Shanghai's Best
{{Short description|Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox restaurant
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| name = Shanghai's Best
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| image_caption = The restaurant in Pine Street Market, 2022
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| established = {{Start date|2018|04}}
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| current-owner = Lin Chen{{cite web |title=Portland's largest food cart pod will be gone by June 30, making room for development |url=https://katu.com/news/local/portlands-largest-food-cart-pod-will-be-gone-by-june-30-making-room-for-development |publisher=KATU |access-date=February 26, 2022 |date=May 30, 2019 |archive-date=September 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923144420/https://katu.com/news/local/portlands-largest-food-cart-pod-will-be-gone-by-june-30-making-room-for-development |url-status=live }}
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| food-type = Chinese
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| city = Portland
| county = Multnomah
| state = Oregon
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| country = United States
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Shanghai's Best (also known as Shanghai's Best Street Food){{cite news |last1=Teel |first1=Emily |title=Portland food cart, displaced by Alder Street hotel development, sets up in Salem instead |url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/food/2019/10/28/shanghai-best-portland-food-truck-displaced-alder-street-development-open-salem/4004228002/ |access-date=February 26, 2022 |work=Statesman Journal |date=October 28, 2019 |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228004938/https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/food/2019/10/28/shanghai-best-portland-food-truck-displaced-alder-street-development-open-salem/4004228002/ |url-status=live }} is a Chinese restaurant in Portland, Oregon.{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Michael |date=2018-05-09 |title=This new food cart pan-fries Shanghai-style soup dumplings |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2018/05/theres_a_new_downtown_food_car.html |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=The Oregonian |language=en |archive-date=2020-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109073432/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2018/05/theres_a_new_downtown_food_car.html |url-status=live }} The business operates from the Pine Street Market, as of 2022, and has previously operated from Portland's Alder Street food cart pod and in Salem.
Description
Shanghai's Best specializes in shengjian mantou, a type of fried baozi (steamed buns). Pan-fried dumplings are made with pork, chicken, vegetarian, or vegan fillings.{{cite journal |last1=Hamilton |first1=Katherine Chew |title=Best Thing I Ate This Week: Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings from Shanghai's Best |journal=Portland Monthly |date=October 14, 2021 |url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/eat-and-drink/2021/10/shanghais-best-cart-pork-dumplings |access-date=February 26, 2022 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105144644/https://www.pdxmonthly.com/eat-and-drink/2021/10/shanghais-best-cart-pork-dumplings |url-status=live }} The vegetarian variety has egg, chives, and mung bean noodles, and the vegan version has tofu, mushrooms, carrot, and celery. The menu also includes steamed buns with barbecued pork or sweet red bean paste, as well as mooncakes.{{Cite web |last=Nanbu |first=Seiji |date=2016-03-03 |title=Where to Find Outstanding Chinese Food in Portland and Beyond |url=https://pdx.eater.com/maps/best-portland-chinese-food-restaurants-szechuan-sichuan |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=Eater Portland |language=en |archive-date=2021-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520001511/https://pdx.eater.com/maps/best-portland-chinese-food-restaurants-szechuan-sichuan |url-status=live }}
History
Owner Lin Chen established the business in April 2018. In 2019, the Alder Street food cart pod closed for the development of Block 216 and the Ritz-Carlton, Portland. The Shanghai's Best food cart was initially placed into storage,{{Cite web |last=Weil |first=Audrey |date=August 22, 2019 |title=Portland food carts fundraise for their new location near Ankeny Square |url=https://www.kptv.com/news/portland-food-carts-fundraise-for-their-new-location-near-ankeny-square/article_94cacad8-c56a-11e9-86df-ebc8b8c03582.amp.html |access-date=February 26, 2022 |website= |publisher=KPTV |archive-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227024343/https://www.kptv.com/news/portland-food-carts-fundraise-for-their-new-location-near-ankeny-square/article_94cacad8-c56a-11e9-86df-ebc8b8c03582.amp.html |url-status=live }} then relocated to The Yard Food Park in Salem in October 2019.