Heard of this place from a friend, and came primarily for their soup dumplings. Ordered : Soup dumplings (8)- 2 orders Shumai(4)- 2 orders Szechuan chicken- 1 order Peking porkchop-1 Mapo tofu-1 Black pepper beef-1 Lo mein-1 It was about $85s. Soup dumplings were delicious and didn't break when I put it on my plate. Shumai were slightly bigger than normal, compared to other dim sum places I've been to. I so wanted to get this too because I was craving for dim sum food! It satisfied my craving for authentic sit down restaurant times. Szechuan chicken on the bone surprised me, it was a dark sauce on it. But tastes good, and soft clean bite. It just didn't look like chicken to all of us. Peking porkchop, just like any other restaurant Mapo tofu- it looked spicy and was. Red sauce shining through! Black pepper beef! This dish was spicy , even though its not red on the menu. There was so much black pepper and maybe the green chili peppers helped in the taste. Overpowered the mapo tofu spice for sure!! Beef tastes good once you get past the peppery-ness. Lo mein- the normal dish that you can't mess up and is a safety in this whole table. No pictures of food, all of us housed the food but would definitely come back again! read more

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Get the roast beef sandwiches and the pork soup dumplings the room needs an update, but that doesn't matter because the food is so good.

Have no idea why I haven't heard of this place before, I pass by almost daily. It was a rainy weekend here in Jersey, so we were snuggled in wanting take out..sadly, they don't deliver, they aren't even connected with Yelp, Eat24 or UberEats..believe me, we checked grrrrrr...WHY?!?!? We NEED you to deliver PLEASE!!! Luckily, S agreed to brave the weather and pick up our ridiculously large order!! Mind you all this was for four people..I feel you being judgey, especially since only three of us ended up eating!! In our defense, we all tasted everything but finished nothing (except the soup buns) this was enough food for three meals, and no we are NOT fatty's lol!! We ordered: Shrimp/pork wonton soup..son liked it..lots of veggies and wontons were delish. Shanghai fried rice...we wouldn't order again it had lots of veggies but a bit tasteless not worth the carbs in MHO. XLB buns/Soup Dumplings were yummy, sadly some were broken so no soup but dough was chewy and tasty filling just what I wanted on a cold, rainy night, sans the trip to NYC! Chicken Udon made with homemade noodles were chewy and perfect, broth was good, not great. Pork and Veggies with Sha Cha Sauce and Shanghai Rice Cakes...this sauce was delicious!! Pork and veggies yummy, but we weren't big fans of the rice cakes so would get with noodles next time. Fried Pork Chops...maybe try this in house next time because they were slices of fried breaded pork and were dry and tasteless..of course we ordered two because we thought we would all like it and ended up throwing them away :-(. Spicy Seafood Dumplings...good, not super spicy. Beef Sandwich..We ordered two figuring we would cut in half and each have half, but the order comes with two so we had four total..we loved them..think bon mei without jalapeños and in a pita sort of bread. Pork Fried Rice...good, but S said that Number 1 Chinese in Matawan makes it better as theirs has peas and carrots in it. Pan Fried Dumplings...good, typical. Mongolian Beef and noo...tasty sauce, nice soft beef..yummy!! Give them a try for the classics and not so typical for Jersey items you can only usually find in China town. read more

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I wanted to try something different and I stumbled upon this place. I looked around their photos of their dishes and thought it looked pretty good. It's tucked away in a little strip mall. Upon entering, I noticed there were only around 10 tables. Not many, but enough for their small space. I ordered what I though looked good. I went with the chicken with mustard greens noodle soup and the steamed dumplings. The host brought me utelsils while I waited. And I didn't wait but 4 minutes for my soup to arrive at my table. Now I should tell you that the soup bowls are huge. I could make three portions out of it. I don't know how to eat food like this so I just used a fork for the noodles and the spoon for the broth. The soup that I ordered was a little bland but it was good. The mixture of spinach and noodles was decent. I just wish their was a little bit more chicken in it. This is where it got a little uncomfortable. I think the host guy was watching me eat and talked to the chefs in the back. I looked up from eating a few times and the chef was seriously staring at my. When he noticed me looking at him he quickly hopped back into the kitchen. After about 15 minutes, my dumplings came out. Now these dumplings had soup in them and they're a decent size but I didn't know how to eat them either. So I just dipped them into some soy sauce (because soy sauce is the bomb) and shoved it into my mouth. The soup inside was good and the flavor all around was definitely good! I think I liked them more than my soup. All-in-all the food was decent and I will most likely be back to try more items on the menu. PS: If you go while it's cold out, wear warm clothes because it's chilly inside. Maybe turn the thermostat up a bit guys. read more

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Best Chinese food ever!! And their soups are incredible!!! Cannot say enough about them!!!

