Shanghai Dim Sum

5 Reviews on “Shanghai Dim Sum”

• Brad Arbour

  I just crushed a hot and tasty bowl of ramen – spicy pork ($10). It was a large bowl with big pieces of pork at a good price. My brow was a bit sweaty and it warmed me up on this cold, snowy evening. I liked the thin noodles. They were the right amount of chewy! I would def. return for another bowl.

  June 30, 2017, 3:35 am

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• Gumbo

  I came here on a Wednesday night after work seeking dumpling heaven. However, to my disappointment I did not find it here. I have been to their sister location up at Chalmer’s Gate in Markham previously. Their quality and portions were excellent. Upon being seated next to a wall on a small table with the walls cracked, we started to look at the menu. The menu and prices seems pretty similar. Not as much variety as the other location. We ordered a Noodle with Green Onion oil and Steamed Soup Filled buns with Pork. The bowl of noodles came first, a fair size. On top were stir fried green onions and some dried shrimp. It tasted fine but they should have added more garnishes to complement the noodles. Next came the steamed buns or dumplings. The wrap was nice and thin but so was the pork inside. The pork kind of just disintegrated on the first bite meaning there were a lot of fillers to keep it together while they were being steams. This did not leave a good texture in your mouth. We were still hungry after the first two items so we added a Salted Sticky Rice ball with Dough stick. This took a while to arrive and it was okay. Since the restaurant was small, I found it noisy to have a normal conversation during the meal. I would avoid this location and go to the Chalmer’s Gate location or Asian Legend just down the street.

  December 3, 2015, 8:03 am

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• Pinchofbong

  This is my first time in Sanghai dimsum.. i tried prawan egg fried rice, sweet n sour spare rib n chicken cashew stir fry.. food was really good though I felt that pork ribs were frozen n flakey.. this place is a must try as they offer authentic sanghai style manderin cuisine

