*** Update: Shanghai City has closed.
*** Updated posts on Shanghai City can be found here and here.
When I mention to people that I enjoy eating at Shanghai City, I get some weird stares. I guess it's because most think of the American Chinese Food on the menu, or the $5.99 Lunch Buffet. Not necessarily great Chinese Food, though I do enjoy the Buffet once in a while.
There are some "hidden treasures" on the menu, but the days to go to Shanghai City are between 10am and 3pm on weekends, where there's a menu with Chinese "specials" available:
Today we decided to order the Wine Marinated Chicken ($3.75):
In the most basic form, this cold dish is prepared by rubbing a chicken with salt and letting stand and drain for 6 hours or so. The chicken is then steamed, and cooled, and cut into large pieces which are marinated in a combination of chicken stock and Shao-sing wine overnight. This gives the meat a dense, brined texture, with a taste reminiscent of ham. Because of the wine, the first bite of this mild looking dish can really catch you off guard, but you'll soon be munching away at piece after piece of this dish.
The main reason we visit Shanghai City is the Niu Rou Mein ($4.25):
I'm positively addicted to Chinese Beef Noodle soup
, there are several versions, but my favorite is the numbing-spicy Sichuan style soup. Unlike pho' this is a dark, beef broth, flavored with star anise, soy sauce, sugar, wine, chili pepper, garlic, among other things. The meat is usually a stewing cut like beef shank with some tendon and fat. When cooked well, the meat is tender and holds it's flavor. The soup is usually garnished with cilantro, green onions, and a green vegetable, in this case bok choy, though I use spinach in my homemade version. The broth here at Shanghai City can vary wildly, but the noodles are superb. The noodles have a great "handmade" texture, doughy with elasticity. A large portion of noodles is always included at Shanghai City. Today, the soup was good, not great, but mildly rich and beefy, really spicy, but the noodles were great as always. On a great day this dish is really delici-yoso!!!
We also usually order the Xiao Long Bao ($5.95), those ever popular "soup-dumplings".
Shanghai City is one of the few places where you can get XLB in San Diego. These dumplings are 
filled with a pork based filling, along with alot of "juice", thus the name soup dumplings. The way to eat them are to place some sauce in the spoon, then place the dumpling in the spoon (do not break the dumpling) and eat in one perfect bite. Today the wrappers on these were a bit on the "dry" side, though filled with delish slightly sweet, salty, "soup".
Shanghai City does a decent rendition of many dishes, like Smoked Fish (Su Shih Hsun Yuu – $4.75), not really smoked, but actually a fried than marinated dish, that gives the fish a smoked look, The Tea Smoked Duck here has also been good on occaision ($7.95). Most dishes are are between $4.75 to $8.95, so the prices here are not too bad.
Shanghai City
3860 Convoy St
San Diego,CA 92111
619-278-5883
Closed Tuesdays
We've done a revisit post on Shanghai City on 12/17/06, it can be found here.
That all looks great. Love soup dumplings!
Niu Rou Mein and Xiao Long Baos – you had all my favorites! I’ll never get over the novelty of soup inside the dumpling wrappers.
mmm!! You outdid yourself for the pics on this blog and its descripts kirk ! my tummy is rumbling ! I love xiao long bau but mostly its for the red vinegar ginger sauce that makes the pork and soup inside the dumpling so sweet. I can’t decide which I like better the hong kong “boon tong gau” (half soup dumpling) where the soup is kinda outside the dumpling or this better ! And you touched on a fave with me with the niu rou mein. Again, I am more familiar with “ngao lam mein” where there is lots of tendon and a strong five spice flavour but not so much the sweet chilli flavour. and I haven’t had that wine marinated chicken in years !!! you’ve made me very hungry !! :P~
Wow, that wine marinated chicken sounds great. I gotta learn how to read chinese so I can order from the specials menu and not the gringo menu.
Hi Clare – XLB is delici-yoso!!! :o)
Hi Kathy – I never had Niu Rou Mein until I moved to the mainland, now it’s one of my favorite dishes, especially duting the winter!
Hi Rachel – Ngao Lam Mein? I’ve got to have the Missus find that for me! Maybe you can do post on those things.
