Shanghai Asian Cuisine

Not sure what all the hype about this place is all about. Tried it out this past weekend and was very disappointed. Small place not a big deal but bathroom is tiny and kinda in the kitchen. It is cash only which i knew but is an inconvenience now a days for some. I found the food to be very bland. The soups dumplings and scallion pancake were good. The beef tangerine while i thought was flavorful was lacking the beef! The pork fried noodles were edible but had no flavor and the chicken and broccoli the same. Only reason they get 2 stars is that they were accommodating and switched out my dinner plate with no problem when i mentioned i wasn’t pleased with it, unfortunately the other option chosen was no better. Will not return.

I come back for the quick and friendly service, good food, affordablity, and no wait. CA$H only.
Definitely order the:
1) soup dumplings — can’t go wrong with pork. warning, i did burn my tongue with the first bite.
2) rice cake with pork strips — very chewy and flavorful, a little on the saltier side
The scallion pancake here is popular as well, but I found it too crispy and deep fried.

Best. Chinese. Food. Ever. Fresh ingredients. Homemade lo mein noodles the biggest, fattest lo mein noodles I have ever seen, and perfectly cooked! Absolutely delicious dumplings. Wonderful sesame chicken. Just all around great food.

Pretty decent Shanghai food in the city for good, cheap prices. CASH ONLY!
This restaurant fills up pretty quickly, so try to come for an early dinner to ensure seating. The XLB are hit and miss here — I’ve had them when the skin was perfect and the soup was hot, and I’ve had them come out lukewarm with thick skin. But overall, they’re usually pretty good. I like them better than Joe’s Shanghai and the service is better too. Granted, the service is not amazing (don’t even try to loiter, they will rush you out by taking away plates).
I don’t like the Shanghai Lo Mein though here; it’s very flavorless. I would recommend the Shanghai Styled Pan Fried Noodles. (When eating these, DRENCH the noodles in the sauce for maximum flavor and so that they soften up! Otherwise, they taste like styrofoam.)
I also like that tea is complimentary here.

Cash only place. A-​rating so that’s a plus (hard to find those in Chi-​town)
My friend thinks it has the best xiao long bao in all of chinatown. The soupdumplings are cheap and fast — I’ve always had a good experience with those here.
— Soup dumplings! always.
— Try the Szechuan Wontons — they’re pretty bomb.
— Shanghai Lo mein could have a bit more sauce, but overall would recommend
— Salt pepper pork chops — this one is a new dish for me but it was suprisingly so good!
— Hot pepper shredded beef w. brown sauce — good, but pricey at 15.75 dollars.
— do NOT get the hot and sour soup. It had a overpowering sour flavor with a strange aftertaste. We all took a spoonful and did not have any of the rest. Only upside is that it was $ 4.5.
I’m a fan, and I’ve come here at least five times for the soup dumplings!

Affordable and delicious food. Cash only.
Steamed Watercress and Shrimp Dumplings– I wanted to try these because of their lovely jade color. They were pretty good. ($ 4.50)
Black Truffle Soup Dumplings– Truffle tends to have an overwhelming scent and taste for me, but these contained the the perfect amount. ($ 12)
Wonton Szechuan Style– My favorite dish. It was extremely flavorful! ($ 5.70)
Cha Chiang Mein– Udon covered with savory meat sauce. Scrumptious! ($ 6)
Wined Chicken– Delicious cold pieces of chicken marinated in wine. The wine flavor is subtle. I’m not a fan of wine, but I enjoyed this dish. ($ 6.50)
Aromatic Beef– Cold slices of beef. A bit dry, but they were served with a tasty dipping sauce. ($ 8.25)

One of the best shanghainees cuisine in chinatown. I used to dine at Joe’s shanghai for years but the quality and taste had changed.
Try their crab meat soup dumplings with truffle. Very unique and the only place serving with truffle.
Shanghai noodle with pork strip is good but a little too oily.
The heavenly wine chicken appetizer was killing! One of my all time favorite dish to order.
Vegetarian duck was mediocre.
Service is ok.
Price is reasonable.
Overall: 2.8

While visiting NYC, we had to come to Chinatown because cheap delicious food is right up our alley for things we like to do. It’s a mess trying to get here (which is par for the course), and we wound up at Shanghai Asian Cuisine due to the reviews from other Unilocalers.
It was about a 30 minute wait for a table for 2 on Saturday around 1 pm. The restaurant is TINY and cash only. They had us wait outside until the table was ready, and thankfully their menu is posted so we could figure out exactly what we wanted.
The salt and pepper fried squid was delicious. I’m used to the places in Houston which wind up overcooking the squid, but this was perfectly cooked and not rubbery at all.
The bean curd with shiitake mushrooms is a cold dish — it tasted fine but I think it would’ve tasted better hot.
The chicken lo mein was also good, but I kept coming back to the salt and pepper squid. I’d definitely come back (maybe on an off day rather than the bustling Saturday afternoon) to get the squid and maybe try some of the other things on their menu.

