There are a number of reasons not to eat at Shanghai Café (now called Shanghai Café Deluxe) on Mott Street. First off, they have been undergoing some lawsuits filed by six former employees who accuse the restaurant of breaking certain labor laws. They were paid well under minimum wage, forced to work overtime, and the management illegally took a cut of their tips. Then there’s the “B” rating from the Health Department posted on their window. A “B” is nothing to be ashamed of, but I imagine some people are deterred from eating anywhere that doesn’t have an “A” rating – especially in Chinatown. And finally, there’s the horrible “modern” purple, blue and yellow neon lighting that sets the mood for the entire restaurant.
I can overlook both the less than perfect DOH rating and I can attempt to stomach the bad lighting. But I’m not a fan of exploiting immigrant workers. Who is a fan of that, really? Besides greedy restaurant owners, I suppose.
Previous to the lawsuit, Shanghai Café has been consistently rated as some of the best soup dumplings in the city. So in all fairness, I had to give them a try. I only ordered the soup dumplings. And even though the service was spotty and a bit aggressive, I tipped really well – hoping it makes it into the pockets of the deserving waiters.
The Xiao Long Bao are listed on the menu as “Tiny Steamed Buns” and for just under $7, I got an order of 8. I chose the pork and crab filling because that seems to be the standard with soup dumplings. It took a little while to get my order (considering the restaurant was so empty at this hour), but when they were presented to me, the steam filled the area. It even fogged up my camera lens.
The hot soup burned my tongue. I usually wait a little while, take pictures, write notes, but I was hungry and a little overeager. There was plenty of liquid (more than most dumplings) and it was a delicious fatty broth. The wrapper was thick, tender, and easy to break. It’s funny how at first I was careful enough to keep all the soup on the spoon. But as I got more into the food (and maybe more sluggish from filling up), the soup started getting everywhere. I’m still learning, leave me alone!
The soy vinegar sauce on offer was in a bowl rather than a squeeze bottle and it seemed homemade. It added a wonderful bite and slight sweetness to the savory morsels. The innards were soft and flaky. I noticed this had a much more fishy flavor than the other dumplings I’ve tried. I found that to be a good thing (it wasn’t an “off” fish flavor) because I was really able to taste the crab. The pork balanced it with some earthiness and in many ways, this was a nice play on a surf and turf.
The dumplings were delicious and terribly filling. I managed to stuff myself silly (and didn’t even finish all 8).
This was a difficult review because with all the reasons to not come and support the possible illegal operations of Shanghai Café, I can now give you eight reasons to come try their delicious soup dumplings.
Does Shanghai Café Deluxe have the best dumplings in NY? They’re filling and tasty soup dumplings and even though I don’t agree with everything that goes on behind the scenes I still have to give them a solid 8 out of 10.
| SHANGHAI CAFÉ DELUXE |
| 100 Mott Street (between Canal Street and Hester Street) Chinatown (212) 966-3988 |