Hi Mealcentric – Actually I’ve found some of those dishes on the English Menu – but it’s hard to pick out when there are like 250 items. I also crack up at how some of the menu items are translated; they really don’t sound appetizing sometimes. The chicken was better than expected, though that first bite was a bit of a surprise!
That chicken really sounds interesting. I’m gonna have to try that since it also sounds rather simple…
Love this place! My favorites are the Ti Pang(braised pork shoulder) and the Nian Gao(sauteed rice cake). A dish that we always specially request is Ma Lan Tou – it’s a cold appetizer dish.
Hi Jo – I’ve emailed you the recipe.
Hi Candice – We do too, I don’t know why, when I recommend this place, people look at me like I’ve lost my senses?
Maybe the buffet turns some people off? Or they are used to the Cantonese cuisine that is more common here? I was in Shanghai a few months ago and this is the only place that satisfies my craving for these dishes!
Yummy. Never had that chicken dish, but it sounds amazing. Is this similar to Drunken Chicken? I’ve had that once before and it was unbelievable!
If XLBs are 5.95 now, then they’ve raised their prices because they used to be 4.95. East Pearl used to have them as well at 4.25 but they’ve since closed and their location turned into Golden City. Other favorite noon-time weekend dishes at SC to try:
Shanghai thick stir-fried noodles (pronounced “tsu tsao mien”)
Deep fried pocket full of egg/rice noodle/vegetable (“jo tsai huh-dze”)
Their Shanghai style shu-mai which is bigger than the dim-sum cantonese style, and it’s full of sticky rice, mushrooms, and bits of sausage meat
Hi Candice – It’s combination of all of the above – I think even the basic Cantonese stuff tastes fine. But even those that “know” Chinese food often look at me like I’m crazy – until I tell them what I order, and they try it…
Hi Elmo – Don’t know, never had “Drunken Chicken” or maybe I did but under a different name?
Hi Green Turtle – Sounds like everybody has their favorites here. Did you notice that the restaurant gets very little publicity?
Green Turtle – Many restaurants I’ve been to recently have started raising their prices – maybe the cost of fuel? But yes, the XLB is now $5.95.
Hey Green Turtle, those rice dumplings sound awesome. With all these names and pronunciations, maybe I can make a list, print it out, and take it to a restaurant to help explain what I want…
Hi Jo – Make sure you take them to a Shanghainese restaurant; most Cantonese Restaurants won’t have them.
I have the biggest hankering for Yum Cha now! ARGH!
Hi Clare – Well you need to get some ASAP!
kirk, that nuromian actually looks VERY GOOD. i’m going to be doing a review soon on discovering the best SGV nuromian. i cannot find anything good around here. i’ve been to nearly all the taiwanese/chinese places, and the taste is never consistent b/c of management changes. great review kirk.
I’ve been wondering if there are any places that sell frozen XLBs. I know you can buy them in places in LA. I checked 99, Thai Long, and places like that but did not find any that compare in quality to the restaurants. Orchid in RB used to sell 20 frozen for $6 but they’ve since closed. I would love to just come home from work and steam up some XLBs.
Hi Dylan – It’s kind of hit-n-miss with the Niu Rou Mein here – but it’s never been really bad, on this day it was more spicy than usual, but those noodles are always great!
Hi Green Turtle – I only bought frozen XLB once, and it was terrible. So am not able to help you out there – but if you do find a good brand please let me know. I’ll also keep an eye out for them.
for those interested in frozen XLB’s. i know of a lady in monterey park that sells it out of her house. she charges 50 pieces for $12. she also offers wontons, dumplings, potstickers and green onion pancakes.
Hi Dylan – Thanks for the info – maybe some of the readers in LA/OC can take advantage of that!
So let me get this straight, the dumplings are stuffed (filled?) with liquid?
Hi Jo – The XLB are filled with meat, usually pork – but also alot of flavorful juice, that’s why they call them Soup Dumplings.
