Shanghai Bistro

I am on a quest -- I had the most amazing xiao long bao in New York and want to find something that's at least in the ballpark in Chicago. This was the 2nd place I tried in Chicago and actually kind of stumbled on this place by accident when I was looking for a place for lunch. The inside is on the clean and fairly modern side when it comes to Chinatown establishments, which was a pleasant surprise. Since Shanghai was in the name, I assumed correctly that xiao long bao would be on the menu. I opted for the Shanghai xiao long bao and also order the Shanghai style thick noodle (it was a Shanghai kind of day).

The Shanghai xiao long bao took awhile to come out, but they looked fabulous. They tasted pretty good, but in my opinion were a bit light on the soupiness. The noodles were pretty tasty as well. Based on the reviews, I'll probably give this place another shot, maybe give the crabmeat xiao long bao a try. But the quest continues!

We were looking for a place to eat on a Friday night in Chinatown and we were driving by looking for parking to go to another restaurant. I heard mix things about this place from my friends and it was empty inside, which is normally not a good sign on a Friday night. We didn't want to deal with the lines at where we originally planned on going, so we stopped here to give it a try. Service was good and price was more than fair. I will definitely come back in the future.

Ordered the dinner for 3 and added Mongolian Beef and Xiao Long Baos to go along with that.

Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs - This was really really good and the ribs were tender and there was hardly any fat. This was my favorite thing here.

Mongolian Beef - We shouldn't have added this entree to our meal because we already ordered beef short ribs, but this was okay for the most part. The beef was kinda chewy and I didn't really like it that much. Other than that, the sauce was really good.

Salt and Pepper Fish Fillet - This was good and the breading wasn't too thick like some places.

Baby Bok Choy in Broth - Was going to substitute this dish for Baby Pea Tips, but substitution would have been $5, so we decided to stick with this. It was just okay for the most part, but I wouldn't get this again.

Shanghai Xiao Long Bao - I like this more than the crab one and it was pretty good for the most part. Definitely like it more then the Lao's one, but I had better elsewhere.

Crabmeat Xiao Long Bao - I didn't really like this one that much. It wasn't bad, but maybe it just wasn't for me. Definitely get the Shanghai one instead.

This place is great!  Their lunch specials taste very good and provide lots of food.  I was so full afterward and got my money's worth. im truly going again!