ShangHai Taste
House Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage
Shanghai Fried Rice Cake with Chicken
House Fried Fat Noodles with Beef
Kao Fu
Old Fashion Shanghai Style Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs
Traditional Shanghai Xiao Long Bao
Sheng Jian
Red Bean Xiao Long Bao
Slow to recover from the global pandemic, Shanghai Plaza is finally showing signs of increased customer confidence, a number of masked patrons forming short lines at Tea Houses, Bakeries and Ice Cream Parlors flanking Chef Jimmy Li’s ShangHai Taste.
Tucked inside Suite 104 of 4266 Spring Mountain Road, limited seating in the era of social distancing making take-out as good an option as dining in, it was via contacting the Restaurant directly that catering was coordinated, managing partner Joe Muscaglione arriving at 11:30am-sharp with eight items potioned large enough for sharing.
Still the top destination in a two-story complex at the corner of Arville Street and Spring Mountain Road, family recipes handed down to Chef Li comprising a concise menu of scratch-made plates, it was with all items carefully-packed and temperature appropriate that most got started with Fried Rice, a bit of tooth welcomed amidst Sausage, Egg and Soy while Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs were a surprising staff-favorite thanks to tender Flesh easily stripped from the Bone.
Now the third time delivered, though Jimmy’s years at 3 Villages, 1900 Asian Cuisine and Niu Gu found several familiar with his authentic brand of cooking, fans of Soup Dumplings, or XLB, will be happy to know ShangHai Taste’s set a high standard, and whether one prefers Pork, Crab or even Gluten Free the textures and flavors are great, as too are the fried version entitled Sheng Jian with Sesame Seeds.
Again impressing with House Fried Fat Noodles, each strand slick and slightly chewy tossed with Steak, Stir-fried Rice Cakes traditionally known as Chao Nian Gao remain a personal favorite thanks to sticky-soft pillows with Salt and a bit of sweetness.
Only offering two Desserts, neither “American” by any stretch, fans of Red Bean Paste should not pass on Jimmy’s lightly sweetened Red Bean Xiao Long Bao, though guests with a sense of adventure may instead consider the steamed Wheat Gluten Kao Fu with Mushrooms that is considered savory but walks a fine line thanks to the complex Sauce featuring fermented Soy, Lily and Ginger.
N/A: Making it blog policy to not ‘rate’ places based on catering alone, Chef Jimmy Li and Joe Muscaglione face an uphill battle much like the rest of Las Vegas’ Restaurants following COVID-19, but for those seeking Chinatown’s best Shanghainese Cuisine there is simply none better when accounting for cost, quality and customer service.
RECOMMENDED: Sheng Jian, Traditional Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, Shanghai Fried Rice Cake, House Fried Fat Noodles, Old Fashion Shanghai Style Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs, Kao Fu, Red Bean Xiao Long Bao.
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: Open daily from 11:00am until 9:00pm. Call 702-570-6363 or hop on Yelp! to make reservations.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.facebook.com/ShanghaiTasteLV