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Shanghai River
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
7831 Westminster HwyRichmond, BC V6X 4J4
Neighbourhood: Golden Village
(604) 233-8885
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
147 reviews for Shanghai River
Review Highlights
"I LOVE EATING XIAO LONG BAO with rice."
(in 48 reviews)
"Recommend the pork seamed dumplings (XLB."
(in 49 reviews)
"The best dim sum I've had outside of Guangzhou."
(in 19 reviews)
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147 reviews in English
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Review from Addie L.
2/2/2012
I agree with the other reviews regarding the xiao long bao... it's their signature dish. Shanghai noodles was excellent, you can see and taste the quality. The pea spouts with crab was also very good. Lobster was cooked perfectly, they even made the shells very easy to peel off. The service was prompt and friendly. The prices are reasonable considering the quality of food.
One tip, you should get to the restaurant by at least 6:00PM for dinner, it gets busy very quickly or make reservations in advance.
This place is worth every CAD! -
Review from Audrey H.
1/29/2012
One word: COCKROACHES.
This place is filth. I cannot believe the high ratings for this place.
First of all the service was terrible. The food came out painfully slow (we waited about half an hour for the first dish) and each dish came at least 10 minutes between each other. Asking for simple things like water was like pulling teeth.
The xiao long bao was not even that great. Din Tai Fung was much better food and service wise. We ordered a couple other dishes which were totally bland.
So our cockroach story: We noticed a couple cockroaches crawling up one of the chairs next to us. Should have got up and walked out but we already invested time waiting for the bland overpriced food. After leaving and crossing the border, we stopped to do a little shopping. Guess what was in my bag? Shanghai River's disgusting cockroach tenants! -
Review from Miss Bonnie B.
1/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
Sorry Ahlin C. but I thought this place was awesome!
We had the XLB dumplings and the crab and various other dishes and found them to all be well deserving of their rating. YUMS! -
Review from Karen L.
1/4/2012 1 photo
Shanghai River was on my list of must-eats for our Vancouver trip. I'm so glad I had the privilege of trying their xiao long bao! I don't even remember what else we ordered, but the xiao long bao was SO GOOD. Would it be blasphemous for me to say that their xiao long bao is better than Din Tai Fung's? Because I definitely think so. Don't get me wrong, I like DTF, but the XLB here blew my mind.
Xiao long bao please, that's all I want!Listed in: Vancouver Eats!
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Review from Ramon V.
12/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
My simple way to discover a new place:
I had a craving for hot and sour soup while in Richmond, and searched for "best hot and sour soup". Shanghai River was first on the list, and the decision was made.
Ok, not all first time discoveries are made this way, but this was a good one.
It's a busy restaurant. Spacious, clean. Not too fancy, but good enough to impress your friends. Sure enough hot and sour soup was on the menu, but two of us also decided that the baked garlic rack of lamb was a no-brainer, based purely on the picture on the menu alone. We also ordered a plate of 'seasonal vegetables', which in this case was a choice between gai-lan and bok choy. Most items are a little pricey.
While we waited, a waitress walked by with largest king crab I had ever seen. Ever. It must have been about 4ft across. Other tables were enjoying a crazy assortment of fried fish, noodles, and house-made dumplings. All very appetizing.
The hot and sour soup did not disappoint. It was better than I expected, and I was not sorry that a large bowl was the only size offered. The lamb. One bite, and I was happy. 6 bones, very tender, topped with coarse mustard and a panko crust. The bok choy was so-so, pretty much what you'd expect anywhere, but not really worth the $14 price.
I have to say that I have one qualm. While waiting for my meal, I noticed that the group menu offers shark-fin soup. I had an instant sinking feeling. Since I don't dine in Richmond often, nor know all the ways of Shanghainese cuisine, I'll do some research on this area's acceptance and save my opinion on that for a review update later. I don't know how many restaurants actually do serve it. I do know that I'm glad that Toronto is taking a stance on being a shark-fin-soup-free zone. -
Review from Alison S.
