Shanghai Noodle House

They have soup dumplings! Everything we had was tasty. Green onion pancakes were crispy, fried rice was just right, and the stir fried noodles with chicken was very tasty. We’ve also stopped in for bubble tea and have enjoyed those very much. Everyone who works there has been very friendly.

When I first saw this place from the road, I thought I’d give it a try but had low expectations. Boy, was I wrong. The prices are modest, the place is clean, the people are super nice, but most of all the food is good. Very light, not overly salty, as another reviewer said. Perfect for lunch on a workday when I don’t want to go back to work all drowsy after a heavy meal. I had the green onion pancake, a favorite of mine and a good test in any Chinese place. These pancakes were top notch, flaky and just right. Then I had pork noodle soup, and just as others have said, the broth is wonderful. One of my tests is if I put the broth in a mug, would I drink it by itself, and the answer here is… please refill my mug. The pork in the broth was also nice, tender and flavorful. I look forward to future visits to work my way through the menu, especially the cold noodle dish when the summer weather sets in. This place is a keeper.
Update from 6÷2÷16 visit:
Came here with Asian friends who know Shanghainese food. They were very excited by the menu, and we tried a lot of things. The xiao long bao dumplings impressed them very much. This is a very special steamed dumpling with soup inside, hard to make, and a bit tricky to eat because you hold a spoon under it when you bite it to catch the delicious soup. They showed me how to do it, and it was so, so good. Also had the leek pie and Shanghai-​style wonton soup. The pie was fantastic, and the filling in the wontons was meaty and rich, a nice contrast to the more delicate broth they were served in. Raising my rating to five stars. The menu is starting to evolve, so there will be still more things to try. What a special place.

So good you guys. Nice little neighborhood noodle house. Clean. Delicious. Great service. Nothing fancy or cringeworthy. We will be back for sure.

We’ve needed a good, traditional Chinese food restaurant with decent prices in the Anderson Mill area for a while now.
We had great pork dumplings — pan fried just right & the woman helping us made a dipping sauce for us too. The Yanzhou-​style fried rice was a good 4 servings & just way I like it — light & fluffy, not overly salty or soy sauced. The Crispy Fried Noodles w/​shrimp & pork had a delicious gravy, however could have used more vegetables. We got our order To Go & everything was piping hot when we got home (~10 min. drive).
Definitely returning to try some of their other dishes!

I am very confused by the bad reviews for this place. This is the only Chinese restaurant that we frequent. (We go there at least once a week.) By the way, both my husband and I grew up in Shanghai. And our little boy, despite being born here, also loves this place.
Our favorite dish is their Shanghai wonton. The dumplings are good, too, but the wonton is very authentic Shanghai flavor. It not only reminds me of my hometown, but also my grandma’s wonton. What else can you ask for?
Their other dishes are lighter in flavor compared to a typical American Chinese restaurant, where heavily salted and oily dishes are served. But Shanghainese people don’t like those heavy food. My husband often orders the beef noodle soup with little or no extra sauce, which is much closer to what we had at our homes in Shanghai.
In summary, this is the most authentic Shanghainese cuisine we have ever been to in Austin. It’s a pity we have to drive 25 mins to get there, but it’s totally worth it. I hope more people would go and enjoy a bite of Shanghai over there.
Thank you, Shanghai Noodle House!

The food could have way more flavor — we got beef noodle soup, wonton soup, green onion pancakes, and pan fried dumplings. I don’t feel like I should have to reach for condiments to flavor a soup and the broths didn’t smell amazing like I would expect with those two dishes. The dumplings could have been fried a little more. Just lazy tasting food, you could make better at home. Also, the noodles were mushy and just like crappy regular spaghetti. Not going back.

