The word is out on ShangHai Taste. The Chinatown eatery specializes in Xiao Long Bao (soup-filled dumplings) done right and casual Shanghainese food that recently earned chef and owner Jimmy Li a James Beard Award nomination. The restaurant just opened its second location in the Southwest Valley, next to Smith’s on the corner of Rainbow and Windmill. The new spot has a little more space and natural sunlight than the Chinatown original, but you can still peek through windows to watch the kitchen team in action.
🥟 Soup Dumplings From Scratch
Each soup dumpling is made by hand with the right number of twists at the top — Shanghai-style, which means the exterior has a little added heft to accommodate a greater amount of broth filling. The Xiao Long Bao is available in traditional pork, Angus beef, Dungeness crab, and a lighter shrimp and cucumber combo. Sheng Jian is a pan-fried version of the dumpling with a pork or beef filling.
🍜 New Dishes to Devour
The menu will look familiar to ShangHai Taste regulars, but with a few new additions. Prime beef is slow-cooked in a wok with king oyster mushrooms, peppers, and garlic in XO sauce, which — like everything at the restaurant — is made in house. The Curry Seafood combines Chinese, Thai, and Japanese versions of curry into a robust combination of flavors with shrimp, scallops, calamari, and mahi-mahi. In another twist, the sweet and sour pork ribs, previously served at room temperature in Chinatown, are now cut a little larger and presented warm.
👀 Looking Ahead
Chef Li prefers customers eat the food as fresh as possible in the dining room, but the items travel well in takeaway orders with delivery options in the works. In another break from the original location, the new ShangHai Taste will eventually serve beer and wine. The management team is also eying future locations in Centennial Hills and perhaps even on the Strip — plus an out-of-town expansion in Dallas.
