Flavour Shanghai - Ashfield

This is where the real Shanghainese come. This is not a salubrious restaurant. If this is your idea of a first date restaurant it might well be your last! This is where the Shanghai locals of Ashfield come to satisfy their craving for street food. The westerners will end up next door and across the road for newer, more fashionable and probably more expensive options. One is greeted by a bain marie bank of delectables including stewed duck, bamboo shoot stir frys, and more curious offerings. I do not risk food kept at this room temperature so go for the freshly steamed and cooked food. The soup dumplings or xiao lung bau is decent, the meat fresh, the skin not too thick and with a just adequate morsel of soup. The pan seared meat buns are popular but be careful not to scald yourself with the rich juices inside. (Tip: nip a small hole at the top and suck out). The hot and sour soup is nice and thick with generous lean pork slices and so forth. The so called Chinese croissants or shredded turnip cakes (see picture) is not the best but nice flaky pastry. The filling is a bit too stodgy but worth a try. The sauce valet trolley might put some off but help yourself to dark vinegar, chilli sauce, paper napkins and stained bowls and sauce dishes!

If you're looking for authentic dumplings, I would not go further.

My uncle who lives in Ashfield really likes this place So much, that we went twice in one week and I can see why.

New Shanghai is an extremely popular restaurant serving modern Shanghai cusine, hence the name.

This cozy little restaurant offers exceptional food that is well worth the sometimes slow service. If you enjoy trying more exotic cuts of meat, the cold side dishes are a must-try. I always make sure to take home two containers so I can savor it again later.