Shanghai Dumpling House

I like the braised beef noodle soup from here. It was a nice big bowl and it definitely helped cure my hangover that day! :D I’ll post an update once I come back and try other items!

Shanghai dumpling is really good. It comes in small portion only 8 tho. The beef roll is small too. But overall good. Cash only under 30.

They are so rude! They lead us to seat at a corner, and we didn’t know cash only here. When we checked, they denied to receive payment by our credit card. What was worse, they forced us to buy more beverage to meet $ 30 requirement because we didn’t have enough cash. The $ 30 requirement can only be seen at the check desk and they even said it’s our problem that didn’t know that. But indeed, the bill would be $ 31 including the tip. So, remember, if you don’t buy enough for $ 30, you can only pay cash. If you don’t have enough cash, they’ll let you buy more.
It requires a lot of talking to deal with it. How can a restaurant make such ridiculous requirement and force consumers to obey it?
It’s our first time to try this place and it will also be the last time. We will never come back.

Read somewhere that this was one of the best places for soup dumplings, so we decided to give it a try! We ordered the pork soup dumplings, the salted egg yolk+pork soup dumplings, the spicy pig stomach, and also these fried noodles/​lo mein (forgot the name).
The spicy stomach was delicious! until we realized it was 90% cilantro, 5% peppers, and 5% stomach. Kind of a rip off when you pay $ 6 for this dish that is mostly cilantro (not even exaggerating). The pork soup dumplings tasted really porky/​gamey, and it didnt taste clean. It also oozed this gray coagulated slime, and I hate to compare the dumplings to Din Tai Fung. but the only thing that is similar is the price they charge here. They’ve been bumping up their prices, but they cant charge for the Din Tai Fung quality when they dont serve that quality here. The salted egg yolk+pork dumpling was about the same experience, except that I tasted more egg yolk than the pork.
The worst dish was those lo mein noodles. It was like $ 9 or $ 10 for this drenched glob of noodles, with the beef portion the size of my pinky. Also the owner (?)/​lady at the front was super rude and unfriendly. It was like she was scared that I would come back to her restaurant, but she wont need to worry about that.

In SGV, it’s a dumpling war out there. Every other block is a dumpling house. So, as the competition gets fierce, so will my review become!
Thanks to Ding Tai Fung, it started the battle of the «who has the thinnest XLB dough/​skin»!! So Shanghai Dumpling House (SDH)‘s XLB has even thinner skin, OMG. SDH claims (written on the wall in Chinese) that though it’s XLB has super thin skin, however it won’t break when you pick it up. So what’s up with the batch that I got? 7 of our 8 XLBs broke!
What I like to know is (Ding Tai Fung included) what kind of stuff do you mix in the XLB dough to make it so thin but won’t break? I know you’ll never tell. Though you claim it’s a secret, but I think it must be something that can NOT be healthy! Unilocalers just think about it. Without the added «STUFF», it is impossible to make the skin thin and stay unbreakable, right? So, going forward, I will be looking for XLBs with the correct thickness of the dough/​skin. Since I am not sure what is in that dough mix, I prefer XLBs that have a little thicker dough (not too thick and not too thin, just right) without the possibility of «stuff» mixed to get it thin and unbreakable.
Anyways, beside XLB ($ 7.95), we ordered cucumber in sauce ($ 4.55), beef roll pie ($ 6.95), boiled vegetables ($ 6.55), Shanghai fried rice cake ($ 8.95), and plum ice tea ($ 2.75). All and all, it was really a-​ok taste wise and prices are a-​ok as well for SGV standards.
Maybe it’s all about expectation. Mine maybe is so high out of whack that I am just XLB out. Believe it or not, those chicken soup dumpling (XLB) from Trader Joes is unbelievably tasty and only $ 2.99 for a box of 6 (
). I think you all should try it! As for SDH, yes, I do recommend it. It’s a good place to grab something to eat. To travel all the way here outside of SGV? I wouldn’t do it, but you can if you are crazy for SGV’s XLB or any means of Chinese food.

Our favorite place for juicy pork dumplings! The best Xiao long bao !! Great onion pancakes. Fantastic marinated roast beef. Worth the drive from Irvine. Located next to the Hilton hotel.

