Shanghai Dim Sum

A small location on sheppard, Shanghai Dim Sum seems like a family owned restaurant who has hired more employees due to the amount of customers that come here. I definitely recommend you to come early because starting at 6:30pm or 7:00pm, it begins to get packed.
I love the xiao long bao as it is filled with soup — not all places can make good xiao long bao. Their 生煎包 is very tasty as well. There are a bit of green onions sprinkled on top and only the bottom is crispy, the top is slightly crispy, not too soft but not overboard. Loved it! We also always get the beef with noodles in soup. This was mediocre, seemed to taste similar to other places.
I wouldn’t say their prices are super expensive or super cheap. They are cheaper than ding tai fung, but there are cheaper restaurants in Markham. Pretty small restaurant, but good quality. The chef really adheres to the amount of customers in the store but making their dishes well for a small group of participats.

I went to this place with two people. and honestly it was an average restaurant. that had the problem of terrible service. The dumplings, or soup buns whichever english translation you prefer are the highlight of the food that they offer. That is the better dishes that they serve. as it is just right, and not too salty or oily. The duck although cooked to just the right temperature and right texture, was too salty. and the cold dish in the bamboo shoots was the same. The food would’ve been worth a 3 or even 3.5 stars. however the service was so terrible it dropped them to a solid 2 star.
The servers are not just rude, but also can’t process orders. We had to ask 3 servers for a spoon, before we gave up and just grabbed one ourselves off a vacant table. Also the dishes they provided were dirty to start. Normally i take chinese restaurant services with a grain of salt. but this one was beyond terrible, because not just one bad server., but all their servers were bad. And to add on this is a very small restaurant that doesn’t seat a lot of people. Yet they still managed to have bad service, as it was not because their too busy or other factors. For all the gruff you would take from the servers, i would say it does not make it worth it to go to this restaurant to eat.
I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, over the service, if they have to try the food, then get takeout. cause the grief you get is just not worth it.

There are two locations for this restaurant, one in Richmond Hill and one in Scarborough. Me and my friend went to the Scarborough location for lunch. I have to say, this place looks really really sketchy. The outside looks old and broken. Utensils are not so clean. I got a spoon that still had oil spot left on it. The outside of tea pot is also oily and had some suspicious stain. Service is not so good neither. I felt like their servers were either not awake or had gold fish memory. Since I got the dirty spoon and tea cup, I asked for another new set. The first server never just went into the kitchen and never came back to me. Then I asked another server for help, it seemed like she went to grab me new utensils but then it turned out that she grab the utensils to set up the table beside me… So I end up grabbing a new spoon from a table that hadn’t been seated. Even then the server complained about why I grab the other table’s spoon. I don’t know how many server I have to go through to just get a freaking spoon, but I just want to eat my soupy steam bun before it get cold!
Anyway, service aside, food was OK. I like their soupy steam bun. We ordered the pork one with fake crab, that was tasty. The crispy duck has good texture, crispy skin and the meat is tender. However, me and my friend both think it is a little too salty. We also ordered a cold bamboo shoot dish. That is oily and sweet, not my type of taste.
If they can improve the service and the hygiene, I would like to recommend this place to my friend. I think I will try their Richmond Hill location next time to see if it is better.

We came here on a Sunday at noon when our regular Dim Sum place was too full, and it turned out pretty well. I haven’t had Shanghai style in a while, mostly because of the heavier use of wheat dumpling wrappers and noodles as opposed to rice wrappers and noodles in other cuisines, but there was enough selection that I could eat here comfortably.
We had the pork jelly cake to start with — nice flavour and texture. The bean curd rolls and meatballs soup was also very nicely flavoured and the rolls and meatballs were really good. Then we had the countryside style stir fried pork — really good, great mix of flavours and textures; the chili shrimp — nicely cooked but I didn’t like the particular combination of too sweet and too vinegary and not enough heat; the stir fried beans with minced pork were probably my favourite — great flavour, perfect heat, tender and flavourful pork — mmmm!; and the fried rice with egg and green onion was also really good — perfectly cooked with a nice balance of flavours.
The place is small and ordering is off the menu, not with the carts, but the food was good, service was prompt, and the price was in range with the local competition, so I am pretty sure we will be back!

