DUMPLING REVIEW: Shanghai Asian Cuisine

My search for the best dumplings in New York continues….

A few years ago when I was in the thick of my dumpling search around NYC, I paid a visit to Shanghai Asian Manor. I wasn’t overly impressed with their soup dumplings prefering the others around the neighborhood.

Just recently I stumbled upon a storefront with a similar font and logo as Shanghai Asian Manor, this one with the name Shanghai Asian Cuisine. Turns out they are indeed related (although this used to have different owners). Figured maybe I should give the company a second chance.

This restaurant is much smaller and can get overcrowded. I skipped over the rest of the menu in favor of my usual xiao long bao with crab and pork.

I can’t quite remember the dimensions of the ones I tried years ago, but these are bigger (and more expensive) than most of the ones I’ve been tasting lately.

My big complaint last time was that the dumplings were rather bland. Turns out the issues are the same here. The soup is watery and doesn’t have much flavor on its own. It really needs the accompanying soy ginger sauce.

The crab and pork filling was a bit chewy and also rather bland. It did have a strong fishy flavor and I wouldn’t be surprised if they substituted tuna fish for the crab meat.

I thought perhaps my visit to their original location was a fluke, but I’m afraid these soup dumplings were not much better. Yet if they open up another location, I might be foolish enough to try them again. The things I do for my art.

Does Shanghai Asian Cuisine make the best dumplings in NY? Their sister restaurant was a disappointment and I’m afraid these bland, limp dumplings aren’t much better. These get a 5 out of 10.