We usually come here for the Shanghai soup dumplings and noodle soup, which are pretty solid choices. This time we got the celery beef, 3 cup chicken, and fried rice. It was ok, but didn't really hit the spot. The celery beef was mostly celery, the 3 cup chicken was overcooked, and the fried rice was a little bland. read more

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My favorite restaurant. I could eat here for a month straight, get something different every day, and be happy. My personal highlights are obviously the soup dumplings, the spicy beef noodle soup, peking style pork, sacha beef noodles, shanghai rice cakes, and the spicy shredded beef soup. The hand spun noodles set this place apart. The soups containing them have become my comfort food during the work week. It's largely ruined eating Chinese takeout for me from anywhere else. It's not much to look at, but it's fast, fresh, and very reasonably priced for how good it is. read more

Stacey Asem - we took out recently and absolutely loved everything. My daughter ate an entire quart of their wonton soup. So good

The female staff is very rude. Almost felt like we are not welcome. Tried the food here plenty of times, it's decent. Didn't want to travel far for better food. So, nothin special. read more

It's located next to the Dunkin Donuts at the intersection of Rt 34 and Rt 516 in Matawan. It's about 5 miles north of Sichuan Cottage, my go-to spot when I visit Freehold. I didn't realize I had a bad experience last time I wrote a review and actually ordered the same dish -- (N1) Spicy Beef Noodle Soup. It tells you how much I love that dish and have been in constant search of the place that perfects it. In the past 2 weeks I've tried the dish in 3 restaurants in NJ: Sichuan Cottage in Marlboro, Taiwan Tasty in Edison, and Shanghai Bun. I am glad to announce, Shanghai Bun is the clear winner. This bowl of spicy beef noodle soup is the best one I've had in years! The beef was so tender it could melt -- OK, break apart -- as soon as it entered my mouth. The broth was rich, spicy, and flavorful. The hand-made udon noodle, even though not my favorite kind to go with beef noodle soup, was cooked perfectly al dente. I was a happy puppy :) The rest of my party had (N28) Taiwanese Style Rice Noodle, (N33) Beef Chow Fun, (N14) Shanghai Wonton Soup, and (N14b) Shrimp and Pork Wonton Soup. I've sampled a bite or two of each on this visit. They were all excellent. But I want to especially highly recommend (N14) Shanghai Wonton Soup. It sports the one-of-a-kind super-sized vegetable wontons not seen anywhere else. And it was my induction into this restaurant over 10 years ago and it's still as special and delicious today!! Prices have gone up over all these years by about $1 but it is still one of the best valued authentic Asian eateries in NJ. read more

Shanghai Bun - N14. Shanghai Wonton Soup $6.50. Highly recommended one-of-a-kind wontons. - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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This review is for take out only. I was curious to find out why this place was highly rated. Is it some sort of a hype? Well, their Take Out Menu is small and they keep it simple. My Eggplant with Garlic sauce was tasty and the portion was adequate. The price was right also. Delivery was ready in 15 mins. It's a small but cute little restaurant and because it's BYOB I might dine in there during my next visit. So, yes they did live up to their good rating on yelp and I will give them 5 Stars. read more

Shanghai Bun - Eggplant with garlic sauce - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

Very good local Chinese food. I have never been disappointed in the quality of the food that I have ordered. My favorite meals include noodles with hot peanut sauce and beef sautéed with noodles in sha sha sauce. The soup dumplings are also very good and flavorful. I'm knocking off a star because the ambiance isn't so great inside the restaurant. You can take out or eat in. There are about 10 tables inside a small room and basically no service. You have to flag down an employee before you can get a menu/make any sort of request. But the staff here are always friendly once the acknowledge you. There is parking in the lot out front. read more

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Hot and sour soup was typical, good for take out. Egg rolls the same. The roast pork chow fun was fair; the pork was fatty and they used lots of cooked white onion. read more

Our once a week takeout treat we order Beef & ShaSha noodle with an extra $2- beef, salt/pepper shrimp, & chicken eggplant & soups. Authentic taste, generous portions at a decent price. Do not be discouraged by the fact it's a hole in the wall the food is incredible, with a pleasant staff. Taste comparable to NYC Chinatown. read more

Every time I visit any dish I order has been consistently very good and freshly made. The restaurant is a quaint gem you wouldn't expect to find in a NJ strip mall, and it's a fun cultural experience. read more

