Shanghai Street

Wayyyyy too much MSG and too salty. I seriously don’t know why there is a queue. The XLB was passable at best and their pan fried pork buns are chewy. Best to go to New Shanghai at the Emporium instead for those and if you want other dumplings, I would go to Shandong mama.
Also ordered seafood fried rice where the «seafood» is fish tofu and crab sticks and a little bit of prawns. It’s a bit of a joke really.

Nouvel an Chinois festoyons au quartier chinois. Dans la longue rue de little bourke street, il faut donc choisir … Pas facile quand la rue est dominé uniquement pas des restaurant chinois. La façon la plus facile de trouver un restaurant est de faire confiance à la file d’attente. Cela peut en freiner plus d’un mais la popularité d’une bonne cuisine né se crée pas en un jour.
Alors prenez votre mal en patience et choisissez le Shanghai street.
Le Shanghai street est l’un de ces grand restaurants populaire que l’on retrouve en Asie, énormément de table, on y vient en famille, entre ami, il est pas cher, et à une cuisine chinoise varié mais qui a sa spécialité; le DUMPLING !! Il est fait maison, avec différente farce (crabe, porc, crevette, végétarien…) et c’est ce qu’on aime.
Alors pour choisir son plat dans ce genre de restaurant qui est parfois difficile. Je vous conseil tout d’abord de tester leur spécialité et de tentez votre chance, c’est un peu pile ou face mais c’est la surprise à toujours du bon, même si c’est dégoûtant ou pas à votre goût vous attendez toujours le plat surprise comme un enfant. Alors nous avons pris un DUMPLING et du porc froid fermenté au vin chinois comme plat surprise. (Chance pour nous c’était vraiment très bon)

I love my dumplings. it’s my go to food. So when Unilocal suggested this place was the bomb, I diverted from my usual places (China Red– with iPad ordering) to try it. It’s busy and clearly popular, but the Xia Long Bao. well there’s no soup in them soup dumplings. the chilli wontons were. I don’t know what they were and I certainly don’t want them.
One of my kids, complained about the soup dumplings as well. and as the food got cold she picked one up and bounced it. that’s was the best part of the meal. Their dumplings bounce.
Anyway, I’m still a firm believer that good dumplings are never on the main drag, they are always the shops that are tucked away, so we won’t be return here, it’s not for us, but clearly many enjoy it. Good luck and try bouncing your dumpling. endless amounts of fun.

Fried rice with bacon was pretty good. The pork dumplings tasted a bit like hot dogs in dumplings. They were good. The spring rolls were tasteless. My son like the chilies in oil for his rice. Staff was good.

I’ve just checked in for the 24^th time. About time it became a 5 star review.
Fun Fact — they do takeaway! $ 9.50 for 12 (I think) fried pork dumplings. Fantastic when you’re feeling antisocial like I am right now :)

Best dumpling joint in Australia according to my husband. I have to admit they were delicious. We reviewed the menu from line outside the restaurant and placed our order before we had a table assigned to us. The food came out pretty quickly, they did mess up our order (forgot to bring us an item — #1, highly recommended) but when we finally got their attention to explain why were were still waiting, it finally came and was delicious! #11 was great to. I forget the names…

Dumpling was moderately ok but service level was substandard. It was like take it or leave it with a minimum nonchalant waiters and waitress
We ordered a prawn an pork dumpling with soup. It was ok at 9.50 $ for 15 of them.
If you want food and no frills, just pick any of them here

This is the more spacious of two Shanghai Street restaurants on Little Bourke St but you can still expect a line out the door at peak times. It’s well organized though — someone will come out and give you a menu, then as soon as you put in your order you’re in the queue for a table. This ensures that food arrives quickly and that they can turn over tables efficiently. (This isn’t the place for a leisurely meal!)
The food is delicious and affordable — xiao long bao are juicy and the fried dumplings are crispy. There’s a wide variety of other non-​dumpling dishes to choose from too. Be careful not to burn your tongue! Everything is perhaps slightly over seasoned — I was thirsty for hours after. But it’s worth it!

