Shanghai Time

I visited on a chilly December day and decided to warm up with some hot soup dumplings. I also tried the house special fried rice, which came with shrimp and chicken, though the chicken was a bit too chewy for my taste. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was still decent. I also ordered both crab and pork, as well as regular pork soup dumplings. The broth was a bit on the sweet side for me, so I added some of the spicy chili sauce they had on the table, which was absolutely delicious. Check out my video for more details. The total for these three items came to $31.52.

Food was incredible, I highly recommend the steamed soup dumplings, pan-fried soup dumplings, and the braised pork rice. My apologies that the pictures show the dishes half-eaten, we devoured almost half of our meal before remembering to take pictures. The dumpling skin was soft and thin, the soup was flavourful, and the dumplings themselves were quite large. Even though one order of steamed dumplings only came with 4, the size of them made the order worth it. Then braised pork was another highlight. Both my friend and I had not had good braised pork in a long time and this one hit the spot. The sauce was amazing, rich and robust and flavourful. I wish that it came with more rice, but I have a feeling no amount of rice would have been enough when paired with such amazing sauce. The pork was soft and tender, just barely holding on so it was possible to pick it up but falling apart with a gentle push of the chopsticks. All in all, it was an amazing find, especially just after midnight while waiting for our connecting train. Highly recommended!

3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up because there was more good than bad, and because the service was super friendly and attentive. First, a note about Chinese food in general in the US: A lot of Americans--probably most--tend to think of Chinese food as one monolithic cuisine. That's hilarious because China is slightly bigger than the continental US, so just as there is no such thing as American cuisine, there really is no such thing is Chinese cuisine. Instead, it's best to think of these large countries as having many regional cuisines that sometimes get blended due to the movements of people around the country. However, due to this ignorance, many Chinese restaurants specializing in one regional cuisine feel the pressure to include popular items from other regional Chinese cuisines in order to appeal to as many customers as possible--further adding to the confusion. That is why you'll find Shanghainese soup dumplings in a Cantonese dim sum restaurant, or Xian cumin lamb in a Szechuan restaurant. Shanghainese food has suffered some obscurity until recently, eclipsed by its more popular cousins Cantonese and Szechuan food--but it's finally getting its turn in the sun with the popularity of places like Nan Xiang and CheLi, and the opening of Shanghai Time only continues this trend. Here's what you should get: - Shanghai Time Special Panfried Pork (上海食代特色生煎包): Easily one of the best panfried soup soup dumplings I've ever had outside of China/Taiwan. - Shanghainese Leek With Pork Rice Cakes (荠菜肉丝炒年糕): Note that the English translation says "leek" but the vegetable is in fact the much more obscure--and far more authentic--shepherd's purse. This is an absolute thrill if you know Shanghainese food, as most rice cake/porl stir-fry dishes are made with the much cheaper snow cabbage. Get this. - 5 Colors Stars Special Rainbow Steamer (5彩小笼包): I think one of the XLBs didn't get the memo that it was supposed to be a different color, but these were nonetheless tasty. Not as photogenic as the ones at Nan Xiang, but hearty and different, with each color offering a different flavor. Note: The red one is a bit spicy. - 4 Colors Rainbows Crystal Shrimp (4色彩虹水晶虾饺): I know crystal shrimp dumplings aren't Shanghainese, but I couldn't resist getting this for the photogenic-ness. As a bonus, the different colors were also different flavors! - Steamed Vegetable Dumplings (翡翠素饺): The item by which I judge all Shanghainese restaurants (NOT xiao long bao). These were some of the best I've had, generously filled with minced tofu, rice noodles, carrot, and wood ear. - Shredded Pork With Bamboo And Mustard Green Noodle Soup (雪菜笋丝肉丝汤面): My other favorite Shangahinese dish. This was just okay. Too oily, and though I asked for there to be no scallions in the soup, there were, in fact, scallions. There should never be scallions in this dish. Never.

Both the steamed and pan-fried soup dumplings are outstanding - the fragrant and crispy bottoms of the pan fried dumplings are absolutely addictive. The Shanghainese Sautéed Pork with Bamboo Shoot and Tofu Knots Soup was hearty and creamy. Overall a solid spot for those craving authentic Shanghainese cuisine and comforting soup dumplings.

Great experience dining here! Food was delicious ! Long menu. Very authentic taste of Shanghai in the middle of New York! Service was great. Compliments to the chef!!