1/2/2012
They have really tasty xiao long bao (pork dumplings with broth inside) and wo ba (crispy rice with sauce on top), so that always makes me happy.
Since I didn't do any of the ordering, I didn't get to see if they have zha jiang mian, or taste to see if it was good, but I will have to be back to find out! :) -
Review from Joyce P.
Vancouver, BC
11/8/2011
I come here for the XLB and deep fried whole fish with the sweet and sour sauce. Stick with these two and you never leave without a 5 star food experience.
I am feeling generous tonight and will not deduct a star for totally not having our reservation.
All the other dishes are fine but stick with what I order and you shall always leave happy =) -
Review from Moufazal A.
Montréal, QC
12/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
Excellent Shangainese cuisine. However, being an extremely popular joint, the prices are a little high, especially for chinese food in that neighborhood (it has a lot of competition).
Try their Xiao Long Bao (XLB) but to fill up, I'd recommend the duck. And bring friends, it's a share your order place. -
Review from Chi-Kit C.
10/30/2011
3.5 stars. It was packed when we came here to indulge my never-ceasing craving for dumplings. The wait was about 30 minutes+, and was probably delayed even more with the parties that made reservations. Service is standard, with all of the servers running around hodge-podge with steamer baskets full of dumplings and other goodies.
Tea, silverware, and dumpling condiments were placed right away. Be prepared to flag someone down to order.
The dumplings themselves were delicious. I would come back here again if I made a reservation.
Parking is provided in selected spaces, in a garage attached to the establishment. -
Review from Ellen L.
11/3/2011
Wow, I'm totally rocking the boat here!! I don't get the hype. Did I come on an off day or something?!
It's pricey and food was only ok. The XLB was really the best I've had in Vancouver. The skin was thin and the meat filling was big and juicy. The favourite part was that the juice is like infused into the meat, making it juicy in every bite. Quite yum. But everything else we got was pretty standard and not really worth the price premium- hot and sour soup, rice wine vinegar fish, and a bean curd vegetable appy. The fish was bland as hell. Not sure if I'd ever go back. Well, unless someone else is paying.
The whole leaf tea was really nice though. So is the Yixing clay teapot. Quite a swanky touch. -
Review from Jesse W.
10/4/2011 2 Check-ins Here
To die for...
I visited this restaurant on both ends of a road trip up to vancouver recently. each visit was capped my own order of xiao liang bao's - jeez good thing i live a coupe thousand miles away - the things are awesome and would kill me if i lived closer! one of the best that i've had outside of asia. delish awesome how can one resist. any trip up to vancouver/richmond must include a stop here! -
Review from Sam W.
Vancouver, BC
9/10/2011
This used to be a five but they dropped because their staff has really started to suck. The food is awesome (xiao long bao , shanghai nian gao, suan la tang - hot & sour soup, rock cod......) pretty much everything is well executed here! Price is very fair considering the atmosphere & food, it's just that rude staff really kill a place for me. I used to come once a week but thanks to mediocre service the last few times I've gone, I've started searching out new places as well; this IS Hongcouver, there ARE other options.
Make resos in advance here... you can't just walk in here. Bonus points if you speak Chinese (it's that sorta place -- wait, EVERY chinese place is that sort of place! Sorry gwai los) -
Review from Theresa L.
9/24/2011
Got to Shanghai River at about 2pm on a Saturday. Luckily there was no line and we got seated almost right. We ordered, regular (xiao lung bao) soup dumplings along with the crab ones, stir fry thick noodle, jelly fish and pan fried onion pancake. I did tell the waiter we were in a hurry to get to the airport and to see if they speed up the order. They were quick. Soup dumplings were hot and full of soup. I was expecting more flavor but they were ok. Jelly fish, and pancake onion was ok too. I did like the stir fry thick noodle the most although a bit oily. Service wasn't as friendly as I'd like but they were quick.
I would go back again and probably around the same time so I don't have to wait for seating. -
Review from Lorraine L.