Here’s an interesting link:
http://eatingchinese.org/xlbtutor/xlbtutor.html
OH MAN! Thanks Kirk! I hope Lance catchs that link! We are trying to get ready to go to the zoo, it’s free day and Mike took the day off work so we could all go. I stashed the link in favs so I can peruse it in better detail later. I think that might come in mighty handy in the not so distant future! There are 4 Shanghai style restaurants nearby. One got a really lousy review though so I’m not even tempted to try it. I’m in a dumpling feeding frenzy at the moment, maybe we will go tonight.
i could tell you why it’s soupy inside., but you may not wanna know haha. like a vietnamese banh mi sandwich, don’t inquire… just eat it.
Hi Jo – I knew you’d get a kick out of it!
Hi Dylan – Yes, you’re right. It’s better sometimes not to know! LOL!
Jo – Yep, I got it!!! Very interesting.
Kirk – This is a first for me. I never knew there were Niu Rou Mein, soup dumplings and wine marinated chicken. These are all new to me. The closest I’ve ever got to wine marinated chicken was cold ginger chicken. Could you share the recipe with me also? Sure would like to try it. Man, those soup dumplings must be so onolicous. I really hope we have them here. Got to write down the names and check around at Shanghainese restaurants. Thanks for the enlightenment.
Hi Lance – Niu Rou Mein(Beef Noodle Soup) is not really Shanghainese – and there a many versions of it. My favorite is Sichuan Style, which means it’s spicy. It’s become really popular in Taiwan, and thus it’s all over the San Gabriel Valley in LA. Xiao Long Bao are Shanghainese. I’ll email you the chicken recipe – the reason I don’t post it is, that I only post stuff when I make it.
Hi Lance – Can you email me – my email to you has failed. Thanks.
Well, if you mean the pate in the bahn mi, it’s nothing like Euro pate. Viet tastes more like a mild sausage, Euro (the most traditional version at least) is made from liver. I happen to be a big fan of liver pate. Dittmer’s makes a smooth, smoked, brunschwieger sausage… oh my… Heaven on a triscut, on a baguette, or licked off my fingers! So, give up the secret!
Jo – If I remember they put in this jelly aspic – made from chicken and pork, and the pork filling has a decent amount of fat.
jo, i’m not sure if all places use euro-style pate. but my aunt used to make it with liver pate. it’s almost used like a mayonnaise or mustard and it’s pasted on the insides of the bread. many times, ppl have asked me what’s in it? there’s always that ham with the wiry, white thread, which are probably pig ______ … second thought, maybe i shouldn’t delve into this too much. banh mi’s are a good thing, and i don’t want anyone to refrain from eating this perfect-for-long-road-trips delight b/c of my testimonial.
Hi Kirk,
For some strange reason, I’ve only ever had niu rou mein at Taiwanese restaurants before. The “soup” has never been as dark or as thick looking.
Have you tried the xiao long baos at Dumpling Inn? If so, which do you like more?
::laughing:: Very politic of you Dylan! So far I haven’t really tried to many varieties of banh mi. Can’t get past the grilled pork or meatballs. YUMMO! If I’ve had it without something, it’s only because the service person has decided “whoops, white girl don’t know what she’s in for!” =oD When faced with something that has a lot of different “flavors” or “varieties” I’m likely to find a fav and never try any of the others.
How come I missed this post? Oh man the food looks so good. Kirk I would love to have the recipe for the chicken if you don’t mind or… wait a minute I can get it from Jo ;P ð The soup dumplings…I wonder how you make those? At this point I have to find a place to eat them! LOL
Hi Dylan – Won’t stop me from eating them! LOL!
Hi Reid – I’ve read that it’s the Taiwanese that have made popular the Spicy Sichuan Style Niu Rou Mein – it’s one of the favorite snack foods there. So that might explain the popularity in Taiwanese restaurants, I’ve both the spicy and non-spicy versions.
Hi Mabel – You know, I’ve had the XLB at Dumpling Inn once, a while back, but for some reason I can’t remember it. It’s probably because I was enjoying the shrimp & chive dumplings so much, and also before I was doing all this “stuff”. I think you’ve just help decide on what I’m having for lunch today! Thanks! :o)
Hi Jo – Next time ask for extra chilies! Hah! LOL!