They were recently listed as one of the top 8 places to have juicy dumplings in the LA area, so I decided to stop by for lunch.
Service:
First impression, I barely walked in and the waiter looked at me like, «Why are you here?» I was thrown off and kind of just waved at the tables, «Anywhere okay?»
They moved pretty slowly overall, but in their defense, there was only one girl making the dumplings to order (practically from scratch) and one guy on the floor. I had a pretty good view of them though, and they weren’t exactly trying to pick up their pace.
The girl was slowly wrapping the dumplings while (I’m assuming) paying attention to the show on the tv since someone raised the volume. The guy never once checked up on us/​refilled our drinks. Several times, I looked over and he was talking to the girl. In general, that was fine but when I needed him, he was slow to respond. For example, when I asked for the check, he brought another table their check first (they asked first) and completely forgot about me! He went back to talking to the girl. The restaurant isn’t big/​busy enough for him to justify forgetting about me.
Food:
I ordered the juicy pork dumplings, spicy pork dumplings, and beef roll.
Beef roll came out first, and appearance was disappointing. I should’ve snapped a picture, but no lie, it was half fresh cilantro. Taste-​wise, the cilantro was really overpowering but I don’t mind cilantro so it was alright. The meat was a bit sweet, but the texture was off. It’s unlike any other beef roll I’ve had, but maybe I just haven’t had enough variations. I didn’t mind it, but I don’t think I’d order it again. My eating buddy (the one who introduced me to beef rolls) couldn’t stomach it. She didn’t even want to take the leftovers home like she normally does.
Juicy pork dumplings came out next. These were definitely the juiciest I’ve ever had. The soup was really light though. If you’re used to the more flavorful broths at competing restaurants, you might be disappointed. I always use the vinegar and chili oil though so it didn’t bother me. I would come back for these, but at about $ 1/​pc, these are way too pricey for me.
Last to arrive were the spicy pork dumplings. You could smell the chili wafting from the dumplings. I knew my eating buddy wouldn’t be able to handle it. I love spicy food though so I dug in. They were not pleasantly spicy. That chili definitely lingered in your mouth. I’m not sure what kind of peppers they use, but I’m not a fan. I wouldn’t mind that level of heat with a different pepper flavor. I ended up draining the soup and just eating the skin/​meat. I didn’t enjoy it at all, but at more than $ 1/​pc, it was too expensive to just throw away.
Overall:
Ehh. I only liked one item enough to come back, but I think it’s overpriced. Service was kind of subpar, even for an Asian place.

Out of most of the local dumpling shops, This actually has awesome dumpling that are affordable and taste great. You will notice it comes with less but they are bigger and packed with more! I’m totally coming back.

Shanghai Dumpling House is my new favorite spot to get xiao long bao anywhere. I’ve been to Shanghai, but don’t remember how much I liked the xiao long baos there. My previous favorite was from somewhere in Hong Kong. Anyways, although Din Tai Fung sets the standard here and much of everywhere else for xiao long bao, I much prefer the ones here. DTF is alright, but they aren’t exceptional to me. Maybe the waits are making everyone hungrier and the xiao long baos consequently seem tastier.
You can watch them make them out in the open in their station. They offer several options: juicy pork, salted egg yolk, spicy pork, crab, and shrimp. I tried them all except for the crab, which I will definitely get at next time. You really can’t go wrong with any of them, but my favorite is the spicy pork. It has a good amount of spiciness and it complements the pork so well. Definitely a must for spicy food lovers. It’s not overwhelmingly spicy either, but it can linger. Salted egg yolk was interesting and worth a try. As good as shrimp sounds, I don’t feel like the shrimp really adds much to the flavor of the pork and it seems kind of out of place. I love shrimp, but I think I’ll stick with the juicy pork, spicy pork, and crab next time out. The dumplings came at the perfect temperature. Wait for about 20 or 30 seconds and it shouldn’t be too hot to consume, but as always, exercise caution with these little explosive dumplings! They’re pretty capable of making you look like a damn fool if you bite into it when they’re scorching hot.
The rest of their menu is pretty standard, but their hot pot offerings sound really good. I might come in to try them when I’m in the mood for hot pot, which is always. I’ve also tried the beef rolls here and they have a lot of beef in it. The sauce is good for it and the wrap isn’t too tough or over-​fried. They’re not bad and they taste relatively light compared to others such as 101 Noodle Express.
Something they should get credit for for being a very Chinese restaurant is that they have really good service and that the interior is very clean and tasteful. It’s small, and limited in seating, but it’s a nice environment. The clientele of fobby old peeps means this place is legit.
Can’t wait to come back!

