Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine

Nooooooooooooooooooooo they closed?! Whyyyyyy does anyone know the details? We stayed in the Hilton above the Crystal Mall and it was a total dream come true for my boyfreind to be located above an Asian food court that had so much good food, especially after his recent trip to Shanghai.
So, where is the best place to get them now, Van Unilocalers? And if anyone knows why they closed, or if they had gone down in quality from a year ago, please fill me in. My memory of this place fills my mouth with drool over how good the XLB were.

I got the Xiao Long Bao and the Green Onion pancake and they were great! Not bad for a food court joint.
If you are looking for a quick bite to eat, I would recommend this place. Remember, it’s tucked at the very back of the food court

A bit too much peanut butter in dan dan noodles. If you are a fan of spicy food, then I would not recommend you the dan dan noodles from this place.
Xiaolongbao, or steamed pork buns, are passable. Five for $ 4.

XLB as fast food? Hook that business up. I came here at about 7pm, the cafeteria was mostly dead. Awesome for me! I started my journey off at the infamous Wang’s, and boy did Wang not disappoint. Now I’m not saying that the juice was the greatest XLB juice I’ve ever had, but for the price and the amount of time it took for those bad boys to come out, it was highly pleasing to mine eye (and tastebuds). I also ordered a noodle dish that came smothered in peanut sauce. Now that’s what I’m talking about! It was extremely rich (definitely a share item) but tasty in small doses.
I loved sitting in the cafeteria and watching the adorable lil’ old lady hand making the XLB pockets. Seeing the care that went into every little fold made the meal taste all that much better. Wang, you’ve done well. You’ll be seeing my face round these parts many more times in the future.
My only complaint: Even though we were eating in, we had SO MUCH plastic waste to dispose of after the meal. We happily returned the steamer basket that the XLB came served in, but the pasta came in disposable plastic bowl and we were given other disposable bowls to eat out of. I’d rather have had loaner bowls, but maybe those’d get stolen by other customers? Who knows.
It’s not easy being green…

I went again (I have become a bit of a regular) and tried their mini-​shanghai wonton, and didn’t realise i was getting a soup. the wonton’s came straight out of the freezer — to my dismay!
go for the Wonton Soup, not the shanghai wonton. and dangnation, they run out of the fresh pan-​fried dumplings at around 7pm… dang it.

Only $ 3.75 for 5 XIAO LONG BAO (
) — what a steal!
I love these little soup-​filled pillows of heaven! The skin has just the right texture and thickness and the meat is flavourful and not too fatty. The best part is all the soup inside each of these delectable dumplings, though this can make for a clumsy dining experience. Make sure you make use of the plastic bowl they give you to catch any leakage and wear dark clothes to camouflage the soup that inevitably squirts everywhere!

This is one of the main reasons why I repeatedly come out to Crystal Mall. I remember coming back from Shanghai one year, and everything tasted bland, and I needed some good chinese food.
Coming back from Shanghai, I had some of the best tasting xiaolongbao (XLB for short, as that seems to be the term used here) that my taste buds ever had. So it came to be a pleasent surprise that this little place had some great XLB.
This stall is at the end of the food court, with one guy taking the order, and two older chinese women making the dumpling’s fresh from a huge batch of pork, and wrapping them up and putting 5 in a steamer.
You get 5 XLB’s for $ 3.75, and surprsingly enough, usually one will fill me up just right. Each XLB is big, and filled with soup, so be warned, eat this correctly or you will burn your mouth, or spray the fluids into an unknown direction probably hitting someone!
The best XLB’s in town, and it’s not even a restaurant setting!

Their XLB is so cheap and really good. Each dumpling has a ton of soup so be careful — it might spill. The skin is just a little thick on top, but that’s all. Soup is flavorful. Ghetto «diningware». $ 3.75 for 5 pieces.
JONASAPPROVED!

Now I’ve written about another Wang in my previous reviews.
But Wangs come in all shapes and sizes. Big ones, little ones, hairy ones…
Look if you’re not going to be mature enough to read this review then stop now… I will turn this car around and we will head home!
Anyways, about Wang’s…
I really only came here for the xiao long bao, but as xiao long bao goes, it’s pretty damn good.
They prepare it fresh to order, the buns are served in a steamer basket; hot, fresh and ready… like yo momma! HEYO!
But I digress…
I have to say, the novelty of xiao long bao is kinda waning for me. I know everyone has them with the vinegar (black or red, depending on your taste) with the ginger; but can’t we do better? maybe hoisin with sriracha? a little green onion, sesame oil and ginger? white pepper and orange juice reduction with some five spice?
Anyways I’ll bring my own sauces from now on.
Eat these little jewels quick though, as the baskets have no liners, so when they cool the dumpling sticks, rips and then all that juicy goodness goes out the bottom; and really, what’s the point after that?
Oh yeah and this a pretty cheap place with 5 large (and I mean large) dumplings for $ 4.
Anyways, that’s all folks…
Wang.