The husband and I dropped into the New Shanghai restaurant in Queens Plaza earlier today to try out their dumplings. If you don’t know me well, then you may not know of my dumpling obsession.
As we arrived, it was apparent that there was going to be a wait. Not too long a wait though for a CBD lunch break (about 10mins).
The dumpling kitchen had large windows to peer through while you waited. This however didn’t make for good viewing. Watching uncoordinated staff scrape away and stab with wooden spatulas at oversized mounds of raw mince doesn’t get my appetite going.
We were seated on a corner of a large round table (the place was packed, so good of them to be utilising the space). New Shanghai’s decor is quite lovely, actually. From the Chinese wall art, to the colour coordinated tea pots, lanterns and replica firecrackers, the ambience was well executed.
As we were having our order taken, at approximately 12:15pm, we were told that the top 5 Dim Sim items were no longer available. This was rather frustrating because we were planing on ordering 3 of them. Quickly we chose alternative dishes that included Shallot Pancake, Pork & Chive Dumpling, Beef & Coriander Dumpling, and a serve of the Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup.
To be quite frank, almost everything we received was ordinary if not disappointing. The Shallot Pancake was a little on the burnt side and over seasoned. The dumpling wrappers were rolled too thick which lead to us being served up overcooked gluggy noodle pastry, which was haphazardly wrapped around uninspiring chewy meat centres. The soup was ok.
The condiments were scarce. One bottle of soy and one of vinegar. I tried to get attention of one of the wait staff during our visit to ask for some chilli, maybe a shred of ginger..but no luck in stopping anyone for more than the second it took them to deposit the food in front of us without so much as a glance.
Drinks were hit and miss. I ordered a Mango Blended Ice and Timbob ordered a Pineapple Blended Ice. They came out looking completely different (more than likely screwed up the order). Mine was awesome.. Tim’s not so much.
Speaking on behalf of dumpling lovers everywhere, New Shanghai really isn’t the place to get your steamed delight fix. The service was fast but impersonal, the food poorly executed and a bore, the ambience pleasant but not enough for a return visit. Try alternatives like Bamboo Basket across the river for a truly tasty dumping feast. Bex
Food: 1.5 Drink: 2.5 Service: 3 Ambience: 4
New Shanghai
LG 23 Queens Plaza
226 Queen St
Brisbane QLD 4000
07 3108 7652
7days Lunch & Dinner
as a chinese, New Shanghai’s alright. Bamboo Basket’s just overpriced.and Bamboo Basket wasn’t opened by Shanghai people as well.