Jolie F.

Dinners be aware of multiple charge added to bill for dinning. First the place charge 10 percent extra on holidays snd weekends. 50 cents for boxes. And 2.5 percent extra for foreign credit cards. If all these charges were not added, I would say this place is wonderful except for line to get in. If you don't mind paying the charges noted above, the food is really. Very good flavors and freshly made! Note portions are large.

Ronald W.

Good Xiao long bao and other foods restaurant. Had pork and the pork and crab. Not as delicate as Din Tai Fung and low soup to filling ratio. Looks almost 50% crab in crab and pork version. Free self serve water and hot tea in back of restaurant.

Andrea U.

We wandered around Shanghai Street looking for a special lunch. We found a modern, reasonable, cool & air conditioned restaurant. We ordered dumplings & beef with honey. Service was on point, lunch was delicious & portions were very generous. The restaurant is on the heart of Chinatown & we were the only non Chinese people dining here.

Steph G.

We actually found recommendation for this place on a blog and as visitors to the city, we thought we would give it a try. Chinatown is small but charming. We came later in the afternoon and I do believe they close at 3 PM so double check the time. As you review the menu, you will take the little slip of paper and write the menu item number and the quantity that you want. We opted for the xiao long bao, pork buns, beef noodle, pineapple, chicken fried rice, hot and sour soup and Kung pao chicken. We definitely over ordered. If you want water, there's a self-serve station in the back. We added a beer and two sodas. The soup dumplings were excellent. Very flavorful and had a delicious broth inside with a tender noodle on the outside. The fried rice was good, but lacked some flavor. We felt the hot and sour soup was good but not served hot in temperature and was rather spicy. The noodle dish was very good. The Kung pow chicken was also very good, fragrant and spicy. We were too full to enjoy all of the pork buns so we took them back to our hotel. They were excellent however. A very light and fluffy bun with a delicious pork mixture inside service was super friendly and helpful. It's a very casual environment with plenty of tables. There is a charge for takeout containers. We definitely would come back and try some other items as well. It was a good first experience in Melbourne Chinatown.

Jonny M.

This is the first place in Melbourne where we were impressed and satisfied with our meal. Shanghai Street is a popular spot for XLB's: it also has two other locations in the CBD district. We dropped in on a Tuesday evening (around 7:30pm) and the line wrapped around the corner. Luckily, they're a well oiled machine and have a great system. They give you menus in line and take your orders before you get seated. Line wasn't terrible, we waited about 20 minutes. The menu is massive but you only really need to focus on the XLB's and dumplings. - Stir fried green beans with minced pork and olive vegetables (#63) ($14.00 AUD) - green beans were tasty but the minced pork was really salty. A bit small for the price. - Noodle with spicy pork sauce (#76) ($9.80 AUD) - you can get it dry or in soup; we went with the former. Had a nice subtle spice level. Noodles were simple but good portion of pork and a few bok choy thrown in for good measure. - Pork, mushroom & shrimp wonton soup (#16) ($10.00 AUD for 12) - the wontons were fresh and filling was excellent. Soup pretty standard. - 2x Shanghai XLB (#1) ($11.80 AUD for 8) - these were pretty dang good. Juicy, good meat to skin ratio. - Homemade Shanghai mini fried pork buns ($10.80 AUD for 6) - be careful biting into these ones. Lots of soup inside and these came out piping hot. Good crispy bottom. Pork filling was a tad sweet. We were stuffed after our meal. Great spot for Shanghainese food. There's a reason there's a line on a weekday.

Ed D.

We loved this place and would have returned for another meal had we stayed longer in Melbourne. The Yelp ratings are accurate and saw noodles being made as we approached the building. Lots of choices for noodles and dumplings with various fillings and cooking methods with many vegetarian options. Servers were friendly.

Donna D.

Shanghai Street is one one those base dumpling places in Chinatown. We came an hour before they were closing on a Thursday night, and got a speedy service. They were sure about being prompt and our dining experience included warnings every now and then to order as soon as we knew what we wanted, and a ten minute warning that they'd be closing at nine. The staff was all really eager to close up shop. With that being said, the food arrived quick: salmon fried rice, fried pork dumplings, the Xiao Long Bao. With all of our time warnings, the second the food reached our table, we were all silently stuffing our faces. Tea and water is free at the self-serve station. Shanghai Street is a good place to come and satisfy your dumpling craves for cheap. We counted on it being open a little later than other restaurants in the CBD, as it is in Chinatown, but no matter. It was quick and fast service, and the food was all on point. So, l lately I've legit found myself craving their Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, twisted steamed vegetable dumplings. I'm sure that you can get them anywhere, but since the first time I tried them was at Shanghai Street, I'm kind of hooked. It's the tastiness of the veggies, it's all green in this broth, crunchy and softly wrapped in a beautiful twisted steamed dumpling. I didn't know these were a thing. But they are beautiful. Since I've been back a few times, I'll shout out to some other menu items, The red bean buns I like, they are so fluffy! The chicken and prawn was good, it is better fried versus steamed, but that's all up to you. The tofu is yummy too. Complete side note: I do like that the dumpling making is in the open for you to see. Makes me feel like they aren't hiding anything, and making dumplings appear out of thin air. Pro tip: And they usually have a cute line outside of people waiting to come in and dine, so watch out for their opening times.

Geoff B.

While we waited in a line outside the door and around the corner to get in, you have to wonder if the food here is that good or is the line due to the restaurant getting on some list of best of. The food as you can tell from the pictures was pretty good. Best of?? By the way as we left the line was still around the corner to get in. You should try it if you are in the area to make up your own mind. I've been here three times now so I will be coming back.

Chan L.

I have been here many times over the years and even though it is very popular and busy, the service is very efficient. While we were in long line waiting outside the restaurant, the staff will bring each party a menu to pre order so once you are inside seated your order will be delivered. How great is that? I always recommend the Pork belly and the Dumplings, but every meal I have had is excellent. Water and Hot tea is self service. Great Shanghai food and service.

Dembe N.

Great value, great food. Fast but sometimes oblivious service you have to be bit loud or creative to get a attention. Pretty busy place during lunch/dinner hours. Come 30 minutes before or after rush hours and no need to wait in line.

Leisha C.

I've just checked in for the 24th time. About time it became a 5 star review. Fun Fact - they do takeaway! $9.50 for 12 (I think) fried pork dumplings. Fantastic when you're feeling antisocial like I am right now :)

Sarina W.

Wayyyyy too much MSG and too salty. I seriously don't know why there is a queue. The XLB was passable at best and their pan fried pork buns are chewy. Best to go to New Shanghai at the Emporium instead for those and if you want other dumplings, I would go to Shandong mama. Also ordered seafood fried rice where the "seafood" is fish tofu and crab sticks and a little bit of prawns. It's a bit of a joke really.

Will S.

Um this is not xiao long bao by a long way. Dough is too thick and break easy. Inside is ok but not right either. It should smaller and more delicate. Honestly if they don't put xlb name on the menu then I wouldn't be so critical. Is there a din tai fung in Melbourne? I used to hate it while living in shanghai but it looks like it's the only safety net for xlb outside of china. The noodles so mushy in the other dish which I'm guessing is frozen lamb meat strips. Seriously everything so mediocre. Why are people lining up?