its a hole in the wall ,but the food speaks for itself . I ordered the Beef and String beans Over Rice and an order of their Famous Xialoin Bao -Soup Dumplings .
My waiter an older gentleman spoke perfect English . Brought me a pot of Jasmine Tea to unwind with .
The Xialoin Bao came first . These aren't just plain Dumplings . They are well crafted with love . They are a perfectly formed small chewy Dumpling
filled with Pork and Hot Soup then sealed and steamed and served with a dipping sauce . I dipped the Dumpling in the sauce and then put the whole thing in my mouth and bite down . What you get is an Explosion of flavor Yummy. A gal at another table saw me enjoying them so much she asked the waiter what I was eating and then ordered some for herself LOL.
Next my String Beans and Beef Over Rice came oh yes Comfort Food here I came . So good .
Definitely a good Hole in The Wall. -
Review from Yum Y u m.
Emeryville, CA
6/30/2011
Native Shanghainese food in Oakland. XLB was good & had good flavor, but no soup - won't order again. Love the crab rice cakes (NianGow). The flavor was really good, solid crab (not a lot of crab though). Might be on the salty side, maybe too much MSG? I sure did drank lots of water afterwards for HOURS. The vegi fish soup is solid! came out HOT & delish! - will order that every time I come. Other Shanghainese dimsum seemed reasonably priced. You can get the waiter's attention fairly quick & they respond quick too. Lots of take out orders.
down side: sticky table top, sticky chopstick. small place that needs major cleaning. The food so far, hasn't gotten me sick yet. But I do wipe down the table top & plates & utensils with hot tea. -
Review from Amiee H.
1/26/2011 1 photo
I'm always up for some good Shanghainese food! YUM YUM!
Food:
1) Shanghainese style dumplings (xiao long bao): A little disappointing since they were kinda small and there wasn't a lot of juice inside, but it did seem like it was made fresh in the store, so at least they tried...
2) Shanghainese style rice cake: YUMMY! A little on the oily side, but I think every place that serves this dish overkills it with oil, so I think that's just how the dish needs to be prepared or else all the little rice cakes stick to each other. Tasted pretty typical, just like it's suppose to taste.
3) Stinky tofu: Soo...this is the first time I tried stinky tofu and it's not bad. Not bad at all...however, I'm not that into fried stuff, so it wasn't my cup of tea, but it's not all that stinky so it's worth a try if you are into tofu products!
4) Pork Chop soup noodles: The noodles they used in these soup noodles were really good! The pork chop was a little oily so it made the soup kinda oily, but the pork chop was really flavorful and went really well with the noodles!
Service:
No complaints. Took our order, brought us our food, and then cleaned up after us. Pretty typical.
Ambiance:
It's like a hole in the wall Chinese place. This place definitely does not have an emphasis on decor, but it's more about just dishing out some Shanghainese food.
Price:
Pretty cheap. With tax and tip it came out around $31. Not too bad for all the stuff we ordered.
Overall:
I wasn't super impressed with the food so it's not five stars but it's definitely not three stars either. It's a pretty decent meal, but I don't know if I'll come back. I'm sure there are other Chinese places in Oakland that might offer the same or even better prices/food. It was worth it to try it though. -
Review from Xinwei L.
Berkeley, CA
4/12/2011
This restaurant has very authentic Chinese food in Shanghai style. The house special chicken and the dumplings are particularly good. They also have semi-prepared meals to take home that you can finish cooking at home quickly like boiling for 5 minutes.
The reason I gave a 4 star not a 5 is because of the environment. It is a hole in the wall with greasy tables. I get over it because the food is so great, but I will probably not bring out of town guests there. -
Review from Eric C.
1/27/2011
Shanghainese food is yummy. I know because I was in Shanghai earlier this year and had some delicious delights.
Shanghai Restaurant is a pretty non-descript restaurant on Webster St in Oakland. They do a decent job replicating flavors. It's not the best, but it's far from the worst. And it's definitely nice to hear them speak Shanghainese with some of their customers. At least you know they're the real deal!
Tip: avoid the restroom if you can. It requires a key and it's shared with a few other restaurants, so I wouldn't go unless you really needed to go. Stinkier than their stinky tofu! -
Review from Kim D.