I’ve been here on several different occasions and I can say that this place is far less hyped than the other Shanghainese restaurants on Mott Street and throughout Chinatown. I do however feel that this place is more cozy and more homier than that other restaurants which are often busy. One thing that remains the same though are the «Xiao Long Baos» or the soup dumplings. It provides the perfect remedy for cold days as they’re filled with soup and crab meat or chicken on the inside. Complement that with the vinegar soy sauce and it’s like heaven!
Other popular dishes include the fried bean paste noodles, pan-​fried noodles and fried rice dishes. The Shanghainese are more commonly known for their soup dumplings and noodle dishes though.
Overall, this restaurant has it’s perks. It’s located right in the heart of Chinatown and the prices here are fairly inexpensive. Definitely pay this place a visit if you haven’t already to experience a taste of authentic Shanghainese cuisine!

CASH ONLY
Super cheap.
Tons for Asians in there for legitimacy assurance.
We got the scallion pancake, chicken lo mein, xiao long bao, bean custard mushroom thing, salt and pepper fried squid.
The winners of the day were the lo mein, squid, and scallion pancake. Everything was cooked beautifully and tasted great.
The xiao long bao were OK. Like I can’t complain since they were dirt cheap. 5.50 for 6 compared to the 9.99 they’d go for in Houston. But I wasn’t a huge fan of the broth that was inside of them, it was missing a dimension of flavor (I can’t place my finger on it though).
The bean curd mushroom things were a dish served cold. I was expecting a hot one and was surprised when it was freezing cold! Eh, it tasted ok, but really I would have wished for a hot dish.
The squid was FRIED TO PERFECTION and nothing was overcooked, which happens about 60% of the time in Houston joints.
I loved the scallion pancake too. Completely crispy and delicious.
The noodles tasted super flavorful and decently fresh. I can’t complain about it at all.
I’d come back and just order a little bit differently. The line is a little bit long. Probably a 20 minute wait on a Saturday afternoon.

I came here on a recommendation from another Unilocaler. I came here for lunch the other day. The inside reminds me of a diner with a very basic interior. We were seated quickly and ordered General Tso’s chicken and pork fried rice. I know it is not really «authentic», but whatever.
The food came out pretty quickly. The chicken came with a bunch of steamed broccoli. The chicken was pretty darn good. It was tasty and moist. The sauce was a bit salty for me, but no big deal there. My only complaint was that the fried rice didn’t come out with the chicken — I had to ask again for it. Also, we had to ask twice for water as well. The fried rice was pretty good, it wasn’t greasy at all, which was a pleasant surprise.
We left well fed and didn’t spend much in the process. Shanghai is alright by me.

I really don’t understand Unilocalers sometimes, why does this place has so many good reviews?
The duck is an old chicken that they fried and smother in salt to try to fool you! Horrible, I order dumplings and it said there were 11 and in reality they were only eight!!! Extremely bad service and bland bland very bland food. Oh!
Please! DO NOT COME TO THIS PLACE! It’s a trap!

Three locations in the city with two in Chinatown. Slightly different names, but the menu, food, and prices appear the same.
When Shanghai Asian Manor (
) is packed with crowds in line to get in, this is the go-​to spot. An easy walk away and we usually walk right in. I wondered weather the kitchen could produce the same quality that I fell in love with at the other location, but time and time again, I have not been disappointed. The soup dumplings are on point!
The only drawback of this location is that it is cash only. The Manor accepts cards so I can really pig out! Still, worth coming here to bypass crazy waiting lists.

Décor: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Limited seating, the larger the party the longer the wait.
–XLB comes in 6 per order. Each one is inconsistent and can burst. Overall good flavor at a fair price even though it has increased.
–Wined Chicken was moist, not quite flavorbomb however it has good flavor.
–Squid w/​salt and pepper had very good flavor however felt it could be more crispy
–bean curd szechuan style is serving piping hot, best served with rice. Great taste and flavor.