Hi Mills – Ok by request, here it is:
Here’s the recipe, from a great cook book called Pei Mei’s Chinese Cookbook Vol 1. Pei Mei was widely known as the Julia Child of Taiwan until her death a few years ago – though out of print, you may be able to find it, it’s a very practical Chinese Cookbook. I’ve added a few things, but not much.
1 whole chicken (2 1/2 lbs)
2-4 Tb Salt
1 1/2 cup Shao-tsing
1 Cup Chicken stock(cold)
1 – Clean and dry chicken. Rub chicken with salt both inside and out, and let stand for 6 hours
2 – Place chicken in a bowl and steam over high heat for 25-35 minutes.
3 – Remove chicken from bowl – do not discard liquid. Let chicken sool, then cut into 4-6 large pieces. Lay pieces in a deep bowl.
4 – Pour chicken cooking liquid through a strainer into bowl, add chicken stock and wine. Mix liquid by shaking the bowl. Cover and keep in refrigerator for 1 day.
5 – Chop chicken into pieces, lay onto a serving plate and sprinkle with 1-2Tb of wine brine.
I usually will serve with cucumbers, green onions, and tomato.
I’ve heard that the brine can be saved, but, I don’t make this enough, so I discard it.
Don’t keep the chicken in brine longer than 2-3 days, the flavor will get too strong.
The first bite is usually pretty potent, but you just keep on eating!
Kirk,
Thanks for posting the wine marinated chicken recipe. Hopefully I’ll make room in my refrig soon to fit the chicken, so I can try this recipe. Sorry your email didn’t go through last night. We had some connection problems yesterday.
Reid, would you know of any good places on Oahu that serves good xiao long baos – soup dumplings? Kirk made me really hungry to try these.
Much Mahalos You Guys………
Kirk,
Oh thank you!!!! ð
Hi Lance,
The only place that I’ve had the xiao long bao was at Shanghai Bistro. The prices there are quite high. I’m planning a write up on the place shortly.
You can try niu rou mein at KC Kitchen in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza. The soup is spicy, though not as thick as looking as the one in Kirk’s photo.
Hi Lance – Well, let me know how it comes out!
Hi Mills – No problemo! I never thought that Wined Chicken would be so interesting to everyone.
Hi Reid – I had seen Shanghai Bistro on your “list” so I’m looking forward to your report.
Kirk,
Well I love new recipes to try, and the wine marinated chicken looks so good.Thank you so very much!
Hi Mills – I hope it turns out well.
thanks for this review!! i have been thinking about eating wine/drunken chicken for awhile — wasn’t sure where to get them here though!!
a visiting friend of ours was also asking about soup dumpling in san diego, so now i know where to go for them!!
Hi Annie – Not too many places for XLB in San Diego, you can try Dumpling Inn as well to compare. I never knew that Wined Chicken was so popular/interesting!
Kirk, I did a xlation of hte menu for the San Diego Chinese Language meetup group about a month and a half ago based on your pictures. I susequently visited the restaurants a few weeks later. Good food I must say.
Cold dishes, liang cai åè
——————————-
1. Shaosing Drunken chicken ç»å Žééž¡ 3.75
shao xing jui zi
2. ?Husband/wife? (beef) lung slices倫劻èºç 5.75
fu qi fei pian
3. Cold rice noodle sheetsåæç²ç®
lian ben fen pi
4. Jellyfish with scallion oil è±æ²¹æµ·è
cong you hai zhe
5. Pressed marinated tofu æ²¹è±å¹² 1.95
you dou gan
Column 2
1. Fragrant steamed bun ??? éŠå¹²é©¬å °å€Ž 4.75
xiang gan ma lan tou
2. 1000 Year & egg tofu ç®èè±è 3.75
pi dan dou fu
3. Suzhou style smoked fish èåŒïŒé±Œ 4.75
su shi ??? yu
4. Garlic Pork hock (loaf) slices?? èæ³¥çœè 4.75
suan ni bai rou ? almost like a head loaf I believe..
Column 3
1. Vegetarian Duck, çŽ éž 4.75
su ji
2. Duck with sauce, é ±éž
jiang ya
3. Can?t read whole thing é ±é¡ºé£ïŒïŒ
jiang shun feng??
