Don't sleep on this place! The staff were super friendly, our server Michael was awesome and gave me a great menu recommendation (jumbo shrimp in the tangy spicy sauce, soooo good). The tea was excellent, we also had the crab Rangoon and the teriyaki beef (we really loved the beef.) My husband got the Mongolian duck and it was delicious. We'll definitely be back, we loved our whole experience there! read more

I have been to this restaurant three times. Twice, with my parents. As native Shanghainese folks, they still approve of this place, which I think is pretty impressive of any Chinese restaurant. While it's easy to write this place off because of its name, the restaurant itself actually closely to authentic Chinese tastes. Most recently, I came here with five friends and we ordered: (trust me, read through the end) 1) Seafood soup - 5 stars: delicious. I loved the peppery flavor and succulent pieces of shrimp and scallops in the soup. :) 2) Hunan lamb - 4 stars: The lamb flavor was a bit lost because some of the meat pieces were cut too small but otherwise, the flavor was decent. 3) Szechuan string bean - 3 stars: Pretty standard dish, not really spicy though there was a chili pepper on the menu. 4) Hawaiian Szechuan Delight - 3 stars: I had higher expectations for something unique with a name like Hawaiian Szechuan Delight but this dish was pretty much the standard stirfry with brown sauce. It was a decent size though. 5) Sauteed Yo Choy - 2 stars: We had wanted the steamed broccoli with oyster sauce but the restaurant ran out and offered this instead. I prefer my vegetables not to be shiny with oil so this was not my favorite. 6) Shrimp stuffed tofu hotpot - 5 STARS TIMES INFINITY: Freaking delicious. I ordered this dish the first time I came here three and a half years ago but had forgotten the name. Not looking for this dish, we are so lucky to have ordered this dish again tonight on a whim. When it came steaming hot with huge chunks of fried tofu over a brown sauce with sauteed cabbage, I knew it was the dish that had impressed my parents and me so long ago. Each tofu piece is fried with a delicious crispy exterior that encases a delicious soft tofu inside. I still don't know how they manage to keep the tofu from falling to pieces. Eight pieces of deliciousness. :) See the photos, and be prepared to drool. Finally, at less than 14 dollars a person (including tip!), this meal was a great deal. Definitely check this restaurant out, and order that hotpot! read more

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I love the food everything is delicious Chinese dish are awesome . I really love the Hot and sour soup recommend 100% read more

There are few things in the world more satisfying than Chinese food delivery, except if your eating you're delivery leftovers the following day. I've lived in Durham for a number of years and have eaten a lot of Chinese food from a lot of different places. I can say that there isn't a single place where I have repeated my choice- with the exception of P.F. Changs which hardly counts as a Chinese place in my mind. Shanghai is the place I have been searching for. Is it the best Chinese food I've ever had? No. Is it the best Chinese food I've ever had in Durham? The answer is undoubtedly yes. Shanghais meals were tasty and filling. The rice was perfect, the meat and vegetables were only slightly over cooked, and sauces were palatable, not overpowering, and did not leave us with an upset stomach after the fact. The best part was unpacking my leftovers the next day to discover that my meal was still palatable and not a soggy mess. Truly, these dishes were cooked with a skill that is hard to find at rival Durham establishments. To put it in summary- Shanghai delivers. And in a timely manner too, within 30 minutes of the time my call was placed. read more

Shanghai - Hunan Beef - Cantonese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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This place is truly amazing. Seriously, I haven't been this impressed with a restaurant in ages! My group of 15 waltzed in here at 8:30 on a Saturday and we were promptly seated, with orders taken within five minutes of us sitting down. Not only did our food come out shortly after, but everything was delicious! Highly recommend the cashew chicken w/ veggies, and any of the soups. I want to seriously commend the staff here, who made sure our water glasses were always full and got our food out ASAP. They were super professional and our waiter divvied up the check by person at the end of the meal. Great for groups, and lots of healthy options are available. read more

Ordered takeout from here because it was the closest Chinese option to me (I live near Duke West). The menu prices were reasonable, and I decided to go with the chicken lo mein. It was kinda late at night when I went to go pick it up, but it didn't take a long time for the food to be ready, and I was able to pick it up as soon as I arrived at the restaurant. The food itself was alright. Definitely not the best Chinese food I've had, but not the worst either. The quantity was decent, but not sure if I would order from here again unless I had a really strong Chinese craving. read more

