Shanghai Dumpling King

They used to have the best xlb and dumplings in town. We came today, but very disappointed about the quality. They are famous because their xlb skin is so thin with juicy and smooth fatty pork inside. But this time, all of the xlb skin is broken, which means they don’t have any soup inside at all. We ordered boiled dumplings also. The dumplings are way too overcook. Skins are broken, dumplings sticked together, even the meat inside doesn’t have any taste. Service is still okay like before.
I won’t come back anymore and will not recommend for anyone if you are looking for tasty xlb.

We used to come here often for their delicious food, but we came back here today after a hiatus and the quality of the food has dropped considerably. In addition to the mediocre dishes, we were served a beef noodle soup that had spoiled meat in it. There was a dessicated piece of meat (the top half had clearly been sitting out in air for a long time) that was obviously spoiled, with white patches (mold?) and smelled awful.
It is embarrassing that any restaurant would serve spoiled food and it calls into question the freshness of their food and ingredients. I mentioned to the server who just said sorry and cleared the dish. He said the manager wasn’t there to report the incident to, and we still paid for the dish. I would never go back, and I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Today was my first visit. I was pleasantly surprised considering some of the Unilocal reviews. Four items were ordered. There is only so much two people can eat. My friend who frequents this place ordered for us and everything was excellent — #13 Pot Stickers, #18 Spicy Chive & Shrimp Dumplings, #21 Green Onion Pancake and #88 Pea Sprout with Garlic Sauce. I’m planning to return soon to try the XLB, Pan Fried Pork Bun and Stir Fried Noodles Shanghai Style as recommended by another reviewer.
The service was fast and friendly. This is a small hole in the wall place with just below average dining room cleanliness for an extremely busy restaurant, but I’ll return.

They will take your order before you are even seated, so get ready as soon as you put your name down. My favorite items are the pork spicy dumplings and steamed Shanghai dumplings (xiao long bao). I prefer them over the crab or shrimp versions. The spicy beef noodle soup is super satisfying and dirt cheap. Order the pea shoots if you need some greens in your diet. The sugar puffs are essentially fried cream puffs minus the cream, which is good. The only thing I didn’t care for is the green onion pancake. It was way too doughy. The xlb’s were oversteamed and stuck during my last visit, but were perfect prior.

I am not sure how to evaluate this place. We’ve had Xiao Long Bao, fried pork buns and steamed bbq buns. Flavor and texture-​wise everything was outstanding. I dare say I enjoyed the XLB here more than I did at Din Tai Fung. Here’s what bothered me:
1. They’re low on hygiene. Even though the bathroom was clean, I found the fact the waiter brought two saucers one inside the other WITH SOY SAUCE IN THEM, meaning the botton of the top saucer was soaked in the sauce of the bottom saucer, disgusting. Also, the menu had a hair in it.
2. The XLB stuck to the bottom of the steamer, and nearly all of them broke when we tried picking them up. And trust me, we love XLB and know how to deal with them.
This place is so good in some aspects, and awful in others.

*******2stars for quality & taste of price*******
Came on Sunday with party of 5, an abc guy set an meet up here for XLB!
According to Michelin guide, yes, you can use cheap material to make your product but if you are strong the result of your XLB will taste impressive!
As Ken K. «hong kong king FOB foodie» was right!
Since I’m Authentic Shanghaiese with high level of expectations, and yes I agree w/​Randy F, since he works for Michelin star «Alexander’s steak house» kitchen with the quality material & expectation of taste.
Market’s competitions:
«Stronger» XLB places, but not the best are in Cupertino, west San Jose, Milpitas & Las Vegas (on spring mountain in china town)
«Strongest» XLB places: in Shanghai, China
I ordered
Crab XLB 8pc $ 11 (doesn’t matter how many pc)
They use the worst quality of dough skin, the juice was yellow but has no crab egg’s taste & meat has no flavor, quality of culinary skill very low, but the main thing was the dough was horrible.
Spicy shrimp wonton $ 7
Sauce good, shrimp good, skin just too thick! It was 3 wonton for $ 7 was over priced.