3/6/2010 1 Check-in Here
I'm hungry. (My default setting)
What's the name of that Shanghainese restaurant that Chairwoman Xiao took us to? Yeah, that place with the gawd-awful fluorescent lighting and the really sketchy bathroom situation?
You know the one I'm talking about - the one that's closed on Tuesdays - I know - bizarre, huh? Because as far back as I can remember, I have always been hungry on Tuesdays! I'm hungry on every day that ends in -day!
What is the NAME of that place? I can inhale an order (or two) of XLB with that nummy black vinegar and fresh ginger just to warm up the engine!
We've eaten there dozens of times - why in the world can't I remember the name of that Shanghainese restaurant? Uh-huh - the one across the street from Shan Dong - is it on the 900 block of Webster?
Yes! It's the place where I always order that Shepherd's purse soup with the light, clear broth, sliced tofu skin, some foliage and the fabulous ghost shrimp that define umami. WHAT IS IT CALLED???
Uh-huh - the same place we ordered eels in Shanghai style sauce... and I'm pretty sure they're angulas... I scrutinized them - definitely not white bait. Didn't love the sauce so much... told you it was a bit heavy - but the Chef came out and we ended up buying a few frozen bags of them so I could get my tapas groove thang on? Remember he made the second order with just garlic and some olive oil and how I slumped into my seat, and my eyes rolled back into my head? Gustatory coma.
OH!!! It's the place where I always order the carb-coins with extra greens and extra julienned Shanghainese ham. Total food baby; totally worth it.
The place I love to go, despite the fact that they're very accommodating to ovo-lacto-pescatarians who shun pork in all of it's glory... yeah, they'll substitute whatever you want and have gluten puffs galore. This is driving me nuts!
You know where I'm talking about - the Cadet always orders beef with broccoli, much to my chagrin, and I threaten to disown him every time? But who cares... I dig this place. Where do you think all of the dumplings in the freezer came from? Uh-huh - the freezer case where you can stock up for an emergency dumpling DIY fix.
Hold on... let me check Yelp. Okay... and... Here it is: SHANGHAI RESTAURANT. 930 Webster in Oak-land. I will try to remember that next time. Like, tomorrow!Listed in: Nickel & Dime Treasures
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Review from evelyn y.
San Francisco, CA
2/12/2007 ROTD 11/8/2007
The FIVE STAR is for the pre-packed frozen food. I never had anything else cook their. Would not know..... My bf only buys the frozen ones home and I am not even sure what the restaurants look like...... But potsticker is delicious(Put frozen potstickers/dumplings/buns. Just put whatever you wish to cook into burn hotpot with oil/water in it and let it seat for 10 min low heat....NEED A LID/COVER)done!!!
fellow yelper updated: Add 2 drops of olive oils. -
Review from GarySoup I.
San Francisco, CA
9/21/2007 3 photos
Shanghai (Shanghai Xiao Chi, in Chinese) is only my third favorite place for Shanghai small eats after Shanghai House and Shanghai Dumpling King, both on outer Balboa in San Francisco. However, I find myself going there more often, thanks to BART. Even though I live in San Francisco, I can get there much faster. I love the ambiance too; the cramped layout, the hustle and bustle and the Shanghainese dialect flying through the air all bring me back to Shanghai.
Despite its attractions, Shanghai Restaurant only comes in second or third to the other places in the brunch/lunch items I most often crave. The xiaolong bao on my recent visit had a saggy, deflated cast to them (like New York-style "soup dumplings") though the wrapper consistency and the depth of flavor were still there. The xian doujiang (salty soy milk soup) is the equal to that of Shanghai Dumpling King's but falls short of the excellent version at Shanghai House; and the congyou bing (scallion pancakes) fall a bit short of the mark. The shengjian bao probably are better than Shanghai Dumpling King's (Shanghai House doesn't offer these) based on my dim recollection. In any event, as the photo shows, they are beautifully constructed though far down the comfort index compared to the salty grease bombs so readily available on the streets of Shanghai.
