Shanghai, best dim sum in the Austin area

A month of thanks giving: I am thankful that my children are (still) open-minded and willing to travel the culinary world with us.

Our most recent journey to an area restaurant was to Shanghai, reputed to have the best dim sum in the Austin area.  Time and again, I have been disappointed in the quality of Chinese food around town at most places, and dim sum is an even harder sell in these parts.  Not Shanghai though!  It is absolutely fantastic.

For those who have never experienced dim sum, it is a dining style originating in the Cantonese region of China.  A variety of dishes are served on push carts, anything from steamed dumplings to rice porridge, vegetables, desserts.   Order what you like, and the tab is kept at the table where each dish or steamer basket ordered is then marked on the card. The art of dim sum dining involves gathering large groups together to enjoy good conversation while drinking tea (yum cha) and eating the foods available only at dim sum.  The dining experience is just known as “yum cha.”

Because of Destructo Boy’s ability to knock objects right off the table, we did not order a traditional chrysanthemum tea to accompany the meal.  This is a chrysanthemum infused hot tea, sweetened with “rock” sugar crystals, and I am certain that my 4 year old would have gotten a kick out of seeing and tasting the tea.  We ordered foods that we thought our children would like such as fried sesame balls with red bean paste filling,  steamed shrimp dumplings (蝦餃). potstickers (鍋貼), shaomai (燒賣) which is similar to the steamed shrimp dumplings, lotus leaf rice (糯米雞) of glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf, fried taro dumpling (芋角), cheong fun (腸粉) made of wide rice noodles that are steamed and rolled with meat stuffing, and xiaolongbao (小籠包) which are soup dumplings.   HEAVEN.

Of all the savory dishes that we ordered, everything but the soup dumplings were made so well that I could have sworn I was eating overseas.  The soup dumplings are supposed to taste like, well, soup inside of a dumpling, but these did not have that characteristic burst of soup when punctured.  Aside from that, wow.

Hubby and I have not eaten dim sum in the Austin area for over 10 years (T&S, Rainbow, Tien Hong – two of which are gone now), opting instead to wait until we happened to be in Houston or Dallas.  Both places are within driving distance that have significantly better Chinese food than Austin.  The dumplings were all hits with our kids, and they enjoyed the novelty of food getting pushed around on the carts.  Our little one’s absolute favorite dish was the almond tofu dessert, which is more like a creamy custard or pudding with a hint of almond extract, slightly sweet, and served with canned fruit.  I don’t know why not fresh fruit, but it is always served with canned fruit and maraschino cherries.  Hubby who thinks that tofu should not be considered a food product thought that the almond pudding was fantastic.

The beauty of dim sum is that you do not have to speak one drop of Chinese or Cantonese as I know from dining with non-Chinese speakers before, this has been a common concern at dim sum especially. You do not have to familiar with all of the foods.  You just need to go in with an open mind, look at the carts, point at something that looks appealing, ask the person pushing the cart for a quick explanation, and shake your head yes or no.  There is nothing rude about waving the cart by if you don’t like what you see, and it is perfectly acceptable to flag a cart down with your mouth full if you see something coming your way that you like.  Our 4 year old even got the hang of ordering, and she insisted that I flag down the dumpling cart so she could get another plate of potstickers!

For those who are queasy about strange looking foods, I do have to warn you of one dish that might wig you out.  A delicacy served at dim sum is braised chicken feet.  Truly, absolutely, gross in my book, but it is a favorite among traditional diners.  Next cart, please!

The dishes typically have 2-4 pieces, and each dish is around $3-$5 depending on the item.  Our total bill for two adults and 2 small kids came to just over $40, which is typical for yum cha.  It is easy to get carried away when ordering, and we probably had 3 dishes too many at our table.

Shanghai Restaurant
6718 Middle Fiskville Rd
Austin, TX 78752
(512) 458-8088

Related posts:

1. Kim Phung Vietnamese restaurant
2. Chinatown Shopping Center (restaurant reviews)
3. Thai Bowl (Cedar Park)
4. Mimi’s Cafe (north Austin, Arbor Walk)
5. Swad, Indian cuisine (north Austin)