This place is hit or miss but from my experience the only time worth visiting is during breakfast/​lunch when the Shanghai dumplings are still plump with juice and freshness. Delicious puffed sweet pastry and soy milk completes a good lunch. They have decent noodles and Shanghai thick noddles but nothing to write home too. It’s a local favorite which is why there is a long line but definitely not a place is go out of my way to visit.

The sun does a good job lighting the space. This establishment is cash only.
Food is better than decent. The lions head soup is a must order. The dumpling safe delicious and unlike the other Unilocaler, Andrew R., I think the soup dumplings were definitely soupy enough.

These dumplings are not soupy enough. From past experience elsewhere, soup dumplings should be almost bursting with juicy goodness so that you have to carefully bite off the top and suck out the soup. These did not cut it.
The filling wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. At least the wrapper itself wasn’t too thick or tough, something that can ruin a good dumpling of any kind.
The string beans are pretty tasty though. So get those.
I need real juicy, soupy dumplings now!

String beans were so delicious. Don’t know what they did with it but it’s crispy and salted just right.
Green onion pancake is a bit too doughy for my liking. Two orders of it was ambitious to finish among 6 people.
The Shanghai style dumplings were a huge disappointment since it broke so easily. I’ll stick with the pork and choice dumplings from now on.
Walnut prawns were pretty average, didn’t expect much since this place is known for its dumplings.
Place is cash only.

EDIT (5÷18÷16): Begoni Bistro in Chinatown is xiao long bao king.
In my book, Shanghai Dumpling King is more aptly named Shanghai Dumpling Prince.
First up, #4, SHANGHAI STEAMED DUMPLINGS, more famously known as xiao long bao, 10 pieces for $ 5.95. Impression? Generous fatty pork filling, consistent soup filling, but the wrapper was thick, chewy, and a bit slimy.
Second is #12, the PAN-​FRIED PORK BUNS, also known as sheng jian bao, 8 pieces for $ 5.75. Impression? Same filling as the xiao long bao, no soup, and too much bread. The golden brown sear is beautiful though :)
Lastly is #53, the SHANGHAI STIR-​FRIED RICE CAKES, $ 6.95. Delicious! Chewy nian gao (rice cakes), chunks of pork, strands of Chinese spinach, oyster sauce, and lots of oil. Just like home.
Thumbs up for the generous portions of meat in their dumplings, but no bueno on the thickness of their dumpling skins. In the city, I prefer Dumpling Kitchen for xiao long bao and Kingdom of Dumpling for sheng jian bao. But now that Din Tai Fung is open in South Bay (AND accepts online reservations via Unilocal), DTF is the no-​brainer for those with patience.

I think the Shanghai Dumpling King location on Monterey was much better. The Shanghai dumplings were not good. The soup fell out when you pick up the dumplings and when I did pick up an intact dumpling, the soup had no taste, and it was like water. What a shame we got two orders of it. It must have been an off-​day. The waiter convinced us to get vegetables, AKA sautéed green beans. Funny, because it was the same waiter who served at the Monterey location and recommended the exact same thing. We also got shrimp and chives dumplings, which were better than the shanghai dumplings. There was a green onion pancake which was crispy.
Leading up to this, there was a massive line, which is expected and I have no complaints about. We waited for about 30 minutes outside, but got to see the menu while in line. I suppose calling in your order is the way to go.

I use to come here all the the time for my regular serving of xiao long baos and green onion pancake. Consuming 10 baos AND pancake AND sugar puffs was nothing back then but then again, I was a lot younger and the food was actually good.
Shanghai dumplings — lukewarm, filled with to much meat, no juice. The juice in the dumplings is what makes it tasty but there was barely any inside.
Pan fried pork dumpling– I was looking forward to these mainly because its fried on the bottom. These were too doughy and soggy.
Pancake– a lot greasier and salty than I remember
Garlic pea sprouts– probably the best dish of this whole meal, sad ain’t it?
We were debating between this place or another one a few blocks down but since my friend hasn’t tried this place, I wanted to take him here since i THOUGHT it was still good in quality.
Super disappointed, probably never coming back.

