456 Shanghai Cuisine

The only thing worth eating here are the soup dumplings. Which are great.

This place was filthy from the moment I walked in. 10 seconds into seating I see a waiter picking his nose! I asked where the bathroom and it’s about 10 feet away from the kitchen! How absurd is that? The vegetables in all of our dishes were frozen. The food makes you feel like garbage. Stray away from this dump!!!

Ordered delivery from here, was charged a different price from what the menu stated, and then when I received my food, it was nearly cold and there was a bug in it! EW! I threw out the whole thing, and will never be eating here or ordering the food ever again.

Soup buns were good, as was the beef lo mein. Generous portions and food was priced fairly. Friend had the shrimp soup with noodles and said it was bland. Other friend had beef fried rice and said it was good. We also ordered the crispy pork buns and we we stuffed but the were tasty.

I always seem to end up here because all the other XLB places are usually pretty busy. The main two items that I would recommend are the soup dumplings and the scallion pancake with egg and beef.
Staff is a hit or miss — sometimes they’re really nice to you, and sometimes they’re kind of rude. But whatevs.
Can’t complain for the cheap bill that I end up getting at the end of the meal.

456 is one of the top Shanghainese offerings in Chinatown. Their soup dumplings are a must try (both traditional and crab-​flavored for variety. If you’re feeling adventurous and enjoy texture, definitely order the chilled jellyfish appetizer. They sport a very good sea cucumber dish that pairs well with white rice.
Definitely get the fried red-​bean desert!

You must get the sea cucumber here. Delicious and crisp and a massively great value. Also ordered the XLB here. Good, but I still like Joe’s better. I agree that it’s definitely a great value for what they give.
The Shanghai rice cakes were good also. I remembered I liked everything, but nothing was phenomenal. If I want sea cucumber again I will return here. If not, then there are a lot of other choices that I would try first.

I went here with my boyfriend on a whim and it was the best choice ever. Eating in a restaurant like this is the kind of culinary experience foodies like myself live for. it really raises the bar.
I’m confused by the bad reviews that this place got because my experience here was great and I fantasize about the juicy pork dumplings (they sort of explode in your mouth… amazing) and the sesame noodles which tasted homemade. Boyfriend also got General Tsao’s chicken which was fine… kind of hard to mess up.
I chose to get several dim sum dishes and it was extremely quick service and so good!
Yes the waiters are quick, they don’t stand around your table and lavish you with attention and treat you like royalty. They’re efficient and to the point. I actually prefer it… I’m here to eat delicious food, not interact with a waiter.
I will definitely be back and definitely be getting the juicy pork dumplings! If you go here, skip the traditional «American Chinese» options and get the dim sum!

DO NOT EAT HERE!
TERRIBLE SERVICE/​TOURIST TRAP!!!
Sat down, waited 20 mins for an apathetic waiter to take our order.
He was pushy and curt, and got it wrong (you know that time when the waiter tells you what you’re going to have instead of listens to what you want).
They never served us any water. Food was wayyy too oily.
Too much msg in the hot and sour soup.
After we signed the check and made for the door, a waitress confronted us demanding more tip. forreal?!
We explained that we felt the service was no good.
She persisted, and I had to march past her out the door. Shock and disgust.
Don’t know what all the hype was. Better food at a cheap Chinese takeout. Worst restaurant in Chinatown to date.

Just fair, not great.
Orange chicken was lacking flavor, soup dumplings were just decent.
They ran out if white rice, asked if I wanted brown as a replacement, then they up charged me for brown rice. Its not the money, its the point.
Service people were very friendly.

I go here because this seems to be the only place in Chinatown that serves scallion pancakes with beef and from the first time I remembered it, it was good.
I’ve been here a few times since. When it’s super busy, they don’t pay you any mind at all and literally pack the place to the brim. When it’s dead empty like it was today, there’s 5 waiters staring you down from the corner. Neither are comfortable.
The food today was underwhelming. The soup dumplings broke, fresh out of the kitchen. Usually soup dumplings only break when they’re sitting there for a while. The beef scallion pancake was the biggest disappointment. The beef was tough and fatty, instead of tender. The saving grace was the chicken pan fried noodles, which were delicious.
If you’re craving beef scallion pancakes, you’re better off going to The Bao in St. Marks (it’s just a bit pricier), or my favorite which is Nan Xiang Dumpling House in Flushing. For better spots in Chinatown, I’d go to Shanghai Asian Cuisine on Elizabeth.

New go-​to place in Chinatown now. Had Braised porkbelly, Soup Dumplings, Pan Fried Noodles, sautéed eggplant, and Kung Pao Chicken. Good prices across the board; the sautéed eggplant and kung pao chicken were a sizeable portions and only $ 6 for lunch. The Porkbelly was a huge chunk of meat (honestly twice as much as I expected), that was incredibly tender, although the sauce was sweeter than I expected. Soup Dumplings were smaller than I would have liked, but were still pretty tasty and a decent value at 8 for $ 5.75. You could easily come here with a group of people be full off of $ 10 or so a person, probably even less.

Coming to Chinatown is a hike for me but when I do come, this is one of my favorite place for Xia Long Bao.
We arrived just before lunch so it wasn’t crowded, then we saw the crowd coming in.
Immediately, I ordered a Xia Long Bao. I NEVER enjoy Xia Long Bao with thick skin. When I do encounter ones with thick skin, I would bite off the top and not eat it. This place: skin test PASSed with flying colors. The whole dumpling was eaten.
–Fried eggs with shrimp: Good (I can taste the wok «hey»)
–Xia Long Bao: Excellent
–Shanghai lo mein: Excellent (not greasy AT ALL)
–Shanghai style smoked fish: Good
The jellyfish had too much sand. I had to return it. I hope this is just a one off!

