During my younger years (ok, I'm not that old!), mum used to make these Chinese dumplings called gow chee (similar to the Japanese gyoza). They were pork mince, chives, Chinese cabbage, and mushroom stuffed in pastries, usually pan fried, steamed or boiled. I use to always bring them to school, and the whole classroom would fill up with the pungent smell of chives! With little time these days, mum has ceased to give me my dumpling fix. Lucky I'm never short of company when going to New Shanghai.
We were all thankful for the reopening of the newly upgraded restaurant. Westernised modern, and Asian-inspired through use of wood and red, the restaurant is filled with people from all over town it seemed.
Warning: PHOTO HEAVY
Rice Cake with Pork - $8.80
Was a bit on the oily side (as you can tell from the photo), and needed a bit more veggies to accompany in my opinion. However, rice cakes were nice and chewy, and went great with the pork and soy based sauce.
Satay Chicken - $10.80 (aprox)
Nice spicy kick! Absolutely devoured this dish right to the very last onion. Good ratio of chicken:onion, great satay. Would best be accompanied with a bed of rice.
Steamed Mini Pork Buns (Xiao Long Bao) - $ 6.80
I remember a while ago my favourite food blogger of all time, Not Quite Nigella, did a dedicated post finding the best Xiao Long Bao's, with New Shanghai coming only seconded to the acclaimed Din Tai Fung. Sure, the pasty might not be as silky smooth as DTF, but for that price you just can't compare. The soup is delish, there isn't too much or too less meat, and pastry is still relatively thin compared to many other places.
Spicy Noodle Soup - $8.80
Not a favourite amongst anyone in our little party of four. Noodles were a lovely texture, so next time would probably try a different noodle dish. Was very spicy, which went well with the braised beef. There were other cubes of some strange tofu-like thing which tasted odd and had a different texture.
Boiled Pork & Corriander Dumplings (small serving) - aprox $6?
Boiled Pork & Chives Dumplings (small serving) - aprox $6?
I am possibly the only one out of all my friends who even considers ordering pork & chives. Although it's no mum's home-made, I love them almost as much. Hand folded dumplings, with great texture and taste.
Pan-fried Pork Dumpling - $8.00
Not one of my faves unfortunately. Pastry is a bit thick, a bit oily, and only pork mince filling. I prefer the boiled dumplings.
Fungi soup with papaya - aprox $6?
Finished off our (very cheap) meal with a refreshing soup. For everyone who is grossed out just by the word fungi, please relax yourselves. The fungi has a hard but chewy texture, much like jellyfish if you want to compare. It doesn't have a distinctive taste but the sweet, chilled 'soup' makes it all go so well together. Fungi, used in many Asian desserts and soups, are great for us - traditionally used for medicinal purposes, it has soothing qualities like healing dry coughs and clearing 'heat'. Also said to be great for the skin, with qualities similar to the famous Bird's Nest, keeping it young and soft.
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 2/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Interior: 2/5 (worst chairs!)
Revisit: 3/5
Labels: food