Call me picky, but I typically stay away from 3-star restaurants if there are usually "better" (by Yelp ratings standards) options nearby. But after shopping at Kroger on Chinese New Year's day, my boyfriend and I decided to stop by anyways because we had a serious craving for Chinese food. It looks completely unassuming from the outside, but inside you will find authentic Chinese food (my boyfriend lived in China for awhile, so he vouches for this statement). Ignore the takeout menu and go straight for sit-in dining. We spent a very long time poring over the menu and making difficult decisions about what to get, since there were so many mouth-watering options. While we did that, they served us some spectacular Chinese black tea. The instant I took a sip, I knew it was different (in a good way). It had an earthy and subtle flavor that I never had with any black teas here, and apparently it is another authentic Chinese style of black tea. Wonderful. We eventually decided on: 1. Garlic chinese broccoli - the vegetable is not broccoli, but "Chinese broccoli", which looks completely different. Excellent and cooked to a good texture. 2. Seafood soup - probably our favorite. Incredibly savory and flavorful broth for just $8, serves two. 3. Fried black bean shrimp - good combination, shrimp could use a little less salt and more pepper. 4. Shanghai roll - filling like most egg rolls you get at takeout, but outside is texture of spring roll. And I believe inside there was also a bit of scrambled egg. 5. Vegetable dumplings - least favorite, mainly due to personal preference for the style of their wrapper. Dipping sauce was nice, light but still tasty. Nice atmosphere inside, clean and good decor (there was shelf covering the entire height of the wall beside the booth we sat in that had some Chinese decorations and tea on display). I hope the rating for this place improves, because the 3-stars made me think it was a Chinese takeout restaurant. With the authentic Chinese food and excellent tea, I definitely think it should be at least a 4. The location is just incredibly convenient as well...right beside Kroger, a well-visited place by off campus students. Will definitely be back w/ friends to try new dishes! read more

Undercooked + bad taste = bad review. Tried the scrambled egg with chicken and the beef chow fun (gon chau ngau hor). First, some pieces of chicken were undercooked. What? That's a health hazard! Then, there were other pieces which had a really weird texture - gross! I threw this one away immediately. For the price, I really expected much better - at least not the possibility of food poisoning. As for the noodles, being cantonese, I also know what real beef chow fun tastes like, and this is not it. It lacked that extra flavor dimension you find in good chow fun. Go somewhere else. If it weren't for the edible noodles, the raw chicken would definitely earn this place a 1-star review. read more

Solid Chinese food in a convenient location, and they're relatively quick! Quality and taste of the food depends on what you order, since they have a large variety of dishes. I was disappointed by the mapo tofu, because the pork tasted old. However, I've enjoyed other dishes very much in the past. The chicken wings and lo mein are really good, and I would definitely come back. read more

Unbelievably horrible racist establishment. Made reservations hours in advance only to show up and have our table for 13 given to an Asian family who, according to the hostess lied and took our reservations. They ended up yelling at us. Please don't visit this place unless you have the right ethnicity. read more

I just moved to the area, and I'm looking for a new go-to place. I can honestly say this will not be it. For reference, I ordered Crab Rangoons, an egg roll, and General Tso Chicken. The rangoons were burnt and soggy, the chicken was drowning in sauce, and the fried rice was just plain white rice with soy sauce. Overall, there was nothing about the meal to ever want to eat here again. read more

I accidentally ordered from here thinking it was another Chinese restaurant but I'm glad I made the mistake. I now have a new takeout spot to put in rotation. I tried the pork and vegetarian egg rolls, fried rice, sesame beef, szechuan string beans and the fish filet with spicy szechuan chili sauce. My only complaint was the packaging of the fish dish it was fried but packed in the sauce and topped with a szechuan chili blend. I wished the fish was packed separately from the sauce so it would give some textural contrast to the dish. I also wish the szechuan chili blend was mixed into the sauce since it was only on the top I had to kind of mix the contents of the container which broke some of the soft fish. Everything tasted good though and I will be ordering again. read more

I love the food here, especially the egg foo yong. The duck dishes and the Mongolian are especially good. I only wish they delivered to Chapel Hill. read more