There’s a lot of controversy in the reviews for this place (and many others of course). Some think they are great, other’s not. Some like their staples while others don’t believe they are authentic. I do however have a counter argument to all this. Firstly, although we often have an appetite for fat and sodium not all taste buds are alike; hence we have variety. Secondly, what is authenticity? Because the very idea of that is absurd. Our food has evolved just as much or more than we have and it needs to continue to evolve like everything else. But when it comes down to it, I believe, taste is mostly all that matters.
This place tastes great… for the most part. Their soups and snacks all taste delicious. In comparison, I would put them slightly above average when compared to long standing Shanghainess institutions like Ding Tai Fung. Unfortunately, their steamed soup dumplings (xiao long bao) is slightly on the disappointing side. The filling is fantastic but the skin on the dumpling is unusually thick; knit picking really but that’s how I am.
All in all, a go to Shanghainess place… just not for xiao long bao!

This restaurant looks like the inside of someone’s house, but filled with restaurant tables. It’s homey. Kinda cute.
Had:
Shanghai salty soy milk ($ 2.99) — Hot soy milk. Savory (almost like a creamy soup). Had slices of deep fried dough stick in it, as well as chunks of seaweed, and what might have been a tiny bit of dried shrimp. Also a touch of chili oil (that I couldn’t taste). Oddly comforting. Perhaps not so good for today (cuz it’s boiling outside), but would be great for a cold day. It’s making me feel drowsy.
Pan-​fried pork buns ($ 4.99 for 4) — Decent sized buns. Best one’s I’ve had since I came back from Shanghai. What I’ve been looking for is a pan-​fried pork bun with soup inside it, and these ones did. I would have preferred the bun part to be a tad thinner, and for there to be more filling, but I’m quite satisfied with these.
Ramen with no-​MSG pork broth ($ 8.99) — also comes in chicken broth. Spicy option available at no extra cost. Has a two softboiled egg halves (yolk was almost fully set, but still slightly runny). Soy sauce flavored. I think they pre-​make these and then just drop them in the bowl when someone orders ramen. The middle of the egg was cold. That was a bit of a shock. Ramen was a tad too firm for me. I like my noodles softer. I didn’t try the pork, but there were three or four slices in there. Served with soy sauce marinated bamboo shoots. Broth was nice and porky.
We had a bit of a mix-​up, because you write down your own orders. I put down the numbers. Shanghai salty soy milk was B22. They accidentally gave me B2, which was steamed soup dumplings. They put it on our table. I told them it was wrong. They left it on our table while they went to check. Then when they found out it was wrong, they apologized and asked if I still wanted the soup dumplings (presumably, they’d have charged me for them) and when I said no, they took them off the table. Other than that slight mishap, everything went fine.
I’ll be back to try more of their stuff.
Side note. Their pork dumplings are 4 for $ 4.99, which isn’t cheap, but their pork dumplings are pretty big.

I’m surprised this place gets so many good reviews. We ordered Savory Soy Milk, Steamed Bun, Pan fried Pork Buns, Suimai, and Cold Fish dish. Other than Soy Milk and Steamed Buns (over cooked, wrappers are broken), everything else was below mediocre. Pan Fried Pork is a thick bao, all flour. Suimai is taseless, Cold Fish dish should be renamed to fish jerky with over powered clove «jelly». We complained to the kitchen, the staff pretty said «that’s how we cook here, like it or leave it». Will never go back. Btw, I was born and raised in Shanghai, this is way too far from authentic Shanghainese food.

This is tiny! There’s only about 10 tables inside. Parking can also be a problem since there’s not a lot of parking spots in this little joint.
Food selection is smaller than most Shanghai places but I prefer a small menu over a large menu anyways. What’s the point of having 300 items on the menu and less than 10% of it actually tastes good?
The food here is flavorful and comes out relatively fast. I especially like their Xiao Long Bao and noodles.
I usually like to visit this place at odd hours so I can avoid the parking problem.

Surprising good food from a small restaurant! The restaurant isn’t exactly pretty but the food was delicious! Lots of choices, service was quick enough but the waiters aren’t really fluent in English so you should have a Chinese speaking friend with you if you go. Food is worth a try!