{{Cite web |date=October 28, 2019 |title=Photos: Shanghai-style dumplings food truck opens at The Yard in Salem |url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/life/food/2019/10/28/photos-shanghai-style-dumplings-food-truck-opens-yard-salem/4027714002/ |access-date=February 25, 2022 |website=Statesman Journal |language=en |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228004940/https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/life/food/2019/10/28/photos-shanghai-style-dumplings-food-truck-opens-yard-salem/4027714002/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Teel |first=Emily |date=July 19, 2019 |title=All of the restaurants that opened in the Salem area in 2019. How many have you visited? |url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/food/2019/07/19/25-new-salem-area-restaurants-and-food-trucks/1620102001/ |access-date=2022-02-28 |website=Statesman Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228004939/https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/food/2019/07/19/25-new-salem-area-restaurants-and-food-trucks/1620102001/ |url-status=live }} The business began operating from the Cart Blocks in July 2021.{{cite news |last1=Peel |first1=Sophie |title=Displaced Food Cart Pod Downtown Is Finally Opening New Location Saturday |url=https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2021/07/22/once-displaced-food-cart-pod-downtown-is-finally-opening-saturday/ |access-date=February 26, 2022 |work=Willamette Week |date=July 22, 2021 |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723051207/https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2021/07/22/once-displaced-food-cart-pod-downtown-is-finally-opening-saturday/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Jackson-Glidden |first=Brooke |date=2021-07-23 |title=The Developer of the Ritz-Carlton Is Opening a Food Hall to Make up for the Carts it Displaced |url=https://pdx.eater.com/2021/7/23/22590545/ritz-carlton-food-hall-cart-blocks-food-cart-alder-street-carts-grace-cafe |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=Eater Portland |language=en |archive-date=2022-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227025233/https://pdx.eater.com/2021/7/23/22590545/ritz-carlton-food-hall-cart-blocks-food-cart-alder-street-carts-grace-cafe |url-status=live }}
Shanghai's Best operates from the Pine Street Market, as of 2022. The restaurant also participated in The Oregonian{{'s}} annual Dumpling Week in 2022.{{cite news |title=More than 30 restaurants join Dumpling Week 2022 |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2022/01/more-than-30-restaurants-join-dumpling-week-2022.html |access-date=February 26, 2022 |work=The Oregonian |date=January 24, 2022 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202074257/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2022/01/more-than-30-restaurants-join-dumpling-week-2022.html |url-status=live }}
Reception
File:Shanghai's Best, PDX.jpgIn 2018, Andrea Damewood of the Portland Mercury included Shanghai's Best in her overview of "great new choices for your dumpling fix". She wrote: {{Blockquote|The sheng jian bao are the real stars, arriving piping hot and bubbling with juices from the porky filling. Find a place to rest your paper serving tray, which won't withstand the hefty buns without help, and let them rest just a bit before taking your first bite. Your reward will be a thick skin, an oil-crisped bottom, and a savory filling that really oinks when you add some vinegar and soy sauce.{{cite news |last1=Damewood |first1=Andrea |title=Dreaming of Dumplings |url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/eat-and-drink-fall-2018/2018/10/23/23961540/dreaming-of-dumplings |access-date=February 26, 2022 |work=Portland Mercury |date=October 23, 2018 |archive-date=December 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205124828/https://www.portlandmercury.com/eat-and-drink-fall-2018/2018/10/23/23961540/dreaming-of-dumplings |url-status=live }}}} In her 2021 article "Best Thing I Ate This Week: Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings from Shanghai's Best", Portland Monthly{{'s}} Katherine Chew Hamilton wrote, "The dumplings were a delight—meaty, juicy but not greasy, with crackly bottoms and pillowy tops, and generously sprinkled with sesame seeds." Seiji Nanbu and Brooke Jackson-Glidden included Shanghai's Best in Eater Portland's 2022 overview of "Where to Find Outstanding Chinese Food in Portland and Beyond". The business was also included in Eater Portland
See also
{{portal|Food|Oregon}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Shanghai's Best}}
{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon}}
Category:2018 establishments in Oregon
Category:Chinese restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Category:Culture of Salem, Oregon
Category:Food carts in Portland, Oregon