The main dishes offered are hard-core homestyle Shanghainese, competently done if not exemplary; my wife does most of them as well or better. However the red-cooked pork joint is a must-have if you have the nutritional budget for some fat, salt and sugar. -
Review from Shiyuan D.
Oakland, CA
8/28/2009
Have all the Yelpers that don't like this place ever considered that maybe, they don't like Shanghainese food?
If you don't like niangao (rice cakes), then you don't like niangao. That's totally different from saying that this place's niangao is BAD.
It's alright. There's no shame in wishing there was lemon chicken on the menu. But don't write reviews like you know anything about Chinese food. -
Review from J T.
2/9/2009
Gross, rude and expensive for what you get.
$14 for Shanghai Chow Mein and an order of xiao lung bao. The chow mein was super greasy and was mainly some shreds of napa cabbage, green onions and pork that blends in to a point where you can't really even see them. The xiao lung bao was cold on the inside? possible not cooked all the way through? Eewww...just hoping I don't get food poisoning. The first couple I had were fine then some where cold...gross.Listed in: My List of Places to Avoid
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Review from Brad L.
Hayward, CA
8/10/2007
After a designated month of mourning for the closed Berkeley branch, I headed to the mothership. No decor to speak of, but here they had an English- (and Cantonese-) speaking waitress, which made my life much easier. Ordered the braised pork meatballs (Lions' heads) and the rice cakes with pork and mustard greens. Got four huge meatballs, not crusty like I like them but tender and crumbly, good taste, came with bok choy. Shanghai rice cakes were top notch: rubbery, but in a good way, in very umami sauce. Excellent stuff; now I need to return for the XLB.
***
XLB update: About 7/10. Marginally gummier than at the Berkeley branch but significantly better constructed than Shanghai Dumpling King. -
Review from Alice L.
Oakland, CA
5/8/2011
Feeling like I owe this place a review for a long time, since we are definitely the regulars here, and totally loved this place.
I noticed that last week we went back that the wall is repainted, showing some effort that they are doing their best to keep the place nice and clean.
Since we eat mostly vegetarian, this place offers many selections which can satisfied vegan or vegetarian customers. Sometimes they'll have a "private dish" or two that they will tell you verbally.
My best recommendation is to non-chinese group if you are curious and want to try something new but not sure what to get is to bring a Chinese friend with you who DO speak good Shanghainese or Mandarin. Don't know any? You are more than welcome to send me a message and I'll send you my recommendation list!
Service here can be bad or mediocre but we always get the best service here since we became regulars. They know what to recommend and are very flexible with special request, this is why I LOVE about this place! You can even make up your own dish if you can tell them exactly what you want!
Price is unbelievable too! Three "family style dishes" with rice and dessert soup comes to $18! Small eatery cost $3 - $7 most. One time I brought a group of 10 (mostly non-Chinese) and we ordered a whole round table of food, all delicious and packed many left overs to-go. At the end each of us paid $15 and that's including 20% tip and tax!
People who mock them about making mediocre (or bad) traditional Shanghainese entrees, like Xialoin Bao dumplings, there's something that people might neglect or didn't know about. Why the food taste different? Have you consider that the ingredients what we have here in the states are fundamentally different than what you can get in Asia? For example, the pork that we got here are fed with corn, lots of chemicals and the way which the industry slaughter the cattle are not the same (the blood remain IN the meat where as in Asia the first thing bucher do is to let the blood come out first, which completely change the taste of animal). So does all the veges are grown conventionally that everything kind of taste blend anyway. With that being said, I wouldn't expect these traditional favorites to taste the same. This applies to most of the ethnic food restaurants where I constantly heard complaints when people are comparing with the original entree. If you are a traditional cook and learn to cook in China/Taiwan/HK, you'll have lots of opinion about the basic ingredient here in states.
So what happen to the five star review? like all the mom and pop shop, they do lots of kitchen prep in the front, sitting in front of the counter using the tables they serve customers. It bugs me a little since I also work in restaurant and didn't like to use the serving station as prepping station. That's all.
I wish more American can discover this place because it is really good! You don't need to pay a plane ticket to try some of the best regional food in Shanghai, they got it all here.Listed in: Top Restaurants
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Review from Andy V.