The crab soup dumplings was good and the veggie dish, enoki mushrooms and watercress was good too
We ordered the wine chicken and the the chicken rice cake too which I think needed some work.
Chicken rice cake was covered in oil and it was mushy. It looked like it was old and they decided to remake it.
Didnt have dark meat for the wine chicken. Why?
I liked the water cress and enoki dish but really 13 bucks? Not worth it to come back for it

This place is my friend’s favorite Shanghainese restaurant in Chinatown, and I have to enthusiastically echo her support! For a smaller restaurant that’s a bit off the well beaten paths of Joe’s Shanghai, etc., Shanghai Asian Cuisine offers a delicious variety of Shanghai staples without breaking the bank. Now, onto the food.
Of course, when someone says Shanghai cuisine, you can’t help but think of soup dumplings. Now, in the world of soup dumplings, not all are created equal. Some, I’ve found, have dumpling skin that’s way too thin. Others too thick. Some boil all of the soup out of the dumpling. Some are all soup and no meat. With the dumplings I had here, they were the Goldilocks of soup dumplings — perfect ratio of skin to soup to meat. They have a few different varieties, ranging from ordinary pork to the more exciting black truffle. I can only attest to the quality of the «ordinary» ones, but I have to say I was very much impressed after eating them. Served with a ginger soy sauce, the dumplings were perfectly seasoned (not overly salty) and also weren’t too hot when served either.
As for other notable menu items, we also ordered the Shanghai Stir Fried Noodles (which are udon), Shanghai Stir Fried Rice Cake (aka Nian Gao), and the Ma Po Tofu with rice. The noodles and rice cake were your typical stir-​fried style dishes and were delicious without leaving me gasping for water. The Ma Po Tofu wasn’t anything extraordinary, so I would perhaps try something else off their menu next time.
Overall, dumplings and three entrées only cost my group of three about $ 30 and we were left totally stuffed. Definitely a place to try when you’re next in Chinatown.
Some final tips:
— Cash only! like everyone else has said. In any case, you shouldn’t be going to Chinatown without cash.
— It’s a small restaurant, so plan accordingly with larger groups.
— They speak Canto here for all of my Cantonese-​inclined Unilocalers.

CASH ONLY. But, Fantastic!
This place is one of many popping up all over the city serving Shanghai dumplings. Those are the style of dumplings with soup inside. They are eaten inside of a spoon so all the liquid doesn’t escape.
This place is super inexpensive. The Tea is free, and pretty decent.
I came here with a group of friends, and my brother looking for a cheap and fun meal in China town. This place delivered!
The place is small but a good energy, it seems like places that have money of some kind plastered on the walls means the place is a good deal in China town. Who knew?
If your looking for a place to try the growing trend of Shanghai dumplings (dumplings with soup inside) then give this place a try. Dumplings off the appetizer menu cost less than $ 5.
Staff is friendly, and attentive and the place is also clean. Want to give it 5 stars but they get dinged a star for cash only.

CASH ONLY
Went here with a few friends and had a great dinner. This place is a bit smaller the some of the other sit down I have gone to in china town so if you are a group of more than ⁴⁄₅ you may want to call ahead to make a reservation to make sure they can accommodate you.
I ordered the pork soup and the special that was on the board the black truffle Shanghai dumplings. They were a bit on the pricey side at $ 13 for 6 but very tastey.
If you’ve never had a shanghai dumpling before let me lay it out for you. These doughy balls of deliciousness may trick you into thinking they are just another dumpling. Think again my friend. Imagine the direct inverse of a bowl of soup… That’s what were dealing with. These little guys are delivered to you hot with actually literal soup broth magically sealed inside alone side some type of meat or filling. You will probably want to eat these over a large spoon so you don’t miss out on any of the yum inspiring juices bound to leak out of your ball of inspiration.
Service was really good with the staff refilling the complimentary tea promptly. Nearly a five star but the cash only and lack of fortune cookie hold it down a notch for me, but I would check this place out again.

This is a small restaurant with okay Shanghainese food.
They don’t take reservations but they put you on a wait list over the phone, which is nice. I came with a group of 9 not knowing how small the restaurant is. I recommend you to not bring a big party here.
We ordered pork soup dumplings, crab and pork soup dumplings, fried squid with salt & pepper, wonton szechuan style. They all tasted good but not very memorable.
The food comes sporadically and the soup dumplings comes out very sporadically.
Service is okay and their bathroom is very small.

Came here for dinner one night. This restaurant is a small place, but the food is cheap and delicious.
We ordered the Steamed Pork Dumpling Soup (Xiao Long Bao.) Slurp that soup up because it was hot. It was the right consistency, light, and delightfully tasty.
We also ordered the Fried Tiny Buns with Pork. A nice crispy fried bottom. Buns were flavorful and juicy. The sauce that goes with it made it more savory and delicious.
For our main meals. We had the Shanghai Lo Mein with mixed meat and shrimp. A good portion of noodles. Very good plate of noodles with plenty of meats and vegetables.
We also had the Shredded Pork and Preserved Vegetables with Rice Cakes. This was my favorite. I like Rice Cakes. Had like a good savory and sweet taste.
The staff here are very friendly. Very good place to just grab lunch or dinner. Nothing fancy, but it’s good food.