Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Shanghai Street Dumpling

October 11, 2012


I usually let the regular stream of Melbourne blog posts raving about new Chinese places just wash over me - a great dumpling place doesn't mean a great vegetarian dumpling place, and it's often easier to just fall back on old mock-meat favourites. But when Carla singled out Shanghai Street as having Melbourne's best vego dumplings, it went straight onto our list of places to try.

We were fully aware of the steady queues that pop up at Shanghai Street, so turned up before 6:30 hoping to sneak straight in. We were fourth in line, which meant a 10 minute wait - not the worst outcome when we saw how things were on our way out around 7.


There's nothing stylish about Shanghai Street - it's a rudimentary dumpling place, with laminex tables, brusque and efficient service and a lack of charm. In exchange they offer low, low prices - think 15 vegetable dumplings for less than a tenner. It's a pretty fair trade-off. There are a reasonable number of vego dishes on the menu, with meat-free versions of the XLBs, fried and boiled dumplings, veggie buns and veggie fried noodles. Despite my enthusiasm (I was bafflingly keen for us to order 30 dumplings plus an entree!), Cindy convinced me to keep things under control - just a serve of the vegetable boiled dumplings (15 for $8.80) and the vegetarian spring onion pancake ($6.80). A sensible decision - we were both stuffed afterwards (for just a tick over $15!).


The dumplings were tremendous - tender little puff balls, filled with a mix of greens and garlic and best eaten with a generous mix of vinegar and hot chilli sauce, both of which were on hand. I think I had 10 of the 15 on the plate and, despite being full to the back teeth, wanted to keep eating more.


The pancake also benefited from the chilli sauce, but that was where the similarities ended - it was a disc of crispy goodness, stuffed with spring onions and gone in minutes.

Shanghai Street Dumplings is not somewhere you'd go for a leisurely evening meal - it's strictly about getting in, getting out and eating some excellent value food. Go early or grab takeaway - I'm not sure it's really worth a half hour wait. But if you've got a craving for vego dumplings, you could do a lot worse.
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Shanghai Street Dumpling
342 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
9600 2250
veg dishes $6.80 - $9.80

Accessibility: There's a flat entry way, but the interior is pretty crammed with tables. Orders are taken at the table, but payment requires you to negotiate your way to the register at the front. We didn't check out the bathrooms.

18 comments:

  1. oh my god. I literally started drooling again when I saw those photos. You call the dumplings tremendous but I feel like you leave on such a bum note?!?!

    but I feel you.. its not very often I can muster up the energy to go there.. apparently there is a SECRET LOCATION on little lonsdale st!!

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    1. Hey Carla - they are tremendous, I guess we just hate waiting for dumplings. :-P It's a good one for 6pm before-a-gig dinners.

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  2. I've walked past this place a couple times but never stopped because the queue looks intimidatingly long!! :P hmm... might have to try it soon!

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    1. Hi V Vien Lee! It's worth it, just plan ahead and pop in early. :-)

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  3. Their second SECRET location is on La Trobe Street (between Russell and Exhibition, from memory). Handy for those of us at the Paris end or those who just want to skip the crowds.

    I've liked their veggie dumplings too, and from a omni perspective their xiao long bao are excellent (minor gripe: the black rice vinegar they serve with the XLBs doesn't come with slivers of fresh ginger, but c'est la vie).

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    1. Hey Claire - thanks for the insider tip! We'll keep a keen eye out for the alternative location.

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  4. thanks for sharing my post and my blog

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  5. Meat free XLB???? *dies of excitement*

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  6. I will bear this place in mind - I like dumplings. Went to Hutong on the weekend and didn't think much of it.

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    1. Hi Cakelaw - if nothing else you will probably find that Shanghai Street is cheaper than Hutong. :-)

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  7. One of these days, I'm gonna find my way to Oz

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    1. Welcome, urban vegan! It's a nice corner of the world, and Melbourne will feed you especially well. :-)

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  8. Oh goodness, look at that spring onion pancake! SO CRISPY. They're one of my fave dishes to accompany dumplings with, I'll have to keep this place in mind when I next get a craving (queues though, ugh).

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    1. Hi Hayley - it's as crispy as it looks, I promise!

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  9. How did you find this place compared to Camy's in Tattersalls Lane? Camy's my go-to for cheap dumplings in a rush!

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    1. Hi Amanda! We've enjoyed Camy's in the past too. The vegetarian options at Shanghai Street are a bit more restricted but I think they're well done.

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