4. Garlic paste sea.. something.. èèžæµ·
suan rong hai??
Stirfried Dishes
çè
Column 1
1. Stirfried Prawnsé²ç«¹èŸç 9.95
xian zhu xia qiu
2. Something oil hard tofu æ²¹é²è§è±è 8.95
?? you dou fu jian dou fu
3. Spiced salt sole fillets æ€çéŸå©ç 8.95
jiao yan long li pian
4. Something fish fillets è±ïŒïŒé±Œç 9.95
5. Fish and pinenut soup ?? æŸä»é±Œç±³ 9.95
song ren yu mi ? I think I?ve had this before?. either in Zhejiang province or in LA. They take the fish paste and make tiny jelly bean size fish balls with it and put in soup.
Column 2
1. Spicy salt frog (legs) æ€çç°éž¡ 12.95
jiao yan tian ji ? literally spicy salt ?farm chicken?
2. Stirfried frog (legs) ççç°éž¡ 10.95
sheng chao tian ji
3. Taro and duck clay pot éŠèéžç ² 7.95
xiang yu ya bao
4. Crispy fried duck éŠé ¥éž 7.95
xiang su ya
5. Water cooked beef æ°Žç ®çè 7.95
shui zhu niu rou
6. Yellow chive fish fillet éé»é±Œç 9.95
jiu huang yu pian
though, when I went there, the menu had changed.
———————–
Menu 2,
Saturday, Sunday ? Special priced lunch
ææå ïŒæ¥ ïŒç¹ä»·åé€
xing qi liu, ri, te jia wu can
Column 1
1. Shanghai fried rice cakes äžæµ·ç幎ç³
shanghai chao nian gao
2. Shanghai style thick fried noodles äžæµ·ç²çé¢
shanghai cu chao mian
3. Snow cabbage pork noodles éªèèäžé¢
xue cai rou si mian
4. Oil (tender) tofu and vermicelli soupæ²¹è±è ç²äž é¢
you dou fu fen si mian
5. Dry stirfried beef flat rice noodles å¹²ççæ²³
gan chao niu he
6. Bokchoy dumplings (boiled) çœè氎饺
bai cai shui jiao
7. Beef noodle soupçèé¢
niao rou mian
8. Eel paste noodle soupé³ç³é¢
shan hu mian
9. Shangdang soup(åæ¡æ±€)
shangdang tang
10. Shanghai cold noodle äžæµ·åé¢
shanghai liang mian
11. Shanghai pinenut cake äžæµ·æŸç³
shanghai song gao
Column 2
1. Rice cake stirfried with mustard greens è¥èç幎ç³
jie cai chao nian gao
2. Rice Cake stirfried with snow cabbage éªèç幎ç³
xue cai chao nian gao
3. Wonton soup with mustard greens è¥èäºåæ±€
jie cai yun tun tang
4. Shrimp wonton soup èŸèäºåæ±€
xia rou yun tun tang
5. Sesame rice ball soup è麻汀å
zhi ma tang yuan
6. Asian chive dumplings (boiled) éè氎饺
jiu cai shui jiao
7. Spicy (beef) noodle soup 蟣èé¢
la rou mian
8. Eight treasures rice å «å®é¥
ba bao fan
9. Zhajiang sauce noodles çžé ±é¢
zha jian mian
10. Potstickers é 莎
guo tie
11. Stinky tofu èè±è
chou dou fu
Hi Andy – nice work. Also, the prices have gone up.
I was wondering if anyone knew if i could order from this place for take out and if the special weekend menu items were also offered for late night like the niao rou mian and XLB….looking for a late night chinese place and i know this place is open late but i dont want to make the trip or call them only to realize all the items i want are not offered during late night, thanks
Hi Peter – We’ve had mixed results when ordering Niu Rou Mein late night, sometimes they have it and sometimes they don’t. Also the prices are higher. We have ordered it to go, maybe the best strategy is to call ahead – 619-278-5883. They’ve always had XLB, but again it’s more expensive than weekend breakfast.
Also please remember they are closed on Tuesdays. I hope I’ve been helpful.
thanks so much, i was afraid i wasn’t going to get an answer in time for tonight, i will definately call them