Didn’t end up eating here. Waited almost an hour to be seated even though there were a lot of seats available. They did not want my friend and I to take up a table that could seat more than 2 people. They kept cleaning and seating groups and when a two seater was open they didn’t clean it right away I stead the were too occupied with the groups.
Where’s the customer service? Needless to say, my friend and I decided to leave.

I have debating wether to review this place for a while because i want to keep it a HIDDEN GEM — its that good. It’s own stand alone building and its so easy to pass by it many times and not realize its there. They have english on their menu so it makes it easy for everyone. Their service is ok — like any other chinese place.
The steamed buns are a must get — and have them with either the spicy pork belly and cabbage stir fry or stewed pork belly with beancurds. Its WAY better and authentic than anything you can get at momofuku or bahn mi boys.
The carb and pork xiao long bao is so delicious, hot and juicy, I have serious cravings for them when I am away. Their fish, veggie and eggdrop soup hits the spot in my belly. They also have a peppercorn pickled veggie and fish soup — really bol flavour and really spicy the way I like it. Their cold pork and cucumber salad is also one of my favourites — its covered in bright red chilli oil, spicy lovers only!

Great food, good service.
Their xiao long bao are amazing.

Truly has a feeling of being invited to someone’s home in shanghai. Small and quaint, food prepared with care. There were many flavors and delicacy that were new and delightful to me. Even being well verse in other chinese cuisine. Service was kind and generous, food came out at the right time and hot. So much to try.

It was hard to find a place with really good shanghainese dim sum. But this place was it! When my precious go-​to place for soup dumplings closed, I tried several different places and this one was the best :).
The only problem is that the prices are prettyyyyyy high here and the service is sometimes shaky. I remember having a few problems with the attitudes the waitresses before but the owner is always really kind and looks out for the customers. Maybe the waitresses were overwhelmed because I usually notice only like 2 – 3 running around.
Anyway everything here is pretty great just the prices are a little higher than id like. But it’s so worth it when I’m craving the dishes that they make so well.

The XLB are pretty good.
Apart from that, everything else is mediocre:
–sweet & sour pork in particular was terrible. It kind of taste just like batter… I could see some meat inside, but couldn’t taste any. It was probably the worst I’ve ever had
–Shanghai noodles too were nothing special
–Fish soup (with the Sichuan pepper corns) was not great either
I definitely will not be back

Located on a corner lot surrounded by an L-​shaped parking lot the building was a small box that looked liked a converted donut or fast food place. Inside there were a few round tables and a couple of square ones all packed together really tightly. The place was packed and we waited for a table. The menu featured a selection of Shanghai inspired dim sum, which is heavy on the pork, lacking a lot of familiar shrimp & seafood options. The feature of Shanghai dim sum are soup dumplings and steamed buns filled with assorted fillings. If you love Shanghai styled dim sum this is the place. The service was quick and the food delicious.

This is second time I tried this restaurant. Service is very good and mannered. For a northern style is consider good. Still a little on the oily side but not as much as other northern style Chinese restaurant. The place a very nice inside but little small. I wouldn’t mind this again since most of the restaurant in that area is crap too.

I was looking for a good Shanghai dim sum place on Sheppard in Scarborough so I browsed Unilocal and went to Shanghai Dim Sum. Duh right?.
It’s a stand alone building with a very small parking lot with less than 10 spots. Don’t fret, you can park across the street. From the outside, it looks very formal and somewhat big, but it is actually quite small inside. While this may throw some people off, it actually makes it a bit more of a homey feel and my mom said it reminded her of some smaller restaurants in Asia.
What we ordered:
–Steamed crab and pork dumplings (6 pcs) — $ 7.99
–Pan fried pork buns (4 pcs) — $ 6.99
–Shanghai wonton soup (8 – 10 pcs) — $ 4.99
The prices aren’t cheap here, but they aren’t any more expensive than Markham DTF either. However, I found the quality here to be much better and less salty. Markham DTF is becoming more of a mass production factory now :-(. In addition, their menu here is a lot bigger.
The crab/​pork dumplings were succulent and full of juice and flavour. The pan fried pork buns are about $ 1 more expensive than Markham DTF, but the presentation and craftsmanship is so much better here. As for the Shanghai wontons, they were basically just boiled pork and chive dumplings but made totally from scratch, including the skin. For a price of $ 4.99, you can’t go wrong (although I swear the menu said $ 5.99).
My other super like about this place is that it opens at 8:30 in the morning 7 days a week! WOW! That is so early but if I worked in the area, I’d so come here for breakfast.
My only slight dislike about this place is that it appears most of the waitstaff speak little to no English and only know Mandarin. Not to worry. The menu has plenty of pictures and you just write the menu item number on a piece of paper. As long as you can gesture «bill, and box», and smile while doing it, they are more than accommodating. It’s not ideal, but it appears to be a family run business and it just adds to the appeal of the place.
Verdict: Very good and will visit again.

