14456 118 Avenue, Edmonton

Last week, I went to Shanghai 456 with my friend, Jamie. I’ve been to Shanghai 456 a few times before, but have never taken Jamie, so that’s where we opted to go since he was feeling like some Chinese food.

Shanghai 456 is located in the west side of Edmonton on 144th street and 118 avenue. If you’re not sure where it is are not sure what you’re looking for, it’s really easy to miss given that there really is no sign, or at least, bright sign. They have a small parking lot which can sometimes get full. I went right around when they open for the evening and the lot was already full!

The interior is relatively clean and simple, as you would expect from most Chinese places. Even though there were only two of us, we still ordered a substantial amount of food. Their menu is quite extensive, and available on their website. We went with a lot of suggestions from the server, but of course, I suggested we get their famous Xiao Long Bao. Shanghai 456 is one of the few places in Edmonton that you can get this, and it really doesn’t disappoint. And for 7.95$, it’s worth it. The other dishes we got were hot and sour soup, special fried rice, Dan Dan noodles, salt and pepper boneless ribs, and Wor Tip (Dumplings).

As with most Chinese restaurants, the food comes out at random orders, basically whatever is done first. Our soup came first, followed by the fried rice, then our meat and noodle dishes. The Xiao Long Bao came near the middle of the meal. The order that food comes out never really bothers me because I’m always hungry and ready to eat!

Hot and Sour soups are one of the soups that really remind me of Chinese cuisine. It’s often an item at Chinese restaurants and a common dish in Beijing. The soup here packed quite a punch! It’s a lot spicier than I’ve had at other places, but really good. It was full of meat, tofu, and other ingredients. Overall a really nice soup.

The special fried rice comes with shrimp, BBQ pork, egg, and mixed vegetables. As far as fried rices go, this was pretty good. Rice is always a staple for me. I love rice and pretty much eat it everyday. It’s a good part of the meal and it always goes well with other dishes. I recommend getting at least one of the rice dishes because it really brings everything together.

The Dan Dan noodle is noodles served with a spicy peanut sauce and XO sauce. This is a dish that I’ve never ordered before. It was really peanut-ey and delicious. It reminds me a bit of Northern China’s pulled noodles, which I’ve had at Noodle Feast on the south side of Edmonton. Also not a bad dish to give a try.

The salt and pepper boneless ribs (椒鹽排骨) was another table favourite. So flavourful and tender. This dish went great with the fried rice. It was a tad too salty for me, but overall really good. I definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Next the Dumplings (Wor Tip). These are probably the best dumplings that I have ever had. The filling was beef-based, and while I’m usually used to a pork filling, this was really welcomed. It was nice a juicy, and the dough on the outside was very fluffy and delicious. Also a must-order, especially for only $8.50!

Last, but definitely not least, was their famous Xiao Long Bao. There aren’t very many places that you can order this in Edmonton (though we are getting better), but these are definitely one of the best places to get it. These were delicious as always. The wrapper is nice and thin, and inside contains soup broth, and pork. Each of these were amazing. We were tempted to get another order but we already polished off everything else. This is always a must get at Shanghai 456!

At the end of our meal, our server came and gave us two complimentary pastries. These were a flaky pastry with sweet black sesame seeds on the inside. Really light and nice, and a great way to end our meal. We were absolutely stuffed!

Overall, I really enjoyed my experiences at Shanghai 456. The owners are really nice, and I really like the wholesome atmosphere of the restaurant. This is probably one of my favourite Chinese restaurants in the city! Definitely give it a try if you haven’t yet.

 

Update:

Another time I went with my brother and on top of the dishes above, we opted to get a few other ones.

These are boneless ribs in their sweet peach sauce. Quite delicious but very heavy. I couldn’t have than just a few of these.

These next two are Lion Heads (jumbo meatballs with siu choy)m and a turnip pastry. Both of these were definitely not my favourite dishes (I should probably stop letting my brother order, because he always orders the worse things). I wouldn’t recommend these dishes and go with their other fair!