This place has one of the best Dumplings in the Bay Area.
Shanghai Dumplings has a broth on the inside which makes each bite so divine. The spicy shrimp dumplings are so good. This is a hole in a the wall and the place gets crowded during dinner time on any day of the week.
The location in the Richmond not the City but the San Francisco District.

I would give this place 3.5 stars, but leaning toward 4 I guess cause they have really awesome tasty dumplings (shao-​long-​bao). The place looks really run down and old, but that’s pretty much how most Chinese restaurants are when they been opened for years. I would never imagine of coming here if it wasn’t for my Brazilian buddy. The first time we tried coming here with two of our classy friends, they were really hesitated to go in. They prefer something more newer and looks a lot cleaner or classy. But eventually they finally agreed to give this place a shot so I was able to experience this place. Now for the Pros and Cons:
Con: My first impression of this place was just a typical Chinese Restaurant, but the waiter was really rude to us when we came in 30 minutes before closing when my Brazilian friend tries to get us a seat in there. He seems to be a regular there and they seems to know and don’t like him. I had to speak Chinese to them politely just to get a seat. At first, they wouldn’t let us sit in, saying they’re closing soon after 30 minutes, so I convince them that we will do take out which they allow us to do, but after that, two other couple came in and was seated. I begin to wonder if we were being discriminated because of my Brazilian friend. So I ask politely again in Chinese if we can sit in to eat instead since they allow others to right after, which they eventually did.
Pro: If it wasn’t for their awesome dumplings, this place would of been an easy 1 – 2 stars for my first impression and looking run down. What my Brazilian buddy like about this place and trying so hard to convince us to come is because they allow us to bring our own alcohol. What’s funny to me is that my Brazilian buddy would bring in his cooler filled with beers and we just hang out and drink. I begin to realized why they’re rude to us and it was 30 minutes closing time after all.
We did eat and leave when everyone was leaving. We didn’t over stay our welcome and we did tip them at least 20−25% when we left there. AND Yes, we did go again the second time, but this time, it was during lunch time with no issue as my Brazilian buddy carry his cooler in with full beers, ha!
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Ok, so I may not know much about San Francisco in comparison to Houston or New York City. But I tell everyone about the «real» Chinatown in San Francisco. And I tell everyone to get the Shanghai soup dumplings (xiao long bao) here. It’s truly a hole-​in-​the-​wall and everything is authentic and delicious. Get the pea shoots! There are a even some good vegetarian options on the menu– their mapo tofu comes without meat, and it’s not as corn-​starchy as most. So I like that.
I’ve been here about 4 times and it’s still phenomenal.
Our record is finishing 6 orders (60 dumplings) between three people. Just saying. It’s really that good. Golden Gate Park is close by if you want to walk it off later.

