ShangHai Taste
ShangHai Taste opened on Spring Mountain Road and has spread to Los Angeles and Texas, and Johnathan L. Wright says the snug original is still the one.
Why go
Johnathan L. Wright gives the dumpling its engineering: handmade with a filling of ground pork and hot pork broth, delicate enough to finish in one bite, sturdy enough to bulge without bursting and spilling the contents.
1 He also settles which door to use, because there are now several: Although ShangHai Taste has expanded to southwest Vegas and to sibling restaurants in Los Angeles and Texas, the snug Chinatown original remains the soul of the group.
1 Nicole Brisson of Brezza names this and China Mama when she wants soup dumplings.4 Almost six years on, Wright says people still crowd into the original for what the city widely takes to be its best.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the xiao long bao, which is what the room is for.1
- Order: the crab yolk dumplings if you want the richer version.1
- Order: the sheng jian bao, the chewy pan-fried cousins of the soup dumpling.1
- Avoid: the southwest branch if you have a choice. The Chinatown original is the one Wright sends people to.1
What locals & experts say
- Johnathan L. Wright, Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Almost six years on, folks still crowd in for what are widely considered the city's best xiao long bao.
1 - Nicole Brisson of Brezza, on where she goes for them:
More in the mood for soup dumplings? Try China Mama or Shanghai Taste.
4
Good to know
- ShangHai Taste trades from several doors. The room on this page is the Chinatown original at 4266 Spring Mountain Road. There is a southwest Las Vegas branch, and siblings in Los Angeles and Texas.1
- The original is snug and people crowd in, so a wait is the normal condition.1
Verdict
should-visit — The xiao long bao here are the ones the city argues about least. Johnathan L. Wright describes the thing that makes them hard to make: delicate enough to finish in one bite, sturdy enough to bulge without bursting. The group has spread to southwest Las Vegas and to Los Angeles and Texas, and he says the snug Chinatown original is still the soul of it, which is the door to walk into. Nicole Brisson sends people here for soup dumplings, and she is one of very few Las Vegas chefs who publishes where she eats.