Shanghai Street is our favourite Chinese restaurant to get our dumpling fix satisfied in Melbourne, Australia. We usually eat at the small restaurant on Bourke Street however today, we had a lovely lunch at the Chinatown location.
We were very impressed with the Front-of-House who remembered our entire order based on the number it was on the menu. There were about 100+ items, and he recited and confirmed everything accurately 🤯.
We were very impressed with the Front-of-House who remembered our entire order based on the number it was on the menu. There were about 100+ items, and he recited and confirmed everything accurately 🤯.
Food
I’m such a gweilo because I love getting the chicken and sweet corn soup with my dumplings 😂. This was simple, comforting and well seasoned. $6.
This serving of stir-fried clams in xo sauce with Chinese doughnuts was very generous. We were surprised by how many there were and we could barely finish it. The added chilli was very mild and gave the savoury and delicious xo sauce an edge of flavour. $24.80.
We love youtiao 油条. These were airy with a beautiful thin batter and soft filling.
This choi sum with oyster sauce stir-fried garlic was another classic Chinese dish with Hokkien noodles, Choi sum and sweet and salty oyster sauce. $12.80.
We loved these signature Shanghai pan friend mini bun pork; 6 pieces for $12.80. Comparable to Sydney’s New Shanghai (LINK), the dough was a tad thicker which made the ratio of pork to dough slightly uneven. The pork itself was tender, with its juices hot and mouthwatering.
Another classic dish was the steamed xiao long pork bao: 8 pieces for $12.80. The dough was ever so slightly thicker than what we were used to but that didn’t stop these dumplings from being hella good 🤤.
Finally, we had a serving of pan fried pork dumplings: 12 pieces for $12.80. These were overfilling with pork stuffing. Combined with the crispy charred-flavoured bottom and soft, chewy top, these dumplings were succulent.
Service
Like any standard Chinese restaurant, the staff pride themselves at being quick and unnoticeable. They had hawk eyes and removed plates the moment we finished it.
Review
We noticed the servings were very generous and fresh off the steamer. A lot of the times during a busy period, the food come out slightly soggy but today, the staff were on the ball and serving everything at lightning speed. The food tasted better too – maybe because the kitchen had more time to cook due to Covid 🤔.
If we ever move to Melbourne, this would be our go-to spot for dumplings to replace our O.G. New Shanghai in Sydney (LINK).
Thanks for reading & happy eating, dumplings 🥟!
If we ever move to Melbourne, this would be our go-to spot for dumplings to replace our O.G. New Shanghai in Sydney (LINK).
Thanks for reading & happy eating, dumplings 🥟!
