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Shanghai Taste, Shanghainese (with Special Chinese Menu) in Small Shopping Center on Nelson Street next to Hard Times Cafe


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Met a friend at Shanghai Taste for lunch today. The menu offered a lot of standard American Chinese dishes, a few interesting things too, but no soup dumplings. My (Chinese ancestry) friend asked about the dumplings, was told "yes they're on the other menu, do you read Chinese?" Oh boy, here we go. Another place where you need the secret handshake and magic decoder ring in order to get the good stuff.

My friend speaks Taiwanese but doesn't read Chinese. She managed to get us an order of xiao long bao and some turnip pastry, somehow. We also ordered Szechuan beef noodle soup and pork chops with spicy salt (from the English menu). Everything was excellent, and I can't wait to go back and try more, except...

So to come to the point: I got a copy of the Chinese menu. Would someone out there be willing to do a wonderful public service and translate it for us? I can scan and email it to you. Send me a pm with contact info. I will buy you lunch. Or if you don't want to have lunch with me I will fund your lunch out of deep gratitude, but please, someone, help!

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I was there for lunch last week. I haven't had a chance to post until now. As Porcupine said, the good stuff is on the Chinese menu. The dining room is not very big--maybe 30 seats. If you go on the weekend, be prepared to wait. There is often a line out the door. If possible, weekday lunch is your best bet.

We ate:

soup dumplings (8 to a basket)

scallion pancakes

Shanghai style duck with five-spice sauce glaze

spicy beef noodles--get it with the wide udon like noodles

The dishes were all very good. My favorites were definitely the soup dumplings and the duck.

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There is a lot of on the menu thats available at A&J. Cross reference is to the A&J menu item number.

Left side of menu

Chinese kimchi (not spicy but sour) $2.95 #5213

Cold cucumber salad $3.95 #5203 but the version here may not be spicy

Cold seaweed salad $2.95 #5211 but the version here does not specify bean sprouts

Peanuts $2.95 (not sure how it's prepared)

Cold snow cabbage w/ edamame salad $3.95 #5207

1,000 yr. old egg with soft tofu $4.95 #5201

Cold firm tofu salad $3.95 #5209

Cold drunken chicken $4.95

Shanghai veggie imitation chicken $4.95

Vegetarian stuff that I cant translate (bean curd related) $4.95 #5208

Cold spicy and numbing beef tendon $6.95

Cold duck in Shanghai sauce $6.95

Cold Shanghai smoked fish $5.95

5 Spice beef $6.95

Salt and pepper little dragon fish $5.95

Cold jellyfish salad with scallion and oil $6.95

Husband/wife lung slices (spicy beef, tendon, tripe) $6.95

***

all dishes above are served cold, all dishes below are served warm/hot

* available only on weekends

* Traditional wrap for you tiao $1.95

* You tiao (long fried dough) $1.55

* Sweet soy milk $1.85

* Savory soy milk $1.95

Steamed bun with red bean paste (sweet) $2.95

Scallion pancake $2.95

Steamed bun with meigan cai (mustard green, commonly prepared with pork belly) $2.95

Steamed bun with pork and greens $2.95

Pastry stuffed with leeks ($2.95

*Rice ball (maybe arancini is a better description because this is big, doesnt specify sweet or savory) $3.95

Pastry stuffed with pumpkin $2.95

Malaysia cake (sponge type cake) $2.95

Pan fried dumpling stuffed with leeks (with jiaozi-like wrap) $4.95

Char siu pastry $2.95

Yellow crab shell pastry (stuffed with scallion, no actual crab) $2.95

Red bean pastry with pine nuts? $2.95 #6301

Pastry with shredded daikon $2.95 #4110

Half moon shaped pastry stuffed with ground meat (probably pork) $3.5

Spicy oil mixed with wontons $3.95 #2102

Pastry stuffed with ground beef $4.95

Sticky rice siu mai $3.95

Japanese siu mai $3.95

Vegetarian pot stickers $4.95

I'll do the right side later

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Right side

Steamed/boiled vegetarian dumplings $4.95

Potstickers $4.95

Steamed/boiled dumplings (jiao-zi) $4.95

Meat filled soup balls $4.95 (I've never even heard of meat filled soup balls before)