The food is pretty average. It didn't have much of a wow-factor in my opinion and the food could have more to offer. It's an okay place but definitely not the best Chinese food I've had. The waiters had a bit of an attitude and our table did not have any condiments and we were not served water until asking the waiter twice. I completely understand that working in customer service is not easy but the employees were a little bit too rude for my liking and I don't think I'd return to a pretty mediocre place like this again. read more

The lo mein is delicious. If you are looking for general Tso chicken, do not come here. They cook the general tso with green and red peppers and it's weird, also a little pricey to places in the area. Would recommend Beijing 2 on Cliffwood Ave in matawan instead. read more

Best soup dumplings in the world (called steamed pork bun on menu FYI) and salt and pepper fish and pork with string beans are amazing. Love this food!! read more

3.5 stars 3 stars for soup dumplings 4 stars for Chinese food First off... you don't come here for the service. You walk in, grab a menu off the counter and seat yourself. There are two menus so be mindful. One is more traditional dishes and dim sum and the other is the Chinese food we are used too. You circle what you want and then bring it to the counter. There is free hot tea that you can help yourself to and a cooler with cans of soda and water. It is BYOB. Food comes out fast. We tried the shrimp mai fun, shrimp in garlic sauce, and soup dumplings (D1 on the menu). The mai fun and shrimp in garlic sauce were delicious. The portions were large and perfect to share. The soup dumplings were ok. I've had many others before and these were lacking. They weren't bad, just lacking the delicious, addicting flavor of the broth that they typically have. The food is incredibly cheap and we have tons of leftovers. Overall, I would come back. However I think I would stick to the Chinese and more traditional dishes. read more

Shanghai Bun - Shrimp in garlic sauce - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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The food here is actually mediocre. People tend to rate it as 5 star, probably due to the lack of quality Chinese restaurants in the area, combined with its no frills price. But since Covid, I have noticed a significant increase in price. With that kind of pricing, I would rather drive to Tasty Moments or Shanghai Dumping in Edison, which offer much more fine dining experience and tastier choices. read more

Love love love this place! The food is delicious and the owners are so nice! I usually get the seafood noodle soup and it's usually served with thick noodles but I always ask to have them swapped out with mei fun (rice noodles) for no extra charge. Their chicken wings are so fresh and crispy. I highly recommend this place! read more

The food is good here. Not the best I ever had but good and consistently good. This place is a true hole in the wall restaurants. Nothing fancy, nothing upscale. You grab the menu from the counter and a pen and you check off the dishes that you want, then the waitress takes it to the kitchen and in fairly short order they start bringing you your food in no particular order. When it's ready they bring it .Get up and get your own damn tea from the urn or grab cold soft drinks from the fridge. The main menu in this place is authentic style food or at least Shanghai buns interpretation of authentic regional Chinese delicacies. They do have an Americanized Chinese takeout style menu available if that is what you are looking for. But I come here for their authentic style dishes. The soup dumplings or what they label on the menu as steamed pork buns are very popular with most diners. These are not the best soup dumplings that I've ever had but they are good and a favorite of my sixteen-year-old. They have a lot of interesting dishes and we try something new every time we go. Dishes that are marked as spicy are really not terribly spicy or at least not by our standards. That doesn't mean that the food isn't good, just not very spicy. The service is not particularly friendly but it is not rude either. Bottom line is that I can get consistently good food at a very reasonable price with good but not particularly friendly service. read more

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Excellent authentic Chinese food. We get takeout a lot. Steamed pork buns and Peking pork are our favorites

They have truly delicious food-- my fave are the soup dumplings and fried dumplings - SO SO Good!

NOT Chinese take-out food but TAIWANESE sit-in restaurant, tho it's very plain ambiance with around 10 tables/booths. Not an ambiance you want to take your 1st date to, lol, but you can sit down with friends and have EXCELLENT Taiwanese delicious food. We always have vegetable/chicken lomein, pork steamed dumplings and they never disappoint and are consistently delicious. Vietnamese sandwich is good, beef noodle soup is awesome, and fried rice is very good too. It WON'T have your usual Chinese take-out food b/c it's Taiwanese food, but those I've tried is MUCH fresher, healthier, and delicious! Think they make their own noodles, it tastes fresher and delicious. read more

