Taste of Shanghai

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  4      Service  4      Value  10     

Taste of Shanghai has been one of our favourite spots for years.

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Feb 15, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  7     

The food is good here, and the crowds lining up to get in are testament to that. Having to wait for a table is not the fault of the restaurant. Also table sharing is common practise in busy restaurants in China.

Jan 15, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  8     

It’s a buzzing Asian eatery,with beautifully presented dishes. The crowd is mixed, with locals and food goers, which offers great value for money dishes. Dumplings are not as good as across the road, and service can be hit or miss.

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Jan 07, 2012 

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

The shanghainese soup dumplings were so-so, very average I would not order that again. The panfried buns were very good served boiling hot, one of the best in sydney, as well as the fried radish cake which can't be found anywhere else. The noodles were nice and chewy but a bit overpriced.

Jan 04, 2012 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  8     

Fantastic food! I don't normally like chinese food but the food here is not as intimidating so speak. It tastes awesome! My favourite is the prawn and pork in the bamboo tube. It is really busy though so you have to definitely book ahead otherwise you will be waiting at the door for a seat to become available. Having said that, the service is great as there are plenty of wait staff to assist you when you need them.

Oct 17, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

The low scores given to this restaurant are completely unfounded. The food is of amazing taste, presentation and overall quality.

The restaurant is pretty much always packed to the brim, which is testimony to the appreciation that locals and not so locals give this food here. This doesn't worry me, I like the noise and the hustle and it makes me feel like I am in a local Shanghainese eating house.

I have never had a problem with staff in terms of rudeness or level of service and would say they are amazingly polite. I even had one waiter last night commence a discussion about the food and what I should try next time when he was clearing the plates. It is true that english is not the first language of these staff, but I don't have any problem understanding them or requesting information from them.

If they don't know something they will ask the other staff who will immediately attend to you. The chefs will also often deliver the meals to your table and have asked me if everything is ok. Last night one of them fussed over my daughter and had a laugh with her.

Oct 05, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

I just read someone's review about this restaurant and felt compelled to come to it's defense. Salt and pepper squid, sweet sour pork and fried rice are not Shanghainese cuisines. The are All Cantonese cuisines. That may explain why it wasn't very impressive. It's a good idea to book a table if you're planning to eat there on Friday nights and weekends. They are very busy and popular. I've had to wait up to 45 minutes for a table.

Their "Shao Long Bao" and pan fried dumplings are among my favourites. Their food is good, but, unfortunately, the restaurant itself is overcrowded (they have upstairs) and they employed overseas students as waiters and waitresses, so communication can be a problem, but they have always been very polite to me.

In conclusion, if you're after good Shanghainese food and don't mind noise and sitting close to others, then this place is worth a try.

Jul 16, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Food is absolutely delicious, it's a small room so can be noisy when full, which is often as the locals know the neighbourhood gems! Service is friendly and prompt. It's not the cheapest chinese but then you get what you pay for! I'd highly recommend this restaurant to anyone!

Apr 19, 2011 

3.8 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  3      Value  4     

Ate here a few times before they changed their menu. New menu is dissapointing. They have taken several dishes off the menu. My last visit was on a Saturday night, where we were basically sharing a table with strangers.

We ordered garling sizzling prawn and chili chicken in hot pot. The prawns lacked flavour, and the chicken dish wasn't even chicken. It was pork. Having never eaten pork all my life, I know the difference. The skin texture and bones were too different to be chicken. Infact having previously ordered this dish on other occasions, the chicken was cut into strips, and no bones.

We asked the staff to check the meat and they barely glanced aty it and said it was chicken. I found this incredibly rude for them to lie. We did a take away on the pork, andhave had several friends confirm that it is pork. Taste of Shanghai are incredibly lucky that this does not hurt my religous sentiments or that I am not allergic to particular meats. If I return here, it will be with great caution.

Feb 27, 2011 

5.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  5     

This place looks a lot cleaner than most of the Chinese restaurants in Ashfield. The food is reasonable, some of the dishes are a bit expensive. The dumplings aren't as good as http://www.eatability.com.au/au/sydney/chinese-noodle-restaurant/ but they are ok.

Jan 06, 2011