Juicy pork dumpling with Salted egg (8) — $ 8.25
The only place I know that has salted egg in a dumpling. I like the unique idea, but I prefer the traditional taste of dumplings with meat or vegetables. This was not a bad dish. There was a lot of soup in their dumplings. In the soup is where I tasted mostly salted egg flavor, it was good.
Juicy pork dumplings (8) — $ 6.95
This one is okay, but it is not as special as the salted egg. Mama Lu’s has tastier dumplings than this place in my opinion because of the soup base.
Rib-​eye spicy peppery noodles– $ 6.95
This is their best dish that I tried. The meat was thin and seemed to be of good quality. There was no fat in the meat and reminded me of Shabu Shabu meat. The peppers are overwhelmingly strong that I had to pick a lot of it off. The beef, noodles, and soup base were all delicious.

Don’t leave tip! They add it for you without letting you know. Food was good, but not worth what we paid. Mama Lu’s is way better. They ran out of pretty much everything and it wasn’t even lunch time.
Food was Okay at best. We ordered only 3 dumplings and spent over $ 35.

Try all the dumplings!
I came in and tried damn near all the dumplings they had! The Pork and Shrimp Dumpling was my favorite. I like the classics. SDH is known for their dumplings with the salty egg inside (I forgot the actual name), but I wasn’t a big fan of it. It was a little too salty. Not used to it.
To compliment those yummy dumplings, get the Beef Rolls. Another one of my favorites.

If you want a xiao long bao dumpling loaded with so much broth that it droops to the brink of explosion, then Shanghai Dumpling House may be your best bet. This unassuming spot has extremely juicy xiao long bao at about half the cost of those of Din Tai Fung’s with ALMOST ZERO WAIT. Made on the spot, the dumplings come in the usual favorite flavors like pork, shrimp, spicy pork, crab roe and veggie wrapped in a nearly-​transparent paper-​thin skin. If that isn’t your speed, Shanghai Dumpling House also carries more unique, harder to find menu items such as salty egg yolk pork dumplings and spicy xiao long bao.
I love and always order their salty egg yolk pork dumplings, juicy pork dumplings, rice stick and fried pork chop with house sauce and Shanghai wonton soup. If you’re up for a challenge you can always order their rib eye spicy peppery noodles. It’s spicy!
Their only challenge is finding a parking right in front of the restaurant but no worries, there are plenty of parking in the back or underground. Oh and make sure you put in all of your orders because the dumplings are made on the spot therefore it takes some time.

My friend decided to bring me here to try their dumplings. She been a real fan of this place and I trust her taste in food, so we headed on over.
This place is located in a little plaza next to the hilton hotel. We ended up ordering the pork dumplings and the pork & salted egg yolk dumplings. I thought the skin of the dumplings was a lil bit thicker but the flavors were on point. I love the salted egg yolk dumplings. I can eat 5 order myself, lucky, I was eating with friends so, I had to control myself. Manners first!
We also ordered wonton soup, noodle soup with braised pork, and rib-​eye spicy peppery noodles. I did enjoy the noodles but I just thought the broth was okay.
I can’t wait to go back for some more dumplings! So, cravings them right now.

I came here for dinner with my family a few weeks ago. This restaurant is pretty small and any party larger than 4 will probably have to wait awhile so they can combine some tables. The menu is pretty simple. We ordered a bunch of different dishes to share: one order each of their different flavored XLB, green onion pancake, wonton soup, a fried rice dish, a fried noodle dish, steamed pork and napa dumplings, beef roll, and the rice cakes.
I was not impressed with any of these dishes. Perhaps the style was just not suited to my taste. I thought the XLB skin was too thick and the flavors were only ok, with the exception of the salt egg yolk and pork XLB. That was something different and surprisingly good. The green onion pancake was too oily and didn’t have much flavor. The steamed dumplings had a horseradish taste to them? I’m not sure what was inside but I personally didn’t like it. The meat in the beef roll was cold… maybe it’s because I’ve always had beef rolls come out hot so it was a surprise to me when it came out cold.
Service was also not that great. They weren’t very attentive – we had to ask the server for water and utensils multiple times. We finally just got up to get our own napkins and chopsticks. Overall, 2.5 stars. I will stick Mama Lu’s for my XLB and dumpling fix in the future.