Over the 10 years the fam has been coming here, it's been a solid choice for more *authentic* Chinese in the area. Sometimes there's a touch too much MSG, but generally good food. Pork soup dumplings - not dtf level, but hits the spot. The skins of a few were already broken, so no soup. Shanghai stir fried rice cakes. Pretty good if you're craving. Would've liked some more veggies, but ultimately fine. Rice cakes were sufficiently cooked and chewy. No major complaints. Fried tofu and fish stew - one of my faves. Still tastes the same so pretty pleased. The sauce is great over rice and there's a lot of fish and tofu. One of the best values imo. Pan fried buns - the bun part was good, fluffy on top and crisp on the bottom. The filling was lackluster and had no flavor. Remember it being better before, but I'll probably skip this if I come back. read more

Shanghai Bun - Tofu/fish stew, Shanghai rice cakes, soup dumplings. - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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Dropped by for lunch after a morning spent at the Englishtown flea market. I've only tried three dishes here: the xiao long bao (aka soup dumplings), beef sautéed with noodles in sha cha sauce and the shrimp shao mai. The shao mai was just okay; I could do without it. The soup dumplings were large and good. I really enjoyed the noodles and beef with the sha cha sauce...it was spicy and deliciously addicting that makes you keep coming back for more. The restaurant is small and looks like a typical Chinese take-out but with authentic dishes. If this place was closer to me, I'd definitely do take-out from here instead of the local Americanized Chinese take-out. read more

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Best Chinese food I had in a long time. I've tried many place in the Hazlet area. This beats them all and I have been in this area for 30 years. read more

Shanghai Bun is a Chinese style restaurant. HERES WHAT YOU MUST KNOW! There is no hostess, there are no explanation or signage, here's how it works. Go in and grab a drink and menu from the desk then find a table. There are 2 menus the America menu has all the familiar dishes the Chinese menu has the Dim Sum choices Noodles, Soup dishes, and more traditional Asians dishes with exotic ingredients including pigs feet and intestines. They even have breakfast choices but don't expect bacon and eggs. I went with a buddy expecting to be seated but people (mostly Asian) just poured in passed us by and grabbed menus and tables. A few people left in disgust from frustration. My friend figured it out and grabbed is a table that hadn't been bussed yet. The waitress (for lack of a better term) cleared out table and worked the room with distain. No worries people it's about the food not the service. Once you check your choices off the menu the waitress confirms your order (at the table or desk) and then the food comes flying out of the kitchen. Man their food is fantastic. We ordered a small hot and sour soup that fed us both, then the pork buns and spicy seafood dumplings which are excellent then Szechuan chicken and Yu Shiang beef and fabulous! They use the best ingredients the freshest vegetables and top quality condiments like wines oils and sauces in all of their dishes. Ambiance, non existent, who cares! This place was rocking who cares what's hanging on the walls. Service, it's weird, but it works for them. The food is the feature here and once you get use to the unusual way they run their joint you have found the best Asian/Chinese joint in the bay shore area. I know I gave 4 stars the lost star was for not organizing the way the front house works or explain it to the newbies. I will absolutely return here for take out anytime I want Chinese food. FoodDude! read more

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Great authentic Chinese food, huge portions, very reasonable prices, and a comfy, clean atmosphere. The waiter was really friendly. I absolutely love the fact that they offer self service hot water and green tea on the house. As a non-Chinese person, I like that their menu has English translations. Soup dumplings were not as soupy as those you'll get in NYC but they were still admirable and captured that delish flavor without being too salty. The stir fried shrimp dumplings were huge, freshly made, and super stuffed with veggies and vermicelli but not as much shrimp. They were blandish but still great after adding soy and sriracha sauces. The fried fish filet in spicy bean sauce was super good. Loaded with chopped garlic and a bit of ginger, it avoided being too salty or spicy, but was flavorful enough on its own to need any condiment additions. My friend and I were left undisturbed after our meal for a long chat over hot tea. It was a great time and I'm making sure i return to try other items soon. There's no dessert on the menu but a trip down the road to Ralph's Italian ices could easily fix any sugar craving. read more

Shanghai Bun - Soup dumplings, shrimp dumplings, spicy fish in black bean sauce. Huge portions and all delicious. - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

Hole in the wall but good food. No frills. Cost effective. My go to for no frills lunch.

