** This restaurant is now closed. **
There's not a Chinese food that I crave more than I do xiao long bao (XLB). In Edmonton, there are only two restaurants that can satisfy those cravings: Shanghai 456 or Shanghai Grill. Between the two, my family has always been partial to 456, but it's definitely been a hot minute since our last visit (especially since they've changed owners).
Last month, we were taking my grandma out for lunch so we thought it was a good time to give Shanghai Grill a try. Who knows? Perhaps our allegiance would change over the course of this meal.
Shanghai Grill is located in the city's west end in a mostly industrial area. Besides the lazy susans on each large round table, the decor inside doesn't exactly scream Chinese restaurant. More like family cabin in the mountains, complete with nature stock art.
We started our meal with hot and sour soup ($12.50). We debated between getting the medium or the large size, but the server assured us that the medium would be more than enough. He was right. We filled six bowls and still had half of it leftover. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of hot and sour soup, but if you are, this was plenty thick with a good amount of ingredients swirled in.
Next, we had a platter of assorted cold meats. You can order them individually or in combos of two, three, four, or five. We went for the combo of three appetizers ($22.95), and chose jellyfish, wined free range chicken, and sliced beef with five different spices.
Jellyfish has a unique texture. It feels slimy but biting into it, it's quite crunchy. It absorbs flavours really well so it mostly tastes of sesame oil. The drunken chicken isn't really my thing but I did enjoy the tender and sweet beef slices.
The dry scallop tan tan noodles ($10.95) is one of my sister's favourite noodle dishes. If it's on the menu, you bet it'll be on our table. I'm a bit indifferent to it, but it does have a rich peanutty flavour and aroma.
The main draw of any Shanghainese restaurant is definitely the XLB, or Shanghai style juicy pork buns ($12.95). They also make one with crab and pork but we stuck with the traditional flavour.
I must say, these soup dumplings were pretty legit. The wrapper was definitely thinner than the ones at 456, but they were sturdy enough to not leak all over the place. Inside, there was a considerable amount of soup and the meat filling was tender and well-seasoned. The only drawback to these were the price. An equivalent order at 456 is only $7.95.
We also ordered the pan-fried pork dumplings ($12.95). These also come in beef.
I assume the pan-fried dumplings contain the same pork filling as the XLB, so you're getting a fair amount of soup in each one. The wrapper also has a nice crispy bottom thanks to an aggressive pan-fry.
We also like to order Shanghai fried noodles ($14.50) as a filler. This was decent, but nothing special.
One last item for good measure. The fried steamed buns with ground pork (or beef) ($13.50) are only available during lunch on the weekend. These took a considerable amount of time to come out but I'm happy to assume that it's because they're made fresh. The pork filling is pretty much the same across the board, so the only difference really is the doughy bun which sort of detracts from the meat. Since this is the case, I would forego the buns and just order another basket of XLB next time.
Glad to know there's more than just one restaurant in town that can scratch the XLB itch. Speaking of, I think it might be time for another round.
Shanghai Grill
16336 111 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 930-1828
(780) 930-1828
- CT
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