I really want to like this place. It’s super close to home, the prices are reasonable, and I like family-​run restaurants. But after trying this place 3 times, I think we’ll just have to go back to Xian, Asia Café, A+A, Chen’s, Osaka, and Jenna’s when we’re hankering for asian food in NW Austin.
Random notes
1. It smells in here. I don’t know why none of the other reviews mentions this. We traced the smell back to the men’s bathroom. Please, some clorox or SOMETHING. it reeks and interferes with the enjoyment of the food. I tried telling the cashier but she didn’t seem to understand.
2. I liked the pork chop noodle soup. The pork chop is very tender and the star of the dish. But could it not be cut into more manageable pieces before serving? It’s so unwieldly.
3. I hated the wonton soup. It didn’t look anything like the picture. Mainly, totally lacking in vegetables. The wontons were also not tasty. Go to Chen’s instead. Or better yet, drive to Houston and bring some back from Santong Noodles to keep in your freezer to make yourself at home.
4. The bubble tea is meh. Better than Asia Café. Reasonably priced. I might come in for one of these to-​go in the future.
5. The green onion pancake is nowhere near as tasty as Chen’s. But it’s not terrible. Yes, some might say flavorless. But at least not greasy?
6. Skip the lo mein. Not good.

I didn’t come for the first few weeks, but after hearing some good things about it, I decided to come. I don’t know what these other people are talking about, but the noodle house I went to was clean, and most importantly the food was delicious. I ordered the spicy beef noodle soup, a staple of any noodle house, and I was not disapppinted.
The noodles are handmade. I could tell from the flour taste the noodles left behind in my mouth, as well as the chewy texture. I think they are machine cut, but the noodles themselves are amazing regardless, ⁵⁄₅.
The broth is pretty good, on par with any other noodle house, including Chen’s if you’ve ever been. Light but with an aromatic beef flavoring, topped with a generous helping of sliced beef and a sprinkle of cilantro. ⁴⁄₅
The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of vegetables — I want some bak choy or bean sprouts in my soup!
Other menu items include fried rice, other flavors of noodle soup, and smoothies (which are quite good). I haven’t had the other main entrees, but if they come anywhere close to the beef noodle soup, then they will be great.
Lastly, the customer service– I believe the kitchen is run by a nice asian couple, and while the cashier was obviously new, she was quite slow. Keep it up though — this restaurant has some great food and a decent location. Hope it does well!

Been here twice now, both experiences were excellent. My dumplings were lovely, and my companion loved his meal and slushie (so far his favorite flavor is strawberry). Customer service was beyond reproach, friendly and efficient. The place is comfortable and clean, a respite for a work day lunch!

I stopped in this restaurant because I saw that they sell boba and I haven’t had that in such a long time. I had to try it. When I arrived, I was greeted by what I assume was a mother/​daughter team who were immediately welcoming and kind. The sitting area was clean and organized and I could smell something delicious being made. I ordered items all to go: three black milk teas with boba, pan-​fried dumplings and egg rolls. While I was waiting, I was given a rice dessert for the Lunar New Year and spoke to who I assume was the mother for a little bit. It was such a nice gesture. The food then arrived and I took it home. Everything was delicious. The dumplings and egg rolls were perfectly cooked, served fresh and hot and deliciously seasoned. I would definitely come back.

This place was wonderful. The food is delicious and the family who runs it is so kind. I love the no frills mom and pop feel. I definitely plan to go back!

Since it’s a new Chinese restaurant, I want to try and recommend to other friends. But it’s not that authentic. The wanton is not as good as the wanton I had in Beijing. The noodle doesn’t taste like a fresh made noodle. Everything is so average. Maybe Shanghainese don’t know how to make noodles.

[Edit review after reading Kristine K’s review below]
Ordered Stir-​fry noodles w/​pork & Leek pie, Lychee slushee w/​pearls.
Leek pie–
A half-​moon dough crescent filled with delicious green onions, this was great! Tasty and not something seen very often on the menu. Recommended.
The one weird thing about the leek pie was that it was cut in half and the two halves placed in the to go container. Why not leave it as a whole piece and let the customer enjoy seeing it un-​molested?
Stir-​fry noodles w/​pork–
Well, I had high hopes with this one. the place is called shanghai noodle house. Sadly the noodles we’re over cooked and mushy. the pork was bland. the simple vegetables we’re overcooked and bland, did not seem top shelf. If your not going to have much vegetables then at least make the ones you do have top shelf.
[Update: Kristine K nailed what bothered me about the noodles. They were spaghetti noodles. Not a nice rice noodle from HEB that I cook all the time but spaghetti noodles. Very surprised that a noodle house would not have a great noodle]
Lychee slushee w/​pearls–
Wow this was pretty good. Nice selection of different slushee & smoothies, good size drink.
I will absolutely come back with the family for drinks once it warms up. I hope that they can bring the food quality up, which frankly with such a small menu should be easy to do. Good luck Shanghai Noodle House!