Delicious and always consistent.
This is my boyfriend and mine go-​to Shanghainese Food joint, especially when I am craving Xiao Long Bao (Soup Filled Dumplings). This place definitely has THE BEST, let me repeat, THE BEST Xiao Long Bao I have ever had in Toronto. Not only is the dumpling filled with hot, flavourful soup but the skin of each dumpling is perfectly thin and strong at the same time that the chopsticks will not rupture the dumpling upon contact.
Believe it or not, this is super important because I’m sure we all want the dumpling and soup to stay in tact. :) We like to bite off the top of the dumpling where the skin is in a knot to make a hole to let the soup inside cool down a bit before digging in.
Anyways, I usually come for a quick lunch and between my boyfriend and I, we get the B-​2 Soup Filled Dumplings with Pork, this B-​16 Seasame Pancake with Shredded Pork inside, the Sliced Pork with Garlic Chili Sauce and one carb-​filled item (usually a noodle).
Everything is made fresh and so tasty and for what we order (comes to around $ 25), we are more than stuffed.
I am waiting for an ocassion to come here for dinner and try out their other menu items since they always look so good.
The service is good and quick and the staff always look very friendly.
I would definitely recommend coming here for Shanghainese food!

My fiancé and I actually come here once every month or two either for lunch or dinner on weekends; we’ve also brought friends here too.
For my dad’s birthday, I decided to bring him here with the whole family and was extra pleased with the service so I felt compelled to write a review!
FAVOURITE DISHES
Whenever we come here, we ALWAYS order the «Steamed Soup Dumplings w/​Pork» (#B-​2) and the «Hamburger w/​Beef & Caraway» (#B-​10). They are simply delicious!
Each order of the B-​2 come with 6 soup dumplings; they come out fresh and steaming hot but all you need to do is let it sit in the bath of vinegar for a couple of minutes and it’ll start cooling down. Please don’t eat it any other way! As Eddie Huang says, «Don’t be a f_​_​_​ing hooligan!» ;P
The hamburgers are also amazing! The sesame toasted buns come out crispy and warm. The meat is flavourful but I still like a few drops of vinegar on it.
We’ve tried other dishes too, which never disappointed. The best part is that there’s very little (if any at all) MSG. I simply hate the after-​taste of MSG-​laden Chinese food! You feel extra thirsty but NONE of this at Shanghai Dim Sum! My whole family was very satisfied tonight. We agreed that we’d never go to Asian Legend again for Shanghai food!
SERVICE
The servers are always friendly and courteous. For tonight’s meal, we ended up getting one of the larger tables. However, near the end of our meal, the manager/​owner apologetically asked us if we could move over to a smaller table for another group coming in. We actually didn’t mind especially since he gave 10% off and service was especially attentive (i.e. tea refills were prompt, we kept getting clean dishes and extra napkins)
Shortly after they brought our cake to the table, they ended up playing The Birthday song and everyone in the restaurant clapped! :) That was really thoughtful of them.
DOWNSIDE (very minor)
Most of them only speak Mandarin so communication was an issue sometimes. The tea isn’t the best; they use tea bags. I’m a little picky with tea and would’ve preferred tea leaves.
Also the restaurant is very small. Luckily line-​ups were never an issue. We’ve always been seated within 10 minutes.
VERDICT
Love this place!