Soup dumplings (shanghai xiao lon bao) $5.95

Eight treasure sticky rice $5.95

Wine rice balls $3.95

Eight treasure yam pudding $5.95

Shanghai meat wontons (probably in soup) $4.95

Fried tofu and thin rice noodle soup $4.95

Double something $6.95

Wontons with some sort of greens $5.95

Shanghai style stir fried noodles $8.95

Shredded pork with rice cakes $8.95

Shanghai soup with rice cakes $8.95

Zha jiang mian (noodles) $6.95

Da ru mian $6.95

Curry beef thin rice noodle soup $6.95

Shanghai Noodles

Beef noodle $7.95

Curry beef noodle $7.95

Pork chop noodle? $7.95

Spicy meat noodle $7.95

Small spicy pepper beef rice noodle? $7.95

Spicy sauce noodle $6.95

Snow cabbage shredded pork noodle in soup $5.95 #1105

Pickled cabbage shredded pork noodlein soup $5.95 #1104

Veggie imitation chicken noodle $5.95

Noodles mixed with scallions and oil $4.95

Sun spring noodles $2.95 #1112

add fried egg $1

add noodles $1.5

add pork chop $3.5

add spicy meat $3.5

add spicy sauce $2.95

add veggie imitation chicken $2

And that's all folks

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Eric, thank you so much for doing this!

Goodeats also provided a translation, which is very close to this. For anyone interested, the differences were mainly snow cabbage = mustard greens, and "meat" in many places = pork.

Also, near the bottom of the left column there's one item missing from Eric's translation; it's the second one priced at $3.50, and goodeats translated it as pastry with red beans, almonds, walnuts, dates, and sesame.

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Eric, thank you so much for doing this!

Goodeats also provided a translation, which is very close to this. For anyone interested, the differences were mainly snow cabbage = mustard greens, and "meat" in many places = pork.

Also, near the bottom of the left column there's one item missing from Eric's translation; it's the second one priced at $3.50, and goodeats translated it as pastry with red beans, almonds, walnuts, dates, and sesame.

Yes, Eric, thank you very much. Where is goodeats' publication? I can scan them in and put them side-by-side, and I suspect they'll be almost identical except for a few words that might have more than one translation. This could be quite useful, and thank you both.

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Chinese menu with line by line translation below. If I can figure out how to shrink the file size I'll add the regular menu, too.

The way this whole thing transpired is one of the reasons why I love dr.com so much. Thanks so much to you all for this!

FWIW, I asked my parents about this place tonight (we are Chinese), they've only been once -- said the soup dumplings/XLB are very good, the other stuff okay... that for variety they'd still opt for trekking out to Tai Shan (which we're doing next weekend). As it turns out, they said, Shanghai Taste is run by the wife of the owner of Tai Shan...

Looking forward to hearing how the Wed night dinner goes!

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The way this whole thing transpired is one of the reasons why I love dr.com so much. Thanks so much to you all for this!

FWIW, I asked my parents about this place tonight (we are Chinese), they've only been once -- said the soup dumplings/XLB are very good, the other stuff okay... that for variety they'd still opt for trekking out to Tai Shan (which we're doing next weekend). As it turns out, they said, Shanghai Taste is run by the wife of the owner of Tai Shan...

Looking forward to hearing how the Wed night dinner goes!

Re: "The way this whole thing....": Big agree, Night Owl! :D

Re: "FWIW, I asked......": Really interesting. Think it is the Montgomery Village one, Daniel. Night Owl, could you update the most recent thread (you made it here!) even if just to confirm what you wrote there in mid 2010 is still more or less correct. Sounds like a spot maybe not getting enough attention here? TY!

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Tai Shan in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village?

Re: "The way this whole thing....": Big agree, Night Owl! :D

Re: "FWIW, I asked......": Really interesting. Think it is the Montgomery Village one, Daniel. Night Owl, could you update the most recent thread (you made it here!) even if just to confirm what you wrote there in mid 2010 is still more or less correct. Sounds like a spot maybe not getting enough attention here? TY!

Yes, the Montgomery Village one. Going there next weekend (a week after Chinese New Year since parents want to avoid the general restaurant crush). Everything I posted back in 2010 still holds, but will post on that thread again after next weekend.