If there were an option for zero stars I would give that instead. Wish we had checked Unilocal before stopping as it looks like our experience is in line with that of most people who have tried this place.
We got the chili paste noodle soup and the green chicken curry. The noodle soup came in three containers to be combined at home. One was a chicken stock base, the second held flavorless mushy noodles, and the third container yielded a couple of raw peanuts and maybe two ounces of cubed pork and tofu in a bland red sauce. The curry was also almost completely devoid of flavor with rice that was simultaneously mushy and crunchy and chicken that was predominantly bone and skin from what looked to be end slices off of leg bones.
Too bad ours was a to go order. Had I been served this at the table I would have insisted on a refund and gone elsewhere for lunch. As it stands, our Shanghai Noodles carry out is in the trash and I am out twenty bucks, disappointed and hungry.

Walked in and it was freezing! I asked the cashier if he could turn on the heat and he just smiled at me.
We order the pork soup, beef soup, and the chicken stirfried noodles. The pork soup was very odd. A whole pork chop was placed on top of the soup which made it impossible to eat the very mushy noodles and msg laden clear soup made from base. That’s right the noodles were MUSHY!!! A noodle house should be masters at NOODLES! My soup got cold in 2 minutes because it was so damn cold in there.
The beef soup was made using the same broth as the wonton soup which was also made with base. Forgettable and noodles were mushy!!!
The chicken sfirfry was absolutely… wait for it… DISGUSTING…and the noodles were… guess what… MUSHY!!!
We couldnt finish our mushy, cold food anymore so we ran out of there with our ears freezing. As soon as we got in the car we cranked up the heat! This place sucks!

We tried this noodle house because we like Chinese soups and it was new with no reviews so we decided to give it a try. What a wast of time and money. There is nothing authentic or tasty about the food. The chili paste soup and wonton soup were tasteless and the chili paste was horrendous. The wontons themselves were okay and not overcooked but the soup was tasteless. The noodles in he other soups were not only overcooked but served separately so they were all stuck together and broke when we tried to put them in the soup, not ideal for eating with chopsticks which is why nobody does that. The chicken curry was absolutely tasteless. It had a curry color which is amazing because there wasn’t even a hint of curry flavoring. The stir fry was also tasteless and the spaghetti (not noodles) was overcooked. My family dumped the whole thing in he bin and we ordered from A+ Sichuan because they are authentic and every dish is great. What a shambles.

Very underwhelming. I had the beef soup. And there’s no need. The broth tastes like water with chili paste. I had to add salt to my dish when I got home. NOT worth 7.95 whatsoever. The fact that the place is new is no excuse for food that has no flavor.

I was very much looking forward to this place and went in a day off two after it opened. It was so disappointing. I didn’t try any of the beverages, which I hear are good, I was there for the noodles. I get the impression they don’t really care about their food. The broth was flavorless and the noodles themselves tasted like they came out of a soup can. I don’t understand why they think people will come back and pay for their soups. My wife got the pork ribs soup and it just had a pork chop floating on top of the bland noodles and soup. I really hope they change their recipes and approach entirely and find success. As it is now, not sure why they opened a restaurant if they have no passion for food.

My husband and I had the pan fried noodles with pork yesterday about 2 PM. We were totally disappointed. Vegies included were carrots and green beans and they seemed to be cooked from frozen. The noodles were not fried like we expected and they were a bit too soft. The dish was very peppery but we did not see any pepper so assuming they used white pepper. Overall tasteless with the exception of the pepper. We really hoped it was better.

I came here on their opening day, so the service issues I experienced will likely improve.
The food is great. I got pan fried dumplings, which were delicious. The wonton soup is delicately flavored. I spiced it up with the available condiments. The pork rib soup comes with a whole pork chop and baby bok choy. The broth, again, is subtle, but lends itself to improvement with condiments. The pork noodles are flavorful, meat is tender, and the vegetables are nice and crispy. Not overdone.
Bubble teas are always a win for me. The tapioca pearls they use are softer than ones I’ve had elsewhere, which was nice.
I really think the service will only improve as they figure out their flow. Their computer system at the order counter seemed complicated, one of the dishes came cold, and we had to ask for soup spoons.