8/22/2011
I was visiting Vancouver over the summer, but stayed in Richmond. I really wanted something close to the hotel because I didn't feel like hustling for parking space in Vancouver's busy Robson St. Upon searching on yelp in a local store, it looked like Shanghai River was a favorite in the city.. so why not!
Parking was super easy. SR had its own spot for its customers, which is very convenient. Since it was a bit late, BF and I didn't order much. I looked at their incredible menus and pictures of dishes and they all looked delicious, but just went for something simple (which ended up being amazing). I saw that they had dumplings, so why not. I love dumplings and it seemed like everyone had an order of them on their table. One more dish to order ended up being their beef noodle soup.
When the dumplings came, they looked super good, especially since we glanced through the window of the cooks making them. I bit into one and soup fell out. "SOUP DUMPLINGS!" I cried (in my head and to my BF). I've been wanting to try soup dumplings for the longest time and was happy to have come across them by accident. Dorky, I know. The beef noodle soup was perfect as well. We enjoyed this quick meal, and I finally got to try soup dumplings. -
Review from Connie C.
9/22/2011
The xiao long baos were so-so, not sure why everyone loves it so much here. The xiao long baos (imo) at top shanghai are best, then din tai fung, then this place. The wrap is thicker than others, and the meat (and thus the soup) is not very flavorful. The xiao long baos are significantly larger there though, so maybe people like that they're getting more for their money.
We had the pickled vegetable soup, and the noodles in it were AWESOME (as expected from a shanghainese restaurant). We also had an expensive plate of veggies (just some greens simply sauteed, for $12)...we asked for a partial order, because there were only 2 of us, so the waitress gave us a 3/4 order of veggies (she wouldn't let us get a 1/2 order). -
Review from Paul E.
Vancouver, BC
10/6/2011
After having made a reservation for two people at 8pm on a Saturday night, we ended up arriving at 7.30pm (due to thankfully shorter than expected trip to a nearby mall). This seemed to confuse the guy at the front desk greatly, who mistook us with another couple who were waiting, then offered us a table for four... but he eventually got us seated after a short wait.
I don't normally care much about service, but was a little taken aback by one of the waitresses who seemed insistent that we wouldn't like any of the dishes we'd chosen, as we'd not had them before. We ignored her, and ordered the xiao long baos, followed by braised eel with chestnut and black cod with spicy pork.
The xiao long bao were nothing special, being a little lacking in flavour as other people seemed to have commented on. The main courses, however, were excellent: the eel was a big glorious mess of sauce, chestnuts, mushrooms and eel steaks that melted in the mouth. The black cod and pork was even better, with the sticky spicy pork complimenting the fresh and crisp cod perfectly, all sitting on top of a bed of pan fried green beans - very, very tasty!
The whole lot came to $55, including rice, complimentary green tea, and tip. -
Review from Sarah O.
6/29/2011
I don't have any other frame of reference when it comes to Shanghainese food but this place is delicious so who cares about comparison?
The restaurant is very clean and attractive compared to other Chinese joints I've been to and the menu is great because it has photos of the items they serve. I love that you can see them make the noodles and dumplings fresh behind the glass window and the service is actually pleasant! Location-wise, it's definitely a trek unless you live in Richmond but honestly, It really wouldn't take much convincing to make me drive to eat here. Also, plenty of parking and I've never had to wait long to be seated.
Please sir, I want some more...
WHHHAT?
Please sir, I want some..... more?
MOOOOOAAARR??? -
Review from Henry B.
Vancouver, BC
I finally got a chance to try this restaurant a few weeks ago. After seeing all the great reviews, I had high expectations. Parking is kind of difficult to find but you can cheat by parking across the street in Richmond Centre. When we got there at our 7:30pm reservation, we were told to wait. And we waited till 7:45pm before we were seated and that was after all the people waiting in the entrance got seated. You probably could get in within 30 minutes most of the time without reservations. The restaurant look very bright and modern. Waiters looked well dressed and courteous.