MSG!!! They def have MSG in the soup (maybe even other dishes as well). I felt super thirty after drinking a couple bowls of soup (pork ham bamboo soup). In general, food tastes good and the restaurant is very clean. Unfortunately, I’m an advocate for healthy natural food and I hate MSG… The only thing I enjoyed is the scallion pancakes.
Will not come back because of MSG.

The soup dumplings and the spicy tofu were great ! Hopefully If i’m back in New York this summer I will get a chance to return.

456 Shanghai Cuisine is a good value for the money. The menu is very affordable, so while this was not the best dim sum I’ve had, I’d still give it 4 stars.
I got the soup dumplings which were good. There were a lot of them in the order and I was full afterward. Not the best ever, but definitely not bad.
I was impressed with how patient the staff were at this busy restaurant — they even allowed us to sit down at a table while waiting for the rest of our group to show up which is a rarity in NYC.
All in all, this is a great place if you’re on a budget.

This restaurant was a let down. I came in expecting home style Shanghai food but left unsatisfied.
The onion pancake was undercooked and the dough seemed to have a weird taste from expiration or at least was flavorless. I’ve eaten both good and bad onion pancake all my life and have eaten it in many places; this place has to have the worst I’ve ever eaten.
I ordered a beef noodle soup and ended up only drinking the soup and eating some of the beef. The noodles were definitely undercooked.
My dad ordered a shrimp fried rice and it looked like it was soaked in soy sauce. The shrimp, once again, was undercooked.
Another table with customers from the UK were leaving when the waitress demanded 15% gratuity = bad customer service. The service was pretty good for my table probably since we’re Chinese, but still who demands 15% gratuity?

This is definitely a gem of Chinatown. Went on a weekend evening for dinner which was probably not the smartest move but luckily, the wait was only about 20 minutes. It’s insanely crowded in this place and the tables are on top of each other so if you’re easily claustrophobic it might not be your first choice. However, the food may be worth the suffering.
The soup dumplings are on point. They’re fresh and melt in your mouth. When they come out they’re steaming hot so let them sit for a few minutes. The chow fun is equally delicious and comes in a big bowl. I would recommend sharing dishes so you get to taste a few things.
The only issue I had with this place was I felt extremely rushed. The wait staff took the dishes away before I was done eating. Then, when it came time to pay, they stood over us to the point where we had to ask for a few minutes to figure out dividing payment. Then they couldn’t grab the tab from us fast enough.
**Cash only

Move aside, Joe’s Shanghai — I’ve got a new go-​to for Shanghainese food.
Came here with my boyfriend’s family and everything ordered was so delicious! Even the sesame chicken, which is generally regarded as an Americanized Chinese dish… Portions are reasonable but everything is served family style, as is the usual in Asian cuisine. Kung Pao Chicken could have been a bit spicier. Chicken and Eggplant in garlic sauce was perfect. The winning factor for me was that everything was way less greasy than I’ve had at Joe’s.
Service can be a bit hectic, but that is to be expected in Chinatown. Anticipate a wait for larger groups. Dining room is also a bit crowded.

I have not tried other food here yet, but only the Shang Jian Bao, Shanghai style pan grid soup dumplings. The dumpling fillings are tasty and juicy, with some soup but wish to have more soup. The dough is fluffy and thick, with bottom browned. This is the part that is not quite authentic Shanghai. The ones tasted in Shanghai is half the size of these dumplings, same size filling, mug thinning dumpling skin, much more soup and crispy pan seared bottom. The price is good, for $ 5.7 you get 8 dumplings. But they need to improve the dumpling wrappers.
I have not found the real SJB in the US yet… the difference is described by Serious Eats.

Tja, leider nicht so gut, wie es den Anschein machte. Von außen noch wegen seiner «besten Dumplings der Stadt» gerühmt, ist es leider insgesamt nur Durchschnitt. Wir werden nett empfangen und die Kellner, die größtenteils nur gebrochen English sprechen, geben sich sehr viel Mühe. Doch schon bei den Vorspeisen geht es schief. Wir bekommen die Hauptgerichte zuerst, dann erst während des Essens die Dumplings. Außerdem hatte ich welche mit Pork bestellt, meine Süße mit Gemüse, wir bekommen aber 2 mal letzteres.
Dann hieß es, dass meine jetzt noch mal 10 Minuten dauern wurden. Ich habe abgewunken. Mein Essen, Rindfleisch mit Gemüse war ganz ok. Meine Freundin hatte Tofu mit Gemüse — das Essen war eine Frechheit. Ein Brei aus Gemüsepampe und der Tofu so labberig, dass er unter den Stäbchen zerbrochen ist.
Als die Rechnung kam, standen dann noch 2 mal Dumplings drauf — äh… Wir hatten nur 1 mal Dumlings, hallo! Als wir dann die Erfahrung insgesamt mit unter Dollar 2 Trinkgeld quittierten, würden wir noch angemacht, dass wir mindestens 15% tippen sollen. Schon alles nicht so geil irgendwie — die Preise schienen ok, vielleicht hätten wir auch einfach Pech, aber empfehlen können wir das leider einfach mal nicht! :(((