$$
(780) 930-1828
16336 – 111 Ave
7/10
Before writing this review, it needs to be said that reviews of Chinese restaurants are rated with their own criteria because they can’t be compared to any other restaurant. These aren’t fine dining cuisine restaurants. So here we go.
Yet another Shanghai cuisine restaurant in Edmonton. We’ll see how long this one stays alive. In west Edmonton, Shanghai Grill is located in an almost industrial area near the mall. Big, typical, Chinese restaurant. There are lots of tables and generally looks pretty clean. One thing that did shock me was the friendly service; I think many will agree that you lower your expectations on customer service when you eat at a Chinese restaurant. I tried this restaurant out with my girl who has been here before and she had wanted a particular thing off the menu. She wanted the chive pizza pop shown below, but of course, it was on the special, only written in Chinese menu. Both of us could not read it and after deciding on the rest of our choices, we had asked the server to assist us. We explained it to her in English, telling her that it’s some kind of bread that is filled with vegetables with a crispy outside. She drew pictures to help us determine this dish. So after she tells us the name of it in Chinese, we order. She had then finished by pointing to the very last item on the menu (the one that also has English): Turnip Cake. We say its not and she completes our order and goes. A few minutes after she walks back with these fried balls and we knew that was Turnip Cake, but she wanted to confirm anyways! Thanks lady!
These chive and vermicelli filled pizza pops essentially (left) were delicious! If you like the taste of chives and garlic, this ones for you! It was a little oily, but the outside was indeed crispy with a chewy texture. Jam packed with garlicky goodness!
Beside the pizza pops are the fried beef soup dumplings. I have never tried this before but the shell of the dumpling was not too thick but had the right amount of chewyness. The au jus of the beef inside is delicious as always and with the perfect amount of Chiang King ginger vinegar, this is a great alternative to Little Dragon Buns aka Sieu Long Bau.
Little Dragon Buns (shown below), or as some people call Soup Dumplings, are a trademark of Shanghainese cuisine. If you have never eaten one, they are basically dumplings usually with pork and some suey choy with au jus steamed to perfection eaten with vinegar.To me, the quality aka deliciousness of these buns is one of the key components to a great Shanghainese restaurant. Theirs were pretty good, but the soup a bit thick and they did not come out hot enough. You should be scared to bite into the dumpling for you don’t want to burn your tongue with the broth if you don’t eat it “correctly”. Judging the dumplings alone, out of 10, they get a 7. Shortly after these arrived on our table, an observant waitress had taken notice that they had not been touched and came by to remind us that they are best while piping hot. They were hot, but not hot enough.
Overall, food is pretty good; I only got to try a few items, but I would go back, but not soon. It will definitely do the trick if you are craving for some good dumplings.
Sticky rice roll with a sweet filling. You can get both savoury or sweet. I like to compare the sweet one to a Japanese style sticky rice roll for seaweed in there.
Spicy chillies and onions porkchops.