I’ve been here about once a week since my first time, so I guess you can say I’m a fan. I’m always on the lookout for good xiao long bao spots since my go-​to-​spots have been lacking as of late. I’ve only ordered two dishes here — the xiao long baos and the Shanghai fried rice cake. The XLBs do not disappoint. I like how thin the skin is and that they are filled with piping hot soup! You can see them making it fresh at the counter. The Shanghai fried rice cake is also great because it’s packed with flavor but not as oily as other restaurants.
I’ve never had to wait to be seated/​served since I usually go for a late lunch and parking is OK as well since there is an underground lot. Guess I should try some of their other dishes next time!

After a long day of traveling, I brought my friend here for dinner for picking me up from LAX. Famished, tired, I was looking forward to some good comfort food, and it did not disappoint.
The Shanghai soup dumplings are very good. Are they as good as Din Tai Fung? Pretty close, but not quite. I am not sure if they sent out the right ones, but their signature soup dumplings were quite spicy. Delicious, but I did think I was getting the regular flavor.
The crab meat steamed dumplings were also good as well. Different in texture, and a contrast in flavor to the other order.
Lastly, I can’t go to a dumpling house without ordering some fried dumplings. I will never call it a pot sticker. I kind of like fried dumplings with a little more browning and char on the bottom, but it was a bit doughy of a skin, which was okay, but not as good. Not the best fried dumpling I’ve ever had, but good and filling none the less.
Service was good and the prices are pretty reasonable.
Credit card requires a $ 20 minimum, which isn’t hard if you order 3 plates of dumplings.

Din Tai Fung never stood a chance. Every subsequent XLB I’ve had have been better, and Shanghai Dumpling House is probably tied for first.
The classic Pork and Crab Xiao Long Bao is a delicate mix of soft pork with a tinge of crabby brine.
The Spicy Xiao Long Bao won’t make you cry from just the slightest red-​tinged burn, but it’s a bao that brings some heat.
The Salty Egg Yolk Pork Dumplings kind of changed my life and totally blew my mind. The egg acts as a thickener, adding a grainy texture with an extra element of richness.
I get it, everyone is DTF (interpret that however you choose) but let’s just say some things are worth holding out for…

Shanghai Dumpling House has officially become my go to place for Xiao Long Boas (dumplings). Of all the places I have been to including Din Tai Fung, this place supercedes them. Their dumplings are all made from scratch, and it’s made right at the counter where we sit. Just take a look at the picture I uploaded showing a lady making Xiao Long Baos. It’s interesting to watch as it became an art on how it’s rolled and punched together. They make it as fast as I could eat it. LOL. Their Xiao Long Baos are always made fresh when ordered. You have a choice between shrimp and pork, or crab and pork. We always order both. And I always enjoy watching them make them. The skin is thin and the chunk of meat inside is like the size of a quarter. It’s do hot and juicy when it comes out, that it warns you to becareful eating it in the menu so you won’t burn your mouth.
Other items I have ordered is their beef wrap, beef noodles in soup, braised pork noodle soup, pork fried dumplings, and pork steamed potstickers.
Not all dumplings are the same. These dumpling/​potstickers are different from the Xiao Long Baos. The skin used to wrap these are thicker. Still tasty, but can’t compare to the Xiao Long Baos. The beef wraps are good too. It’s sliced marinated beef wrapped similar to a pita or a croissant. There is also cilantro (not much) inside to give the wrap a little refreshing taste. Dip it in hot chili oil with soy sauce, and it becomes the bomb! Their beef and pork noodles are okay. Just comparable to all the other Chinese noodle places I’ve been to. Yes. It’s good, but really nothing different like the other places.
This place hasn’t been around for that long. It use to be a Taiwanese restaurant. They remodeled to give the ambiance a more Chinese feeling as if you were actually in a Northern China restaurant. It’s a simple setting, and it fits what’s being served.
The service is okay. But when they get busy, the quality of their service goes down too. You will need to flag them down every time you need anything. You will also see the ladies at the counter working hard too making Xiao Long Baos!
I like this place a lot and will be a regular there. Thank God for Shanghai Dumpling Horse.

Randomly stumbled into this place during lunch. And let me tell you now, this place was surprisingly good. Their Xiao long boas are to die for. They’re nice a juicy compared to the ones at Mama Lu’s.
Beef rolls are also good. Prices are similar to that of Mama Lu’s. I’ve had Xiao Long Baos in Shanghai before, and let me tell you niw, this place is pretty legit.
Definitely give this place a try. Don’t be misled by the 3.5 stars here.