We got the obligatory xiao lung bao, which the boys loved. Though slightly bigger than what's often found elsewhere, they were nevertheless juicy, hot and the skin held its own. Tyler, a 3rd grader, scarfed down four and loved each one.
The pan fried Shanghai pan fried bun stuffed with pork was delicious. The bun was pillow soft and perhaps a little sweet. My dad, who was raised in Shanghai, commented the pan fried buns were about as authentic as he's seen among the dozen or so Shanghainese restaurants he's tried in the Bay Area.
The most pleasant surprise was the smoked duck. It was fall-off-the-bone tender with a strong flavor. I can't wait to get it again!
To satisfy the kids' need for pasta, we got the Shanghai Noodles, a dish that was widely popular at our table. No surprises, but very good.
The pork chop over rice was good, but largely because of the salted fatty pork bits in the rice. I thought the fried chop was a little heavy with the batter (and that's saying something).
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The gluten puffs were OK, but not as good as what you'd find at Shanghai Garden on Homestead.
An internet search on Shanghai Dumpling will quickly reveal they charge 20 cents for water, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least the non-zero cost makes you think before asking for water.
With so many Shanghainese restaurants coming and going over the years around here, I really hope this one makes it. You can come by at just about any time and there will probably be space for you. This restaurant does a tremendous amount of take-out business.
Shanghai Dumpling
10895 S Blaney Ave Cupertino, CA 95014 |