Shanghai Night Chinese Restaurant

Cold and rainy Saturday night, what better way to catchup with friends than some hot and spicy Chinese (more correctly Shanghainese) food. I've wanted to go to this place for ages, and finally I got my chance.

Food

Shanghai Night is famous for their dumplings, and when we saw a couple of people busy rolling dough, filling and shaping dumplings right before our eyes in the restaurant, as well as the steaming pots and plates of dumplings that kept appearing from the kitchen, we knew we had to order up.

About 5 minutes after we ordered, our dishes started appearing in quick succession, delivered with a plonk on the table and in the totally random order below:

• XO sauce fried new-year cake - This should be a familiar dish to Chinese restaurant frequenters. The cakes had a good texture, the sauce similar to others we've tasted.
• bamboo shoots in sauce - I love bamboo shoots, especially fresh ones, like the ones here. Another plus point is that they were young and fat, just the way I like them!
• cold chicken dipped in chilli soy - A famous Chinese dish. The chicken was soft with real chicken taste, the sauce was so so.
• shallot pancakes - We ordered two lots, but only the first lot arrived... They were more-ish and not too oily, best eaten while still very hot. We waited in anticipation for the 2nd lot, while devouring...
• chinese mushrooms and vegetables in oyster sauce - The mushrooms were fresh and tasty, the sauce acceptable. I was surprised at the quality of ingredients at this price.
• Beijing style soup noodles with beef briskets - great noodles, ok broth. I didn't eat this one straight away though because I was occupied with devouring all the other food, so by the time I tasted this, it was slightly cold.
• pan fried crab and pork shallot dumplings - I had been really looking forward to these, and I wasn't disappointed. Lovely soft dough, fried just right, wrapped around tasty filling with a squirt of soup. I was so anxious to eat them that I burnt my lip from the steam enclosed inside!! And I also dropped the meat filling :( Luckily, there was enough to go around for me to have another.
• Sweet and sour fried tofu - These were recommended by the waiter, and they were divine! Softly fried tofu itself is wonderful, with the contrasting crisp and soft texture, add a sauce with peanut crunch, the perfect match!!
• White rice - Yes, that's right, at this stage of our dinner, we finally got our rice. Can't attest to the taste, but according to Kaven, it looked a bit yellow.
• Steamed Shanghaiese pork dumplings with soup - By the time these arrived, I was starting to fill quite full, but alas, I have to try it out. They tasted fresher than normal, with lovely soup swimming inside, just the way it should be, also superb.
• Fried NZ Flounder - I don't think many people enjoyed the fish, but I thought it was great, although only when hot. Not the greatest tasting fish species, but a good pairing for deep-frying.

The conclusion, excellent dumplings, average Chinese dishes with great ingredients.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Shanghai Nights is located in the cosmopolitan suburb of Ashfield. Ashfield is known for its cheap Asian food. Shanghai Night is just one of several Asian eating joints on this strip along Liverpool St, and looks just like the others. I must come and explore this area again during the day.

This place fits the bill of cheap and simple Chinese restaurant. Laminated tables, Chinese menus written on colourful cardboard on the walls, a couple of plastic looking pot plants, quick turnovers and bustling with Asian friends and families. The 8 of us originally had a "private room" with a round table, out the back past the kitchen. However, about 10 minutes after we've arrived, we were told we needed to move back inside the main restaurant because the heavy rain meant the back might get flooded. The main room table (rectangular) was much harder to share food, but we were able to watch the dumpling makers at work.

Rating - 1.5

Service

I actually got better service than I expected, i.e., I expected very rude waiters who can't speak English, instead, the waiters were friendly and explained and recommended some very good stuff on the menu for us, and advised us if the amount of food we ordered was appropriate. In terms of service, it's basically everything plonked on the table and helping ourselves. However, I value efficiency and competency over silver service, so Shanghai Nights delivered in this area.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Did I mention this place was cheap?? For 8 people and all those dishes, the total came to $100.20, and I was stuffed! We didn't get much time to talk though as all the dishes came at once and we had to eat it HOT!

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13

Info

275 Liverpool Road
Ashfield
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9798 8437