That said, I don't want to diss Shanghai Taste -- I'm so glad there's a great XLB place closer in and am looking forward to hearing what the group thinks after the meal there!

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I think I've been tasked with reviewing this place after our group meet up.

Overall it was nice and if I lived in the neighborhood (and I didn't have to wait for a table) I would come by more often. The soup dumplings (my first time trying them) were good: thin wrappers with scalding hot juice inside. Very meaty and satisfying. I also liked the cold spicy wonton wrappers a lot: delicate texture and a good balance of flavors.

Everything else was kind of average. The rest of the group kept wanting something spicier and we kept getting stuff that wasn't notable. The last dish, the chicken with peppers and black bean sauce, had a nice smokiness to it, but even the jalapenos they added were defanged and heatless. Seaweed salad was bland. Beef noodle soup was not bad, the broth and noodles were nice. We also had beef tendon, the aforementioned duck, pork tossed in some chili sauce, a tofu and peanut dish, some steamed pork buns, some noodles dressed in vinegary soy sauce, and a char siu flaky pastry. I didn't think any of these were remarkable. Either the flavor wasn't there or I didn't like the texture.

Hopefully the others will chime in with more opinions.

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All together now: Whoo-hoo for Albert!!! Like those at front left at Rocky Horror shows, an event virgin. Nicely done. :D

Chiming in with just 1 additional thought since I think I'm the only one that can compare the XLB here to the other version enjoyed by a different DR group last weekend. The soup dumplings here, while quite respectable and even worthy of travel if jonesing for the rarely found delicacy, are a shade below those of the Culinary Man of Mystery, Peter Chang. A tad thicker on the wrapper. As Albert reports tho, very good on the broth and pork filling.

Random query: what's the DR protocol on posting post-event reports? event thread or, here as Albert has done, the restaurant thread? I defer to others more versed in these things.

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Oh, and I'll second what Albert said. Very good XLB, but pretty much everything we had you can get at Joe's Noodle, A&J, or China Bistro, and the versions here weren't as good. I'll come back now and then for XLB, but it won't beat out the others all that often.

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I must admit to being somewhat disappointed, though I will go back to get the spicy salt pork chop thing from the regular menu. And the red bean pine nut pastry is a good solid rendition.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Taste has gone ahead and done their own translation. Here's the official version:

post-554-0-67613200-1360943055_thumb.jpg

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Sounds like we have strong agreement it was a little disappointing overall.

And, of course, for most of us, it was the only/first visit there. Will reiterate my own view though just in case helpful for others who might want to explore the northern hinterlands, especially at rush hour and while snow is falling, which adds to the fun. :D

For me, and based only this one visit, enabled by Porcupine (thank you! and all the usual caveats apply), the only reason I'd recommend this place to others who'd drive more than 15 or 20 minutes to get there is for the XLB. One more time: Shangai Taste is worth a good drive Only For the XLB.

For any who see this thread, who weren't at Shanghai Taste a couple of nights ago and may have no idea what XLB is, I'll just say that Xiao Long Bao is a truly magical and savory ambrosial food when done well. Amidst the pantheon of Asian dumplings (how many are there? Asian food experts? A few thousand variants maybe?), I'd nominate XLB as surely the most interesting and at least as delicious as whatever other dumplings exist for which people would make a strong case. All great asian dumplings require much more skill than westerners realize. But XLB is in a special class. It appeals to the kids in all of us but, more importantly, is just really delicious and amazing in a "how'd they do that?" sort of way. The steam. The impossibly delicate wrappers characteristic of only the best versions on the planet. The unctuous and comforting broth which squirts from the soft dumpling when pierced. And, of course, the savory and pleasing pork (sometimes with crab or crab roe but usually pork) filling which also differentiates the great from the merely very good.