Oakland, CA
8/18/2007
After a good night at our local bar we decided we'll check out the Shanghai restaurant in Oaktown!
We found a parking spot just 1 block away. Yippee! Meandered over to Shanghai Restaurant and stood in front of the door. Buzzed and hungry we were waffling about going here or Shan Dong around the corner. Finally I said "I want the Ants on the Tree". My wife said okay okay we'll eat here. (She loves both restaurants so she didn't care)
Walked in it was pretty typical. Basic seating. Bright fluorescent lighting. Colorful menu items posted in chinese on the walls. (Listen-you don't come here for the ambiance)
My wife spoke and ordered again in mandarin. (God I love her!)
They gave us two menus--one was the basic menu and the other was some of the breakfast items.
We ordered:
Lion's head (4 big meat dumplings. Yes, they do make them soft, but I'm down with that)
Pork Szechuan Noodles Soup
Xiao Long Bao
House Sauce Noodles Soup
Green Onion Beef (basically Mongolian Beef)
Beef Stew Noodles Soup
Onion Pancakes
Cold spice Tofu (Awesome...or maybe it was because it was the first dish they served us? Whatever, there was none left for the doggie baggie)
(Yeah yeah, I know we ordered a whole bunch of noodles. Hey! I said we were drinking right?) Everything was good. Dishes and bowls came out hot and steaming. You could hear them in the kitchen cooking away and laughing at us for ordering so much! So what, we're bagging it man!
Everything was good! We ate and ate and ate. I think my take on whether food is good or not is that you keep eating until you suddenly stop and realize "Oh oh. I better stop or my belly will explode..." It was that good. (My wife proved my point because 2 hours after we got home she said she was so full. Hee hee)
Our friend, V, was grubbing also. Loved it. He did say that he thought the Milpitas place might have been better. However, I think it was because we had different dishes so that changes it a bit. If we ordered the same dishes I would say Oakland's Shanghai would be on par and hence it's the same.
Summary: No ambiance. Good food. If you want the taste of Shanghai, this is the place to go in Oakland Chinatown. -
Review from Trixie J.
San Francisco, CA
6/5/2006
Some tasty, some disappointing.
Tasty:
1. the "big wontons." They're not really big, but the filling is tasty enough. You can buy frozen ones to cook at home yourself. $5 bucks a bag for 30 pcs, I think...
2. Tsai fan or vegetable steamed rice. Not that great, but not bad.
3. Meat zhong-zi (the rice and meat thing wrapped with leaves). Not bad. Decent taste. Not too fatty.
Disappointing:
1. Sung jian bao. Haven't found a place that makes decent ones yet. Usually the dough is too thick.
2. Noodles are so-so.
3. Mustard green and tofu ribbons. Soggy, bitter mess and tastes like there's too much MSG.
4. Tofu-gan strips with "meat strips." Lousy seasoning. Lousy meat strips. -
Review from Jonathan S.
Emeryville, CA
8/1/2007
Ah, this place reminds me of China-- all the good things about the food, and all the bad things about the service, food prep and ambiance. If the latter notes tend to drive your taste buds, then avoid this place; read below. If the former, then you have every reason to eat here-- head on in.
Ignorance is bliss (I wish I didn't take notes while eating here today-- I really do think their food will remind you of the noodle shops in Shanghai-- or at the very least-- Beijing).
The service was horrible today. We had a waitress that literally pushed my sister out of the way to serve the food. She was downright insulting when we asked for boxes to go, and seemed like she had a pretty big chip on her shoulder. Maybe we should have actually talked Chinese to her, but for someone to hold that much of a grudge because you can't speak her language? Man. If you got this far, and are still willing to go, bring an interpreter who speaks mandarin.
While leaving, I had the chance to check out their food preparation. They were making wontons and, while I'm normally a big fan of food made authentically in the traditional sense, they were using one of the dining tables as a prep top. Think about it-- a table normally used for dining by everyday patrons, wiped down with a wet cloth that's used to wipe every *other* table in the restaurant, has a bunch of wonton wrappers resting directly on top of its linoleum surface. I *strongly* doubt that the wipe cloth had any kind of disinfectant on it, and I was just grossed out.