I love the menu as it contains both Chinese and English with very well layout pictures. There was a bar in the middle of the restaurant and you can see the staff making XLB behind a glass window. Some say they have the best XLB's in Vancouver, well I was eager to try. I've been to Shanghai many times, so I know the real authentic taste of a XLB. The skin had the right thickness but not enough soup inside the dumpling. It's not exactly like the real thing from Shanghai and not as tasty but pretty close. The pan-fried fish was too salty, maybe I was a little sensitive to salt as I was on a low-sodium diet. The mo-po tofu was excellant. There were a lot of other things on the menu that I would love to try on my next visit especially the fried crabs and peking duck.
Overall, it was pretty good quality food but a bit on the expensive side. In the end, it didn't meet my high expectations but I would definitetly go back again. -
Review from erica c.
11/2/2011
Not sure what the rave is all about but I found the food to be extremely greasy. The dumplings were generic, the onion pancakes were drenched in oil and the rice cake dish was way too saucy. Totally disappointing!
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Review from Annie M.
Vancouver, BC
My in-law love this restaurant! No wonder they're always busy.
Like my previous review, they're the best Shanghai restaurant in town.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/29/2010
Since this restaurant opened, I came here quite often. We have so many Shanghai cuisine restaurants… Read more »
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Review from Foodie E.
7/20/2011
Visiting from Hawaii where we don't have a whole lot of choices for Shanghai soup dumplings. This was down the block, and jam-packed even at 8pm. So I figured I couldn't go wrong.
The challenge: not only getting a table, but getting a table for ONE, a solo diner. Very unusual for big family-oriented Chinese restaurants. Luckily this place had a few small tables in addition to the big tables. The maitre'd, a youngish guy, could have been more polite though. He wasn't totally rude, but he wasn't very enthusiastic when I said I didn't have a reservation. He pointed to the long waitlist and shook his head, as if to say "don't even bother". If the wait was really going to be so long, he could have at least suggested take-out. Fortunately, it was only 10 minute before I got my own table.
The menu was GORGEOUS - a large hardcover book filled with page after glorious page of food porn-worthy shots. If only I was travelling with friends, we could have ordered more.
I ordered the dan dan noodles (spicy, with sesame and flowery Sichuan peppercorn flavors) which were pretty decent ($7.50 a bowl) and the pork xiao long bao ($7.50 for 8 large dumplings). The dumplings were pretty good. I have never been to fabled Din Tai Fung, so I can't make any helpful comparisons. The ones we have in Hawaii aren't so far behind. Now that I think about it, I should have tried the soup dumplings with crab meat, since we don't have that back home. Wanted to try some desserts but was too STUFFED in the end. Overall, a nice experience. Tip: come here with a big group and a big appetite. The minced meat lettuce wraps looked like a really popular item. -
Review from Marcie C.
8/8/2011
We came here for the 2nd time yesterday to retry their soup dumplings. Ever since Din Tai Fung opened in Bellevue last year, everyone keeps comparing their soup dumplings to Shanghai River. Our memories were pretty fuzzy on the dumplings, but we knew we really liked Din Tai Fung's version.
The main problem with the dumplings here is that they are simply too large for the spoon. And the spoons are too shallow to really hold them. The ones we got yesterday weren't even closed on top so you could see the soup inside some of them. This made it difficult to pick up. The dough is also really thick, which changes the texture and taste of the dumpling. Very comparable to Macky's Dim Sum in Issaquah.
And we also had their Shanghai Rice Cake Noodle and thought the sauce was much too thick. Much better at Din Tai Fung or Cafe Ori in Kirkland.
But, their food was tasty if hungry. -
Review from W S.
7/21/2011
In a town where the Chinese choices are so varied and so good, I'm not sure why Shanghai River is so popular.
We were going to be a large party (14 people), so we made sure to make reservations well in advance (think, 1 month). They said sure, no problem - but then what happens? We weren't seated til a full 45 minutes after our reserved time. No apologies, no "status updates," just basically, "I don't give a crap that there are 14 of you pathetically standing around staring hungrily right at me, I'm just going to pretend I can't see you." I understand that sometimes customers lag and mess up later reservations, but at least man up and acknowledge the issue, don't just ignore it. Extremely poor start to the meal.