I drove by Shanghai restaurant the other day and decided to look it up on Yelp. Hubby and I came here on a dinner date and loved that there is a yummy Shanghainese restaurant conveniently located next to Kroger! Given that countless Yelp reviews mention the tofu stuffed with shrimp, we ordered it, as well as salt and pepper pork chop, and garlic eggplant. The tofu stuffed with shrimp was a dish I've never encountered before in other Chinese restaurants, and it was amazeballs. This is a dish that I'd love to figure out how to make, but it looks like it'd be really time consuming to bread/deep-fry a tofu, somehow keep the soft tofu inside intact, AND have juicy shrimp embedded inside. I'm definitely coming back here just for the shrimp-stuffed tofu! The salt and pepper pork chop wasn't as crispy as I imagined it would be, but still had plenty of peppery fried goodness. Garlic eggplant is always one of my favorite things to order at Chinese restaurants and I enjoyed that it was not too salty/saucy but just right. Our waiter was prompt/attentive and it looked like the restaurant has plenty of business because of their good food and comfortable well-decorated interior. read more

I need to give it a second try... I was on my way back from Richmond when I decided to grab some dinner to go. Chinese was the choice so I popped into Yelp for well-rated fare within easy striking distance of I-85. Bummed to see a 4 star rated restaurant listed as closed (Dragon Express), so I went with option 2... Shanghai. Also a well-rated restaurant and listed to have brown rice; which I dearly love to see as an option in oriental shops. I called in an order for General Tso and a spring roll w/brown rice. $15 was the toll... which I thought a bit high compared to what I normally pay in my hometown spots (around $10-12). The lady on the phone said 15 minutes which worked out exactly to the time I could get there from my location on 85. Easy to find and get in/out. Didn't really pay much attention to the tables or other interior design. Just wanted a grab-n-go. The smell conjured up the hunger growl from the stomach so I went for the, easy-to-hold, spring roll. Not bad, but certainly not in a true spring roll wrap. It had the blistered, fried exterior of a traditional egg roll but wrapped thinly and with little chunks of meat inside. Not a bad flavor... but not what I had ordered or craved. Got home and went in for the General Tso... large chunks of meat but with soggy breading, very light sauce and only about 1/2 dozen, very small, florets of broccoli. I was disappointed but hungry and too far away to really call them out on it. The brown rice was cooked well and not dry at all, so bonus points there, All in all, I give it a "meh". Not really a four star experience at all... read more

Our new favorite Chinese restaurant in Durham! To start, the ambiance is nice but not too upscale with thoughtful Chinese artwork throughout. Service begins with complimentary hot tea (!!), which I haven't seen in several years. My wife and I came for dinner and were pleased to see a dinner combo option that includes a soup, eggroll, and side of rice of your choice. The entrees we selected - sesame tofu and curry tofu - were also generously portioned and quite tasty. Finally, the price was lower than anticipated given the quality and size of our meals. We'll be sure to return soon! read more

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We get delivery from here all too often. Their dishes are delicious, fresh and of reasonable quality. I'd say it's above average Chinese take out for sure. Dishes we frequent are the general Tsos, moo shu and home style tofu. Give it a try! read more

I've been to Shanghai a handful of times. I am focusing my review on my most recent trip. First, the service at Shanghai was very good. The restaurant was fairly full when we went (on a Sunday night!), but we were seated promptly and immediately brought hot green tea and water. I do love their green tea, and I love that it is complimentary. Our server came by shortly thereafter and was very prompt and polite throughout the entire meal. Drink refills were very efficient. Now, on to the food. My partner and I both ordered the dinner combo. You get an entree, soup, and an appetizer (choose from two). I didn't see a price on the menu, but the whole thing came to about 20.00 for the two of us. Very reasonable. I ordered the wonton soup, and my partner the hot and sour soup. I thought the wonton soup was just fine. Nothing extraordinary, but I would be happy to eat it again. My partnert thought the hot and sour soup was just ok. I tasted it, and I would agree. The flavor couldhave been stronger. I ordered sweet and sour chicken with an egg roll for my main course. The egg roll was gigantic! Given that it was a special dinner combo, I assumed the egg roll would be tiny. It was nowehere near small. However, it was not that great. I had high hopes for it because it wasn't greasy, but it had no flavor at all on the inside. A complete let down. The sweet and sour chicken was excellent. They brought the sour on the side which I prefer. I never finish my meal, and I like that I can take the chicken and the sauce home in separate containers. My chicken doesn't get soggy this way. I also got a side of steamed rice which was fine. I found the portion sizes to be great. Keep in mind though that I think most restaurants could scale down their portion sizes. I really appreciated not getting a mountain of rice or a ton of chicken. I got one serving of rice and what amounts to two servings of chicken for me. I was pleased with the quanitity. I absolutely suggest you give Shanghai a try if you have not. read more