Okay, so maybe that isn't such a big deal, right? I mean, the dumplings get frozen, then boiled in broth-- so of course anything stuck on them is going to die... It's just the idea of that kid at the next table sneezing into his food, and then you think that maybe they might use *that* table to prep the food... Anyway, I'll likely selectively forget what I just wrote and go back there in a month or so. For now, though, I'm hesitant. -
Review from Phuoc K.
12/31/2009
Went there for the first time last night with some friends after our first choice, Shan Dong was found to be closed on Mondays.
It really is a hole in the wall, maybe about 10 tables or so with pretty casual service. I thought the service was a bit slow at first, but they seemed nice enough.
I'd heard about the XLB here, and we ordered some along with the Shanghai Dumplings, unfortunately, they were both a bit of a disappointment. skins a little thicker than I like, filling a little bland, and hardly any soup inside. Fortunately, the rest of what we ordered turned out pretty good. Spicy charred greenbeans were tasty with a little heat but didn't burn. The crab and rice cakes, the beef stir-fried chowmein, were both good, non-greasy dishes. Though disappointingly, they weren't using dungeness crabs.
They gave us a complimentary sweet dumpling soup for dessert to finish off the meal. I wasn't a big fan, but my friends seemed to like it.
I probably wouldn't rush back to this place, but if in the area, it's a decent option. -
Review from Daniel S.
11/18/2007
JABBA THE HUTT was what I thought of (in terms of size and looks) when the braised pork joint (shoulder) was brought out to us. It was yummy. Sure, it could have been cooked til it was a bit softer but.... hey, it was enormous!
Otherwise, the food is more or less accurate Shanghainese food, I'm told, but I didn't think it was any great shakes. Plus the fried dumplings are TERRIBLE -- no juice at all.
UPDATE: I took 4/5ths of Jabba home and slow-cooked it some more -- awesome!Listed in: I Know Pork Fu
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Review from Derrick V.
San Francisco, CA
3/17/2008
We tried: Xiaolong Bao, Eight Delicacies Noodle Soup, and House Special Sauce Noodles, aka Zhajiang mian.
The XLB filling and skin was fine, but there wasn't much soup inside. It's served with the standard black vinegar with ginger strips. They were probably the best things we ate however.
The noodle soup came in a huge portion, of noodles mostly, with pork cubes, black mushrooms, bean curd, and bamboo shoots with a tart fermented soybean paste and a touch of chili oil. I was expecting a light broth, but the sauce from the toppings changed the broth drastically. The noodles were nice and chewy though.
The dry noodle dish came with the same fermented soybean paste, but with just ground pork and julienned cucumbers. I didn't like the sauce much and the noodles were almost soggy. Everyone else in the restaurant was ordering this dish though. I've had the Korean black bean sauce version, which I prefer over this one.
There's probably other good Shanghainese specialties at this place, but we didn't have them on this visit. -
Review from Martin O.
Berkeley, CA
12/8/2011
Great Shanghai-style xiaolongbao/XLB/, although they weren't filled with the soup that makes them completely authentic. Still though, I was transported right back to Shanghai after eating a couple orders of these tasty little dumplings. I also really like this place's dan dan mian ().
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Review from Betty C.
8/16/2010
Driving back from LA to SF and we were getting boba at Sweet Booth when I had a craving for green onion pancakes. This restaurant was located right across the street so I thought let's give it a try.
We ordered 1 green onion pancake and 1 shanghai fried dumpling/bao to go. We waited 20 minutes before our order was ready. First off, for those two things, it cost $12. $4 for one order of green onion pancake was way steep so I was hoping it would be pretty tasty to offset the price-NOPE so disappointed.
We tried a piece of it in the car and the green onion pancake tasted like it was defrosted and pan fried. There was no taste at all just lots of dough. When we got home we tried the shanghai fried dumplings. These dumplings are the fried equivalent of xialong bao and are supposed to have these delicious juices coming out of it. The one here? dry as the Sahara desert and not a single drip of juice. Not even the soy vinegar sauce it came with could save it.
This place is terrible. If I wanted to eat food that was defrosted and pan fried, I could go to 99 Ranch, buy some of this stuff and fry it myself for 1/4 the cost. Compared to the places in the San Gabriel Valley in SoCal or even Milpitas, this place is terrible! We will never return. -
Review from Ellis L.