After we were finally seated, the servers were cold, to the point of being hostile - look, I know it's a "real" Chinese restaurant so I don't need you to fawn over us, but don't act like we murdered your parents, either.
Anyways, on to the food: Aside from the smoked tea duck (which was great), everything else was mediocre. I don't really remember all that we ordered, but it included the crabmeat peapod tips, Shanghai noodles/ricecakes, and xiao long baos, which were all just ok. Yes, you heard me: the xlb's were only ok. Compared to all the other Shanghai places I've eaten at, this food was quite forgettable.
Based on the duck alone, I would have given the place 4 stars, but because of the extremely poor service all around, major point deductions leave them with 1 star. I recommend you try a different Shanghainese restaurant in Richmond, but if you must dine here, get the duck. -
Review from Richard T.
7/5/2011
I have been here at this restaurant a few times and they are very consistent with the quality of their food especially the xiao loong bao. They are the best that I have ever tasted. The little soup inside the bao makes it all worth it. Yum.
The service was pretty good considering the place was busy for the weekday lunch time and they do have a nice size restaurant. Plus there is a free underground parking garage, but it can get crowded quick. -
Review from Denny B.
6/18/2011
Fabulous food. Very busy, but quick seating because of high rate of turnover. Large place.
XLB's were awesome.
Rice topped with cooked tomatoes and other things was most delicious.
Won Ton soup was perfect. Very light broth and great won ton.
Beef soup was an oily pot of wonderful flavors and textures.
To go low cost, stay away from the fancy stuff and go right to the back pages of the menu - best stuff, real cheap. -
Review from Randy F.
Updated - 3/26/2011 7 photos
4.5 Stars
I really loved Shanghai River. I had tried their cuisine before by
ordering their famous xiao long bao to go, but you must really dine in
to enjoy the full experience that Shanghai River offers. Perhaps that's why my review changed so much from my initial experience.
As a formal dining restaurant, I enjoyed the more modern decor and
high ceilings as well as the better service from both waitstaff and
servers. The menu is large and contains gorgeous color photos that
reminds one of a professional photobook but it largely makes it easy
to order the many excellent dishes here and to know exactly what you
are ordering.
The strengths of Shanghai River are three. They do their local
specialties like xiao long bao very well and feature a large clear
glass area to watch their all Chinese staff (not like the crowded
kitchen room of Din Tai Fung LA!) make fresh dumplings. Their
dumplings are a work of art and I'd love to spend a day playing around
in that kitchen making them. In terms of actual execution, Shanghai River's xiao long bao are good, but not the best. The skins are a noticeably thicker than Din Tai Fung, but their crab and pork version has a good amount of crab. B+/A-
Their next strength is seafood. They have a variety of crab, lobster,
and fish selections. Choosing a crab preparation was challenging as
all looked delicious from the photos. In the end, we went with the
deep fried crab with garlic and chili and it was fantastic. Very fresh
crab, great wok hay, and crunchy garlic and peppers that added great
flavor and heat.
Finally, I was surprised at how well Shanghai River did classic
Chinese dishes. We ordered the chinese cabbage with salted ham and
the black sesame glutinous rice balls. Both were excellent.
Overall, I'd say that Shanghai River is one of my favorite finer
restaurants in Richmond. While I love hole in the wall places,
sometimes you need a great place to recommend to those less
adventurous than you or to family. Shanghai River fits that bill with
flying colors and delivers top notch food at the same time.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/8/2009
I came here for the xiao long bao. If someone says that a place has the best xiao long bao and it's… Read more »
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Review from Dj M.
11/13/2011
Absolutely the winner - Best XLB! All the pan fried shanghainese dishes were so good!!!
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Review from Jeremy R.
7/13/2011
This restaurant has the best soup dumplings and beef noodle soup that I have had anywhere (including LA, SF, NYC).