  November 15, 2015, 8:26 am

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• Meandering Spork

  Because we both hail from Shanghai, our very first stop is a taste of home, at Shanghai Dim Sum. Rather un-inspiringly named in English to be sure, but it has a much better Chinese name: (City God Temple Dimsum). Named after the old walled city-in-a-city in Shanghai that houses the statues of the gods that guard over the city, this restaurants claim to fame is authentic Shanghainese dim sum. While its more popular cousin, Hong Kongese or Cantonese dim sum, can be found throughout Toronto, Shanghainese dim sum is extremely difficult to come by. Seeing as we dont have the money to fly to Shanghai for authentic dim sum, we were really hoping that this little restaurant would be a keeper.The Food:Minced Pork Soup Dumplings, Dan: Their soup dumplings were absolutely phenomenal. Ive always been astounded by how its possible to craft a little bundle of meat and soup inside such a thin layer of dough and this place is absolutely masterful at it. For those of you whove never had them before, make sure youre careful to not swallow a mouthful of scalding hot soup and let it cool in a spoon.Anna: The last time I had authentic soup dumplings I was probably still waddling around with a bowl haircut and knee socks (Dan: Picture please. :P). Commence dancing jig of happiness when I found that these soup dumplings. The dough was not too chewy and not too doughy, there was plenty of soup that was perfectly flavoured, and the dumplings arrive at the table steaming hot, a sign that they were made fresh and havent been sitting out in the open for hours. Pan-fried Minced Pork Buns, Dan: Pretty standard for pan-fried buns. Theyre larger than average, but still have a goodly amount of flavorful filling on the inside. Its worth a try if youve never had these before but otherwise, feel free to try some other authentic Shanghainese items on the menu.Anna: Its not what Im used to, since the dough was much fluffier (akin to a bun) than the usual pan-fried baozi with the denser, chewier dough. Maybe this is why its labeled as a pan-fried bun (mantou) rather than a baozi? Shrimp Shumai, Dan: These were definitely interesting. it was a first time Ive ever had anything like it and its definitely a departure from its Hong Kongese cousin. Being at least twice as large, these were stuffed full of ground meat, sticky rice, marinated in a sweet soy sauce, and topped with a shrimp, they were tasty and very filling.Anna: Im no stranger to this variation of shumai, although I must say that the larger-than-average proportions for the pan-fried buns carries over here as well. I thought these were quite well done, even though this may be more of an acquired taste and probably not a crowd-pleaser like the shumai youre used to seeing.Spicy Beef Soup Noodles, Dan: The soup noodles have clean and simple flavours that are just rich enough to complement the chewiness of their noodles. My nitpickyness must mention that their spicy beef noodle soup could use some more beef, but aside from that, its great. Anna: I thought the soup noodles were great, very nice portion even for the price, lovely soup base with just enough of a spicy kick to it. Im also 95% sure that their noodles are handmade, which is always a plus.Minced Pork Meat Pot Stickers,Dan: These are typical pot stickers, assuming your typical is absolutely honking huge. If youve never had pot stickers, theyre effectively dumplings seared in a pan instead of boiled. Despite the size, they still have a very good filling-to-wrapper ratio. I would have preferred the bottoms to be a bit crispier, but thats only a personal preference.Anna: Other than the standout fact that these are ginormous (seriously, I have never seen pot-stickers this size before) I thought they were just okay? It was good, but nothing to write home about.Large Minced Pork & Mustard Greens Shanghai Wontons, Dan: When it comes to their wonton soups, they have clean flavours enhanced with a smidgen of seaweed, but choose the large wonton soup instead of the small (the wonton size, not the bowl size) because the latter is so small that its almost comical.Anna: I second that. These are traditional Shanghai wontons (in fact the miniature ones were a throwback to the tiny wontons I had when I was in Shanghai), so the wrap is thicker that the Cantonese wontons. Still delicious though.The Price:Dan: The prices here certainly arent cheap but at the same time, for what you get theyre pretty good. At the end of the day, you end up paying a comparable amount to what you would with Hong Kongese dim sum. Even if you stop by for lunch and not dim sum, soup noodles here are a solid meal for the price you pay. This is Scarborough after all, so thank sheer competition for keeping prices low and reasonable.Anna: Quite frankly, being used to the $2 to $4 a plate for Hong Kongese dim sum, walking into Shanghai Dim Sum was a bit of a shock. Prices averaged roughly $5 to $6 dollars a plate, with the high-end at $7.99 (for a bowl of spicy beef noodle soup) and the low-end at $1.80 for a cup of soy milk. But when you consider that ordering 5 dishes will fill you up until it comes time for (early) dinner as opposed to ordering 7 to 8 different snack-sized dishes? Its not a bad deal at all. Plus, if youre not piggies like us, one bowl of noodle soup at $3.99 would probably fill you up for lunch.The Ambiance & Service:Dan: Lets be clear, its nicer on the inside than the outside. Taking you right into one of those little restaurants you see in Chinese dramas that you can buy on bootleg DVDsexcept the view outside doesnt quite put you in Feudal China. The service is solid, the waitress did not constantly hover about, and the food came quickly. For an Asian restaurant in the GTA, the quiet of the dining area is pretty rare and was definitely appreciated, though I definitely expect a bustling weekend morning to rack of the volume a few notches.Anna: It is definitely smaller on the inside than it appears on the outside, sort of like a reverse TARDIS. The dining area can probably seat roughly 30-40 people, definitely no more than 50. Both times that we went to the restaurant it was bright and early in the morning on a weekday, so its fairly quiet and peaceful, but it does get very busy on the weekends so be prepared. The Wrap:Dan: All told, this is a great little restaurant. Aside from a couple of very small things that I can still nitpick, Shanghai Dim Sum gets my vote for a place Id love to go back to. It has the best soup dumplings that youre going to find around in the GTA and at the end of the day, offers you great value for your money if you want a taste of Shanghai.Anna: This feels like a very quaint little restaurant that was plucked out of Shanghai and placed in the middle of Scarborough. These are authentic Shanghainese dishes that I have never found anywhere outside of Shanghai, and their soup dumplings are a treat Id come back for time and time again. While their prices scared me a little the first time I went, I can now safely say that it still offers a lot of bang for your buck.Tips & Tricks:If at all possible, aim to go on a weekday; not only is it guaranteed to be less crowded, but they offer a 20% discount on your order between 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM!Be warned: all of their dim sum order slips are in Chinese. If you dont read Chinese, take a friend who does. If you dont have any Chinese friends, ask for a lunch or dinner menu which has English translations and pictures that you can point to. Or be a ninja with Google Translate or Google Goggles. That works too.While it is called Shanghai Dim Sum, they do have lunch and dinner menus with other traditional Shanghainese dishes, like fried sticky rice cake, cold noodles, and Shanghai-style pork meatballs. Give them a try if you get the chance!The Location:Definitely not glamorous, situated in Agincourt: (Ahem, Asiancourt), but definitely located amidst its target market. It comes with ample parking for the size of the restaurant. meanderingspork.tumblr.com

  July 24, 2014, 12:00 am

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• Anv

  Xiaolongbao is very impressive. Must try!

  June 5, 2013, 8:00 pm

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