San Jose, CA
3/9/2010
I remember sitting down at the table for lunch and just taking in the worn down feel of the place. It gave me flashbacks of eating in Scarborough (Toronto) and random eateries in Hong Kong. I like these more than those fancy Chinese Restaurants ("wine families" haha).
I ordered the Shanghainese Stir-Fried Rice Cakes (shang hai chao nian gao), onion pancake and sweet soybean milk. I was tempted to order more but there's only so much one person can order by themselves.
The rice cake was decent - my favorite thing about a dish like that is the "wok flavor" ("wok air") - usually added into the food by the way the oil, fire, temperature and wok come together for the right amount of sizzle in the food. However, this dish was a little lacking in that aspect and I feel it could've had a bit more color. Hahaha! Not bad though.
The onion pancake was ok, I'm not sure if they are homemade or not, but they had this kind of previously-frozen texture. The flavor was admirable.
The soybean milk was not. It tasted kinda funky actually. I'm crazy about soy products and know when there is the soy fragrance in food typically made with soy beans. This didn't have it. This had a weird sour hint in the aftertaste. I definitely won't be trying this again. If it were the salty soybean milk, maybe the other ingredients would've successfully masked the odd taste.
I heart Shanghainese food and won't rest until I find a good one! -
Review from Ricky S.
Oakland, CA
9/12/2010
The food here is not bad, it's actually pretty good but here's the reason for my 1-star review:
This place is pretty shady and I came away feeling like I got shafted which put a damper on my whole evening.. here's what happened, you be the judge...
My gf and I wandered through old town Oakland looking for dinner on a Sunday evening - most spots were closed in old town so strolled into Chinatown and settled on Shanghai Restaurant.
We ordered the chow mein and soup dumplings and my gf was like "oh we should get a vegetable dish - do you have any recommendations?"
The waiter suggested we get the baby greens "half sliced, or small cut" or something to that effect. We said sure b/c we didn't care at that point. It was sauteed veggies w/ garlic - tasty, sweet with a tinge of bitterness, consistency was a mix between cooked spinach and bok choy (anyone know what this veggie is?). When we asked them what veggie they used, they did not answer.
When the check came, the chow mein was $5.95, the dumplings were $6.95 and the veggies were $8.95!!!! I asked the waiter why the veggies were so expensive and that I thought it was weird that the veggie dish would be more expensive than the other two dishes we had. He said it was a special veggie dish. I asked if they had it on the menu... he said they did not.
The bill was rounded to $24 which I thought was weird b/c our total before taxes was $21.85 (with the super expensive veggie dish) and with 9.75% tax, it should come out to $23.98, not some round number, which leads me to suspect they were being loose with what they decided to charge us for the veggie dish.
Granted, I do feel stupid for not asking how much the dish was before blindly agreeing to the waiter's recommendation, but still... It never feels good to come away thinking one got taken. -
Review from Stephen L.
Emeryville, CA
9/6/2011
Came here craving xiao long bao (XLB).
Arrived on Labor Day Monday, and all of Oakland Chinatown was empty. Ordered the dou jiang (soymilk) to start, plus green onion pancake and XLB. The green onion pancake was pretty bad - I've had better ones frozen from Ranch 99. The XLB was ok - not the best, but i've definitely had worse. 3 stars because this is one of the few places to get XLB in the east bay (that i know of, at least). -
Review from Joyce B.
4/4/2010
Being the true Shanghainese, I've got to say, I was quite disappointed with the food that we ordered from here. My friends and I came here for dinner and the restaurant was pretty empty.
Here's what we ordered:
- Xiao Long Bao (a must for Shanghainese cuisine)
- Pan-fried Xiao Long Bao
- Sweet and Sour Spare-ribs (shanghainese style)
- Beef noodle
The xiao long bao was not authentic at all. they were tiny and tasted nothing like the real ones. The pan-fried ones were much better. The ribs were also not as good. They were a little too sour. The noodle was alright, but the beef was slightly cold.
Overall, the food was decent but I wouldn't consider it shanghai food. -
Review from Anita W.