There's a not-too-active thread here on dr.com about XLB here. It's not that active because options in our area are few which is why Shanghai Taste deserves real consideration if you're a fan or have never tried them but like dumplings generally. Shanghai Taste is fine for an XLB intro or for a local XLB fix. Then, if you get hooked, you can buy air tickets to Shanghai (or, at least, the west coast) as a next step. :)

For more of an XLB 101 type primer, this recent piece (by the Wall Street Journal, of all sources!) does a decent job. Of course, the Journal takes the lazy and easy way out by calling a Taiwanese restauranteur, Din Tai Fung, the world's "most celebrated purveyor." That may be true in terms of mass appeal. But, imho, it's hogwash in terms of where to go should you find yourself in Shanghai, where this is the best benchmark known to man.

post-2258-0-21900000-1360946612_thumb.jp

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Forgive me for being a dummy, but nothing on any of the versions of the menu posted above is labeled XLB. How can you tell which menu items represent that delicacy?

I'll let Porcupine or Ericandblueboy or goodeats answer that since I cannot. You could try to match the characters to the menu. 小笼包

But I would encourage you to not let it distract you. It quite doesn't matter.

They have them. Just ask for them. Just like you shouldn't let yourself get distracted by five spice beef or not-so-spicy spicy pork, or beef noodle soups and all the rest.

XLB. It's all and only about the XLB really. You don't need a stinkin' menu in any language.

This has been a public service announcement.

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Forgive me for being a dummy, but nothing on any of the versions of the menu posted above is labeled XLB. How can you tell which menu items represent that delicacy?

Scroll up to post #13, click on the first attachment, look in the left column, fifth one down: soup dumplings (shanghai xiao lon bao).

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I don't suppose anyone would want to organize a similar dinner in NoVA, maybe Hong Kong Palace, XO Taste, Sampan Cafe(as a bonus, I see they have 'famous tropical drinks')or Szechuan Delight? My only experience has been w/ average takeout places, I know there's better options out there, but don't know how to find them...

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Scroll up to post #13, click on the first attachment, look in the left column, fifth one down: soup dumplings (shanghai xiao lon bao).

FWIW I didn't post because Albert Yi's synopsis was dead-on as was eventual praise of wonton. Beef soup with noodles: didn't think much of noodles, but the large morsel of beef in my bowl was delicious. Tendon reminded me of the overcooked roast (very well done) at British stepfamily's, only three days later: cold, dry, characterless. Soup dumpling: first one was great with lots of soup shooting out. Dough not exactly thin, but not doughy or tough. Second one had only 1/4 t. of soup at most, so there's a little inconsistency. Since I was late, I didn't get to try everything, but Mr. P graciously shared the last two bites of a wonderful salad of tiny cucumbers.

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New development--Shanghai Taste apparently did not have the proper type of license for dine in service. They were previously a carry out. They were told by the county to remove all but 10 seats until the problem is resolved. For now, either get carry out or go at odd hours.

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I haven't been yet, but I know the shopping center. Tiny, tiny place - it replaces a Chinese carryout.

New development--Shanghai Taste apparently did not have the proper type of license for dine in service. They were previously a carry out. They were told by the county to remove all but 10 seats until the problem is resolved. For now, either get carry out or go at odd hours.

:ph34r:

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Had our second meal there today... Both times excellent.

Soup dumplings perhaps the best I have ever had.  So juicy that the one where I tore the skin wide open and all the juice spilled out was still full of juice!

meatball wrapped in dried bean curd soup was a little bland til I hit it with white pepper and chile oil.  Outstanding.

Cold cucumber salad Fabulous rendition

Sliced Beef and Beef tendon ~ not very mala but very good nonetheless.

preserved vegetable & pork steamed bun ~ not special at all.

We really liked it, left very full for $30

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Okay, now that I have eaten here, I can provide the Chinese characters:  é£Ÿå°š.

It is really a tiny place inside, with only 1 table large enough to seat 6, I think, but otherwise, only about 6-10 tables of 2s and 4s.

People were definitely willing to wait. Little man and I went with friends, so there were 3 adults and 3 kids in our group. The things we ordered that I thought were hits were: Xiao Long Bao, Sticky Rice Shu Mai, Steamed dumplings (kids gobbled these up), Kaofu (Wheat gluten), and the Pumpkin pastry.

After trying the XLB here, at JDS Shanghai, and Bob's Shanghai, I feel like this has juicier XLBs with more flavor. I would probably just ask for more ginger with the sauce next time, since Din Tai Fung spoiled me with its sauce piled mountain-high with ginger.

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