Xiao Long Bao /​Shanghai dumpling — the food of my people!
Literally translates to: Little Dragon Balls
Shanghai Dumpling King has a lot of great things going for it, and some not so great.
I try to go during off-​peak times when I need a xiao long bao fix. I was sadly disappointed when I tried to go on a Tuesday, the one day a week they are closed. I probably stupidly did this more than once.
Many times, I’ve been surprised at the crowd waiting outside. Even though it’s a favorite of mine, I don’t expect others to make their way to Outer Richmond, write down their name & size of party on a clipboard, and wait patiently outside to eat at a relatively small Chinese restaurant.
You may be tempted to order to go and skip the wait for a table, but I say don’t even bother. Takeout dumplings won’t be good.
The dining area is split into 2 sections, with a couple of small tables in front of their cash register, and a larger dining room through another door. Often times, the larger tables are used for communal seating. There a couple of smaller tables in the back that are inches away from the restroom and storage room, just so you know.
That never seems to bother me once the smell of black vinegar hits me in the olfactory senses and I see a few dozen bamboo baskets opening up to the sight of steamy goodness.
Shanghai Steamed Dumplings (~$ 6 for 10): delicious! the most important thing on the menu,
10 little xiao long baos arranged tightly together in a bamboo steamer — what a beautiful sight. It is a bit of a tight squeeze. Some of them stick together, so you need to be extra careful pulling them apart so as not to puncture the skin. (Hey it’s better than lifting the lid and only finding a measly 3 or 4 dumplings, am I right?)
I avoid that problem by squeezing the center of the dumpling with chopsticks, and gently rolling the dumpling away from an adjacent dumpling. All the while, I have a spoon ready to catch the dumpling and any soup that may leak out. Then I quickly dip it in black vinegar and place it back on the spoon. I nibble away a little bit of the skin to let out the steam inside the dumpling and blow on it a few times so I don’t burn my tongue. Then I eat the whole thing — skin, meat filling, soup, vinegar — in one mouthful.
The pork & crab dumplings are very good too.
The Good:
— thin, delicate skin
— amazing, juicy, flavorful meat
— amazing, flavorful soup
The Bad:
— Inconsistency: Sometimes there is no soup in the dumpling (s) when the dumplings lose their soup in the steaming process. I think they try to steam many batches at a time to accommodate large crowds. As a result, some of them are left cooking too long and then… bye, bye soup.
It seems like they get away with soupless dumplings every so often, because a good portion of their crowd is unaware that the dumplings have soup inside.
Green Onion Pancake ($ 5.25):
crunchy, flaky, oily, thin pancake with mild scallion flavor and golden brown color
Pan Fried Pork Buns ($ 5.75 for 8):
The buns are each fried to a golden crunch on the bottom and topped with sesame seeds. They are plated crunchy side facing up and scattered with green onions. There could be more meat filling in these. Also they’re too doughy and taste a little gummy. Sometimes sheng jian bao has soup inside, but these do not.
Lion Head Meatball Casserole (~$ 11): delicious!
Huge, steaming pot of soup with 3 giant, juicy meatballs, clear noodles, cabbage leaves and mushrooms in the broth, topped with scallions. The broth has a mild flavor, so I like to break up the meatballs first so the broth can absorb the meat flavor. We hardly ever finish the lion’s head soup, but it makes for great leftovers. They give you a clear plastic container, so it’s best to wait for the soup to cool a little before packing it up.
Sugar Egg Puff ($ 3.25):
A sweet lady comes around every so often and offers up these egg puffs for purchase. In the past, I’ve always smiled and said no thank you. I was missing out! When I finally tried one, I regretted not ordering them in the past, but was also relieved I didn’t let myself get addicted to them sooner. They are super airy, puffed-​up, oily, warm doughnuts covered in sugar crystals. As much as I like biting into one of these puffs and seeing the sugar run down the sides of the puff, I don’t like the texture of hard sugar crystals in my mouth. I’d prefer them without sugar on top. Also, they do deflate and get soggy if you take them to go, so try to enjoy them while they’re hot!
Service is quite good. I mean, you can’t expect much of service in a Chinese restaurant, but I’ve always found them to be very nice. They work efficiently, say thank you, and goodbye. I have no complaints.
It’s a pain that they are a cash-​only restaurant. Yet another restaurant that forces me to pay a visit to the ATM prior to eating.
Even though I’ve been here many times, I can’t go without ordering xiao long bao and lion’s head soup. What else is good here?

The last visit was super disappointing. We were doing a dumpling throwdown since there are 2 locations within a few blocks. We waited for our turn & was made to pre-​order. We ordered 1 order of shanghai steamed dumplings (there are 10 in an order) & a dessert. The guy who was monitoring the list & seating people said «That’s all for 4 people??! Why not get it for take out?!» Uh, hello, how do soup dumplings survive take out & where would we eat them since nobody lived nearby??! I said we were just going to eat & leave so it would be fast & convinced him to seat us.
Well, our shanghai steamed dumplings were deflated & contained no soup. I guess they reserved all the defective dumplings for us. It was obvious when the people sharing our table received plump, soup filled shanghai steamed dumplings AFTER us despite being seated & ordering BEFORE us. Can’t believe the discrimination & crappy service! We waited just like everyone else & paid the same amount for the dumplings!
At least the dessert was fresh & delicious. Tho not enough to make up for shanghai steamed dumplings without soup.