Whenever I'm back in NJ, I make sure to stop by this place for a meal. The food is authentic and tasty. I always order the Xiao Long Bao (Pork Buns). I also get the Za Jiang Mian and scallion pancakes. This is a small, simple restaurant. You order what you want on a piece of paper with the entire menu, and you walk up to the counter to pay at the end. You get your own tea and utensils next to the kitchen. Even when it's crowded I've never had to wait too long to be seated and have my food served. read more

I've heard great things about Shanghai Bun from my friend's for years, and finally decided to go there with a friend today. I must say, i was not disappointed. The xiao long bao were really good... piping hot and delicious. I had an order of scallion pancakes (which were pretty normal, nothing spectacular there), but one of the servers was really nice and suggested that next time we order a similar dish, and gave us a sample. It was basically the same bread, but stuffed with pork and baked instead of fried. It was really tasty and I liked that it wasn't oily. The leek and pork dumplings were pretty good, and I really loved my friend's wontons and soup. The soup was perfect - a light broth that definitely settled my stomach after the heavily oily scallion pancakes- and the wontons tasted real, not the fake frozen crap you usually find in wonton soup from cheap take-out places. The only downer to dinner was the sha cha beef noodles that I ordered. The noodles came out rather cold and stiff, but the sha cha taste was still pretty good, as was the beef. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for it. I think next time I'll just stick to zha jiang mien or a noodle soup. Our bill came to about $30, which is reasonable considering we were both pretty full, and I had leftover noodles to take home. Not dirth cheap, but comparable in both price and quality to a lot of dumpling places in the heavily asian San Gabriel Valley in California. Next time I'm home, I will definitely make a stop at this place. read more

Shanghai Bun - Sha Cha beef noodles - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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Growing up in a Chinese family and eating many Shanghai style food along the way (despite being raised Cantonese/HK), I can say without a doubt that this is one of my favorite places. It's close to home and every time I return I want to come back. Sure many of you may come for the great soup dumplings - it's not my favorite. I always go back for the beef shin sandwiches (always fresh), the amazing su bing, spicy pork belly, and the pan fried dumplings! In terms of service, it's part self-serve (hot tea/water on your own) and it's not a huge restaurant; a lot of people take out. It gets really cold in the winter with the doors opening and closing but never quite cool enough in the summer. Nevertheless, I have always returned and will continue to do so! read more

Went to this place on a Saturday night because I was craving for Shanghai food. I checked it out on Yelp and everyone is raving about this place but I'm not sure why. I have been to the best of best in nyc Chinatown . The steamed pork bun was very bland, skin was on the rough side. The bit of soup inside didn't do the trick. I also ordered the fish with mustard vegetable. No flavor again, made with white sauce. Fish tasted like it was thrown in hot water and scooped out, mixed with the veg and gravy and that's it. The hot tea is self serve which was no big deal for me. Overall the staff was nice but you don't go the the restaurant to socialize with the staff do you? Will no entertain again read more

Shanghai Bun - Steamed bun no flavor - Chinese Near Me - Matawan, New Jersey

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Good Food Something New Shanghai Buns ,Pork Rice Cake Try It you won't be disappointed read more

I've been coming here since I was in high school! I bring all my friends here for some freshly steamed soup dumplings. I've tasted the ones in Shanghai and these come close. The dumpling skin is slightly thicker but cooked well. Best dumplings around! P.S. They have two menus! Be sure to get the one that's in landscape with the spicy beef tendon appetizer! You won't regret it. read more

After going here today and various other times over the past couple of years I'm finally getting around to this review. Their signature dish - well the Shanghai buns of course. And they are delicious as well as many other things they offer at very reasonable pricing. If you go ask for the Chinese menu which contains the best and most authentic dishes. Look the place is a hole in the wall but it is the real deal as far as the food goes and it will not break the bank ... read more

Delicious, Cheap, & Authentic. They have very good soup noodles and pork buns. Their american chinese food is really good too. the beef noodles come in a delicious broth filled with springy noodles, generous portions of beef, and an assortment of vegetables. It is only 6 dollars and very filling. The pork buns are delicious and very authentic. The service is more self serve. the decor is nothing to brag about. HOWEVER the place is always very clean, the people always friendly and the decor appropriate for the fact you are spending 6 bucks on a meal. don't bring a date here but its perfect for eating with friends and take out. read more

You know the saying: "Cheap, fast or good: you can only pick two"? Well this place delivers on all three! Authentic Northern Chinese food done cheap and pretty fast. Warning: this place is your stereotypical dumpy Chinese restaurant. Don't let it fool you, the soup dumplings are to die for. We usually accompany them with scallion pancakes and a fried pork chop entree. Just remember the sautéed greens with the fried pork chop comes out mushy so we just ask for more rice instead of the greens and order a separate veggie. We always try a new thing when we go, if you go in the morning or at lunch time you can get a few dim sum dishes which are quite yummy. Some of the entrees are pretty authentic so you really feel like you may be in another country, especially since most of the clientele is speaking in a Chinese dialect! read more