Have seen quite a few posts on the new Shanghaiese restaurant in the renovated West End Soda Factory lately and we finally had the chance to go try it out last weekend. A reservation is definitely recommended as we saw everyone who hadn't made one was turned away when we went.
The vast majority of seating was outside and they only had one table inside that was reserved for big groups. It was quite hot that day and I would really have appreciated an indoor setting. At least it was in the shade and they had quite a few fans.
Ordering was via a paper form, which is second best to an ipad. It's clear, unambiguous and leaves little room for error. As a Shanghaiese restaurant the focus was on dumplings, bao, noodles and some rice dishes along with mains and snacks. Our focus was of course on the dumplings.
Although I was sad to see that all soup noodles had been sold out, at least it was clearly marked so we could see what not to order.
Perhaps it was the heat, but we ordered some drinks which came out only when we were almost done with our meal. My friend had a calpis whilst I had a watermelon crush. Whilst mine was basically watermelon juice, it wasn't overly sweet and it was very refreshing on a hot day. The price was also fairly reasonable for what I got.
Our food arrived not long after ordering. The Xiao Long Bao was much anticipated by me and it definitely didn't disappoint. The skin was thin and elastic, the meat was flavoursome and mincey whilst the soup was wholesome. Every single bite was like a warm hug. Suffice to say that I haven't had a good XLB for over two years and I've missed it very much. This is by far the best I've had in Brisbane for a long time.
We had one serve of Hot and Sour Soup. Portion wise it offered us three small bowls which was good enough to share. We could add additional vinegar if needed but there was no pepper. Taste wise, I found it to be sufficient without condiments, it had a generous amount of shredded meat and veggies in it in addition to a delightfully thick texture. It's one of the better hot and sour soups I've had too.
Demonstrating that they're great with dumplings all round, the pan fried pork dumplings were an absolute delight. The bun was fluffy, the base was crisp without being oily and it encased a soupy meaty core that I couldn't get enough of. I thought that one serve of eight would be too much for a group of three, turns out I could eat a whole dish on my own.
We couldn't get soup noodles, so we had stir fried noodles. This is the stir fried shanghai noodles. The taste was good with a deep and mellow soy flavour, however there wasn't much meat to go with the noodles and rather than using traditional hand pulled shanghai noodles, they were using frozen udon which is of the same variety that I have in my freezer. Improvements could be made but I still really enjoyed the dish.
Our last dish was the Shanghai style croissants, also known as turnip pastry. I've had this in several other places but this is the only one that has been shaped like a croissant, others are usually just ovular. I liked the flaky, buttery golden pastry outside and the tender flavoursome turnip inside. It was extremely delicious and I can't wait to come back to try some more of their offerings.
Price Range: $20 - $30pp
Taste: 9/10
Value: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 6/10
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