If you’re looking for a quick cheap dim sum fix here’s your place. The #4 Shanghai dumplings have a promising flavor with help from the sauce on the side. They come out hot with a thick wrapping which I eventually avoided towards me getting full.
It eats busy very quickly so prepare for a wait during peak hours in the morning. Not an incredible dumpling house but it gets the job done for a craving without hitting the prices of higher end places such as Din Tai Fung.

Me and a friend came across this place after walking from lands end and we got seated right away .
Xiao long baos were good you get 10 pieces for the plate ~ they weren’t too hot (to burn my tongue as i have had before at other places) but were the just right temperature of hotness to be able to enjoy comfortably .
I also ordered the spicy chive and shrimp. It was not really spicy but more of a fishy sauce or at least it tasted a bit fishy to me which i did not enjoy, The shrimp was pretty big and the chives add a nice flavor but it was not that great and i would not order them again.
We also tried the pan fried pork buns and although my friend did not like them i thought they were okay ~ the buns are sweet but i personally like the style of buns used for these .
However i would recommend just getting the xiao long baos ~ they are more worth the taste.

Wer hätte gedacht, dass Dumplings nicht nur in der Suppe schwimmen (wie bei der allseits-​bekannten Wonton-​Suppe), sondern dass es auch Dumplings gibt, die mit Suppe gefüllt sind! Aber wie kommt die Suppe wohl in die Dumplings hinein? — Na, wenn das nicht eine Reportage in der «Sendung mit der Maus» wert is! Wie dem auch sei, hier beim Shanghai Dumpling King sollte man unbedingt jene Xia Long Bao probieren. (Es gibt da übrigens eine Etikette, wie man diese delikaten und äußerst «zerbrechlichen» Dinger isst.)
Wer zum Shanghai Dumpling King kommt, der sollte keinen exklusiven Service erwarten: hier steht man schon mal gut und gerne ‘né halbe Stunde Schlange, bevor man sich an einen der wenigen Tische setzen kann. Und dann geht alles ruck-​zuck: sobald man seine Bestellung aufgeben hat, wird das Essen auch schon bald gebracht.
Und hier sind meine Empfehlungen:
* Xia Long Bao (Shanghai Steamed Dumplings)
* Vegetarian Goose
* Tofu Thread Salad
* Cucumber Salad
* Lion Head Meatballs Casserole
* Green Onion Pancake
* Braised String Bean
* Morning Glory (Water Spinach or Ong Choy)
Anmerkung: dieses Restaurant ist janz weit draußen, also man sollte schon ein Auto haben oder aber etwas Geduld mitbringen, denn die Busfahrt hierher dauert schon etwas länger!
Und hier ist der Link zu einem Blog, wo man erfährt wie man diese Dumplings macht und obendrein lernt man auch noch wie man sie isst:

Hmmm, the rating depends on what you are looking for.
Good food: yes
Ambiance: zero
The dumplings were very good and definitely fresh.
We couldn’t really tell the difference between the pork dumplings and the pork/​shrimp dumplings, though.
In general: while the food is fresh and yummy, we could not enjoy it, because at first you are rushed to your table, then throughout the entire dinner, we had a server breath down our neck to see if we were ready to order yet. Then while eating, they kept checking our serving dishes to see if we had finished yet. We weren’t even done eating yet and we had a bill on the table. We felt incredibly rushed and it made the entire atmosphere very uncomfortable.
Also the floors were very sticky, luckily we weren’t placed next to the bathroom doors.
No doubt the food is fresh and good, but I would not go here for a ‘restaurant’ experience. The place is pretty much a dump and dirty.