Generally speaking, I don't love Chinese food (aside from a few dishes, especially the soups my father-in-law makes), so don't take my opinion too seriously. -
Review from Bhawna A.
12/1/2011
Rip off ... women here charged us $29 US dollar for $19 Canadian dollar. She kept on fussing and asking for more money.
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Review from Curtis L.
7/13/2011
This is the place that I will compare with for the best XLB, and crab XLB I have ever eaten! The soup in the dumplings was clear and light without the MSG. The crab XLB was bursting with fresh crab flavor and the skin was light with the right texture and flavor that locked in the beautiful, and light broth.
The noodles were also flavorful and the perfect texture!
My quest for the perfect XLB continues with this as a high benchmark for culinary pleasure!
Next stop.....Arcadia, California for the XLB at Din Tai Fung! -
Review from Bobby Y.
5/10/2011 3 photos
XLBs!!!! get the XLBs! this place is pretty good but can get pricey when you start ordering the fancy stuff.
pork belly - my friend loved it
peking duck - thumbs up
nrm - decent
soup noodles - decent, good price
fried pork buns - decent
honey walnut shrimp - nothing special
lamb - nothing special
fish (special) - whack
this place gets busy so arrive early to beat the rush. -
Review from Joe L.
Vancouver, BC
What c an I say ... We loved EVERY dish we ordered. I was glad that we over-ordered among the 4 of us because we got to take the left over home.
The crowd at the reception area was a little intimidating but our wait was less than a couple of minutes because of our reservation. Make sure you make one when going there on the weekends. Despite the crowd, service was exceptionally attentive.
So I mentioned over-ordering earlier. Well, we ordered the regular XLBs with pork (their signature XLB is with crab meat), pan-fried pork buns, onion pancakes, deep fried black cod, clay pot rice with vegetables and salted pork, spicy Szechuan chicken, pig's feet with wine, sweet soya milk and savoury soya bean. We also ordered the braised meat ball in broth but they ran out. First of all, the XLBs and the onion pancakes were the best I ever had. Rice was flavourful and the deep-fried Szechuan chicken strip had the perfect amount of batter and spices.
I think we will be making another trip again very soon! -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 2/16/2011
This place just serves consistently good food in a comfortable and spacious atmosphere... not going to lie ... since I've been here before, I wanted to go to another shanghai resto, but my relatives have been here and they like it here, so I'm not going to argue.
Having reservations for 12, at 7pm on a Wednesday night, the place slowly filled up to capacity. We ordered peking duck - 2 ways, 2 orders of XLB, the brocoli dish topped with egg whites and crab, salty ham and cabbage, glazed black cod, back choy with ham and chicken and mayo shrimp with honey glazed sesame walnuts.
The cod came out orange, and I was so confused - thought it was salmon, but apparently it was some sort of bbq glazed. It was 3 small pieces at a hefty price, but the taste was different and unique. Not my kind if cod as I like mine soft and melty, but still worth trying.
The XLB came in orders of 8, and they were pretty perfect. Full of juice, and nicely wrapped, definitely had a good combo of pork and soup.
The peking duck, which usually is mostly skin for the wraps had lots of duck meat, which I'm a huge fan of and the skins did not stick to one another, thank goodness. The lettuce wraps were DRY (unlike many other places), and the filling had nice chunks to it.
I love the broccoli egg white and crab dish, along with the mayo shrimp... the broccoli and EW was clean and tasty, while the shrimp was extremely flavourful and the walnuts tasted like dessert.
The ham / chicken and back choy was a little weak, with the chicken being overly tough. The braised cabbage was soft and submerged in sauce, but I was told the ham was too salty.
I was paying for dinner to thank my relatives for taking care of my and my gparents over the last week.. I think they were being generous because I was actually not full at the end of the meal. It could have been because I was grabbing a lot of food for my gparents... or I'm just a pig... ...1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/6/2009
I had no idea that Shanghai River was going to be so fancy... thanks to my food pervert's ultimate… Read more »
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Review from Edward L.