6/9/2011 5 Check-ins Here
i came here to try their shanghai dumplings and i am a fan of their dumplings! they are pretty small, but theyre made and it tastes like how a shanghai dumpling should be. the skin wasnt too thick nor doughy. the inside was meaty and soupy! i would definitely recommend ordering them here if you have a craving for shanghai dumplings and if you were in the area.
sampled some other items as well, but weren't as tasty as i thought it would be. some dishes were still satisfying though.
- sweetened soymilk had too much sugar
- chinese fried donut was greasy and oily, needed to sit on paper towels for a bit.
- shanghai rice cake noodles were lacking a bit of flavor.
- onion pancakes, i like mine fried a bit longer.
still would come back for the sticky rice rolls, since szechuan restaurant on 8th closed! -
Review from Jen B.
Pleasanton, CA
5/5/2008
OMG....I've passed by here a million times but never noticed it until my friend told me about the best authentic Shanghainese food in Oakland was this little hole in the wall! It's called 'Shanghai Restaurant'...how original? But that didn't matter because I'm a huge fan of Shanghainese food....especially Xialong Bao (Shanghai dumplings), onion cake, and hot soybean milk. These are the 3 typical things I always order and they all passed the test here.
My hubby ordered the thick noodles and they were a bit on the oily side. I was so stuffed but saw the table next to me order a plate of stinky tofu. I'll definitely come back again and the stinky tofu will be on my "to-try" list. -
Review from Alice C.
1/2/2009
I review everything in context.
Ah.. this is one of those hole in the wall places I keep on going back to. It is clean..(maybe), but decor is minimum.
I would of given this place 3 stars, but their sticky rice siu mai is to die for. A mix of mushroom and ground pork, that is the reason when I want some yummy Chinese breakfast, I come here. So yeah... one more star for the sticky rice siu mai.
The rest of the food is good, wonton in the clay pot is good. The xiao long bao is pretty good, not the best, but pretty good.
I been here for dinner a few time, cheap and decently good, but nothing to get excited with. I will go somewhere else for Shanghainese dinner. -
Review from Jowin C.
5/19/2009
Sometimes you like those hole-in-the-wall places for great tasting food,yes so do I, but DO NOT EXPECT IT HERE!
The walls has menu that looks like there was water damage. The decor was very unique, the walls were decorated with spatters of old grease or soy sauce.
I heard the steam xiao lung bao were good--my grandma said it was good back then. When I went, it was just steamed xiao lung bao with a small round meat inside with too much ginger. The sauce that complement the xiao lung bao was like soy-sauce gone wrong.
The Shanghai Chow Mein was palatable but there was so much grease. If I wanted to order extra grease on my noodles, I would, but I didn't.
The cold appetizers were depressing, it looks old and it taste like it's been sitting there. The cold beef tongue was drenched in Chinese cooking wine--too much wine. The wine was like a veil to mask the smell of the meat and dryness due to the lack of business at this restaurant.
I would say it's pretty expensive for extremely bland food. I know the economy is down but the quality of the food should not suffer. -
Review from fish i.
Oakland, CA
5/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Bean curd vege and shao lung bows. Yummy. Also bot frozen wontons, shao lung bows, and
-
Review from Hubert H.
Cambridge, MA
5/19/2007
A hidden gem inside of Oakland's Chinatown, with a high quality chef and decent service, though it's definitely a dive. I can only speak for the dishes that I have had, which are -
1) Spicy Tofu with Vegetables clay pot - quite pedestrian, nothing to write home about. It didn't even come in a clay pot!
2) Soup dumplings on the dim sum menu; not like Chinatown but worth a shot
3) Pork meatballs with bok choy - excellent, a great mixture of sweet and salty
4) Loufa Gourd with soybeans - best dish that I have had at the restaurant
5) Eggplant Braised - well put together but standard Northern Chinese fare
6) Fish (I forgot what it was called) - fair, tasty, slightly salty
7) A Cold vegetarian noodle dish - a real classic
All in all an excellent restaurant. There's also a $15 for three dishes deal, although many of the best dishes are not on this 'special' menu. Bottom line: if the translation sounds funny (e.g. gluten balls with lotus) go for it!