Awesome dumplings in CBD China town. Had to wait in queue to get a seat at a shared table. Had a communal eating experience sharing the table with complete strangers. Dumplings were terrific. Wish the hot and sour soup had a little more flavor to it, but was much better than most of the ones you get in the U.S. Will definitely try it again.

Believe the hype! The queue out the door says everything. Hop in line, they’ll give you a number and a menu and they’ll take your order while you wait so that it comes pretty much as soon as you sit down. Their xiao long bao (shangai steamed dumplings, pork mini buns, soup dumplings, whatever you want to call them) are the best I’ve ever had. They’re BIG, they’re fat, juicy, fresh, tasty. Here’s the trick to eating soup dumplings: put a little vinegar in to your rice bowl. Slip a dumpling out of the steamer, veeery carefully, and pop it in the vinegar. Let it sit for a minute or so BE PATIENT, don’t eat it straight away. The dumpling will cool a little in the vinegar, and then you don’t have to prick a hole in it to cool it down and let all the delicious juices run out. Use your chop sticks to grab the dumplings from the top and scoop the hole thing in to your mouth. Enjooooy!
Also order the wontons in peanut and chilli sauce. Flippin’ good.

I always avoid the smaller Shanghai Street because of the long queues and totally forget that there is a larger one just up the street. This venue is a much nicer dinner experience, with a bit more breathing space and less of a hectic rushed feel.
While not my fav Xiao Long Bao in town, they are pretty damned delicious and Shanghai Street is probably the better of the cheap and cheerful dumpling houses. You can very easily stuff yourself silly on $ 20 or less per head… and that is exactly why you come here. It’s not for the service or for knock your socks off food, but for something fun, budget friendly and tasty.
If you’re a chilli fan, the dumplings in chilli soup were not quite what we were expecting. Tasty, but literally swimming in an enourmous bowl of chilli broth, which I managed to spill all over the place. Go for the smaller wanton dish with chilli and peanut sauce. Alternatively, order more XLB and load up on the table provisions of chilli and vinegar. Mmm.
Ideal for: dinner with friends, cheap date, XLB fix.

Great dumplings (try the veggie ones, impressive), very big portions (bear in mind when ordering), reasonably clean and tidy place (given price range) and really cheap. Nothing fancy but very good dumplings and a very low bill.

Lived up to its reputation as one of the better Xiao Long Bao’s (小笼包) around. I found the soup in the xiao long bao to b a bit too salty but I guess this is up to personal taste. i have to say though that it is def up there in terms of taste. Any xiao long bao in this region must b compared to that of the famous Ting Tai Fung… IMHO it’s gd but not as great. the mrs thinks it’s the bees knees. The portion size here is huge in comparison and the skin slightly a bit thicker. Anyway it’s still the best in Melbourne.

Great food! Lovely, cheap dumplings. As a Sydneysider I couldn’t help but compare it to Chinese Noodle House in Haymarket. Tasty, super cheap dumplings, large servings — but the restaurant itself is actually nice. It’s a proper restaurant and you’re not squeezed into a tiny space rubbing elbows with the person at the next table.
Service is decent, only weird experience was that someone comes around grabbing the soy sauce /​chilli oil. Apparently it’s to refill them, but it’s weird the way she comes around without a word and just snatches them off the table while they’re still half full, then comes back maybe 10 minutes later. Kind of annoying especially since you’re still eating and using them.
Other than that, great place, definitely coming back next time I’m in Melbourne.

I’ve reviewed the first Shanghai Street and apart from the location, this one is just as good. A notable difference is the opening hours are much better. So check it out (along with my review of the other location)!

The Shanghai Street restaurants are amazing. No squishy gross grey frozen fillings in these dumplings. Fresh made gorgeous dumplings only. The veggie ones are filled with chopped up Chinese greens and are delicious dipped in the chili oil. I hate adding a review because I don’t want it to be any more popular. Arrive at opening time or there will be a wait for more than two people.

The dumplings are goooooood. Their portion is pretty big. So, be aware dont over kill.

Perfect Sunday night dinner = Shanghai Street’s xiao long bao, pan fried chicken and prawn dumplings, perfectly crispy Chinese greens and ‘bacon’ fried rice. Best Northern Chinese in town.