I generally only come here when someone invites me out. This place is pretty expensive, but oh man the food is good.
Parking is mostly adequate (they have some 50 stalls in a nearby parking lot), but it can be tough as well.
King crab was in season, so we decided to indulge. This place must be just raking it in. Over half the tables I saw on the way in and out of the restaurant had a king crab. The one we had was served with garlic bits. You know where the money went when the clouds part and a rainbow appears. But at $150(!) for the crab, I wouldn't be doing this twice a week.
Parts of the crab were also served with cream sauce. The amount of meat in these things is insane.
The xiao long bao here are comparable to the real deal in Shanghai. Paper-thin skins, and that oh-so-deadly soup inside.
I left fat and happy~Listed in: 2011 Ed's Picks
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Review from Calvin Y.
11/4/2010 3 photos
With every bite of their Xiao Long Bao comes a mixture of ecstasy and depression as my taste buds were met the soup that just bursts out, I realize that any of these Shanghai dumplings from Seattle will simply fail to measure up. It's almost surprising how much soup comes out of these little bundles of joy and how versatile these dumplings are -- the dumpling doesn't break when you pick it up with the chopsticks!
At $8.80 for 5 Crab Meat Xiao Long Baos, the price tag may be a bit steep, but it is well worth it!
We also got the Lion's Head meatballs with its delectable savory gravy with three giant balls of meat. I ate so much rice just with the gravy itself. For our starch dish, we ordered the Crispy Rice Cakes with Chicken. I love this dish because it is like eating salty Rice Krispy Treats.
Simply amazing. -
Review from Cindy D.
8/15/2011
We yelped Richmond area and we found this amazing place that we wanted to try. We absolutely loved it! Friendly staffs and the food was amazing. Price was not expensive. The taste of the food was not heavy like most Chinese food. We loved their dumplings, hot n spicy soup, their homemade noodles were something different. One of the best Chinese food in the area! ;)
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Review from Sandy L.
4/5/2011
Whoever been to Ding Tai Fung in Bellevue like to say Shanghai River is better and cheaper. Personally i don't think it is cheaper, it is even abit higher than other restaurants in the same area. Better is depends on what you are looking for: Like XLB, DTF is better on the thin delicate skin while Shanghai River has much better pork filling and broth inside the dumplings!
We had jelly pork, pork chop with vegetables rice and couple desserts. They are all above average quality. Decor is nice and modern with standard service. I like the menu so much it covers a good variety of food that we won't get bored eating there often.
Anyway, we are impressed and will be back. -
Review from Samnang B.
8/15/2011
This place is awesome! The food is 100% fresh! They make it when you start ordering. If you go, you should try out their dumplings. Very fresh and juicy! Makes my mouth water.. Writing this.. :)
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Review from AhLin C.
4/8/2011
I think this place is seriously over rated.
First, parking is an issue. Second, service was not that great. You need to make reservations or else they will not seat you unless it's really quiet that day.
XLB was just ok. It's def. not the best I've had and they are supposedly really famous in Shanghai?!
Other noodle dish and pan fried bun was decent too, but not like it wowed me. The best thing there is their ham and veggie in clay pot. Order that. I was mildly impressed and had 2 bowls! -
Review from Joanne B.
4/30/2011
I love Shanghai River! The food is amazing. I wish Seattle had a restaurant just as good as this place. Someone recommended for my Hubs and I to go here. The dumplings are DELICIOUS! Made fresh as you order them. Behind a glass window, you're able to view them making the dumplings.We were impressed. We sat by an elderly couple. It made me think forward of how he and I will be down the road. Both with newspapers in hand with a table full of food. haha! Totally us right now! It was quite the busy afternoon. Families and Friends sit around large family tables as they tell stories.
I would definately come back just for the dumplings! *mouth watering*
And for the record, we didn't have to make reservations to dine in. It was a busy day.. But maybe it's recommended for dinner? Either way, it may be smart to call ahead if you're traveling from afar.