Shanghai - Sweet & Sour Chicken, egg roll, steamed rice, and sweet and sour sauce - Cantonese Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Quality has greatly declined over the years, and prices continue to go up. Last night I ordered takeout through Grub Hub, bc Shanghai is one of the only places open past 8 on a Sunday in Durham. The "fried rice" was NOT, in fact, fried rice. It seemed to be jasmine rice with soy sauce dumped on it. The tofu was okay. I ordered a coke, which I did not get- though that may be the fault of grub hub, I reckon; whoever was working front desk should have confirmed with delivery driver all items were accounted for. When I've gotten any broccoli or vegetable dish here lately, the broccoli is VERY light, I'm talking 4-5 pieces if I'm lucky. After being a loyal customer for many years I'll not be returning after this. $25 for some old hard rice and a bowl of tofu is too much for my bank account. Chinese takeout in Durham is pretty dismal lately, bummer. read more

Good solid Chinese food- got shrimp tofu hot pot, dried fried green beans, hot spiced eggplant and salt and pepper pork chop... generous portion, and all were delicious... We will definitely return soon. read more

A surprising find very good , service was excellent, lovely restaurant. We will be back prices are good.

The restaurant from the curb has no appeal, but the inside has that TV look of Shanghai (I've never been there to know for sure). The whole ambiance was good. The service was very professional. I ordered the Cumin Lamb, with fried rice (which only comes with eggs in it but is at least brown without tasting very fried), also some fried wonton noodles, and a vegetable egg roll (the egg roll, must have lost some weight because it looked more like a spring roll to me); however, it was tasteful. The Cumin Lamb was awesome and spicy! I'd definitely order that again one day. My party ordered a fried squid dish, that was ok, says they would only get it again if they were eating in the restaurant. Each dish (not egg rolls) were healthy portions of meat and vegetables. We also ordered some fried chicken (just in case...), that was fried to perfection, and tasty. Overall, I'd recommend this place to be on your list of places to go. read more

Shanghai is my go to Chinese restaurant when in the area. Their signature dish - Shrimp stuffed Tofu Hot Pot is a dish we always ordered and enjoyed. One of the other favorite dishes is Salt and Pepper Pork Chop. Creamy Vegetable Beef Soup is also our favorite starter. Their Eggplant and String Bean are also great dishes to enjoy and balance out your meal. You have plenty to choose from at Shanghai restaurant although its style of Chinese cooking is more concentrated on Cantonese cuisine, not Shanghainese style cooking. read more

Poor service .Food is average,the people work there is really not good attitude.They like to rush you and no patient.

My sister ordered some Chinese from here a while ago when her usual spot was closed and when I had a sample, I was hooked! It tasted great so I had to get some for myself. It's quite a drive, but I was willing to make it. We ordered over the phone and had a lot of difficulty specifying that we wanted one lo mein without vegetables and one lo mein with vegetables. I think we went back and forth for five minutes, the language barrier didn't help lol. But when we arrived the lights were completely out at the restaurant. It was dark as night and the place honestly looked closed. We were confused because we had just called so I called again and someone answered and they said they were open but that they just turned the lights out...okay, a little weird. But when we got our food they gave us two lo meins no veggies when we only asked for one...like ten times. But oh well, the food was still hot and pretty tasty if you look past all of the other issues with service and the building looking closed. read more

With my family coming to town we made reservations for 13. When we arrived (on time) our reservation had been given away to another group who had no reservations. The hostess tried to blame it on us for not getting there earlier. We left and enjoyed an excellent dinner at Kurama's. Shanghai lost a longtime customer tonight. read more

After checking all the local Chinese places reviews I stumbled upon this place. We were tired from travel just settling into our hotel and didn't want oily burnt Chinese. We decided to order in person. The lady who I presume was an owner was extremely nice and helpful, and even helped us order gluten free for one of the dishes. Had your local family restaurant feel. Would def visit again when back in the area. read more

Terrific chinese food, checkout was a bit odd. My wife and I recently ordered food from Shanghai, and had a very good experience with some minor hiccups when picking up the food. We had heard good word-of-mouth from other Yelp Elite members and wanted to give another Chinese food place a try outside of our typical ones.  The hiccups came when trying to place an order over the phone. Finding the correct number to call was actually kind of hard. One number wasn't working while another one we found on a different webpage did work. I'm guessing they were just getting a high call volume since it was Sunday night and very busy. The other issue was picking up the food. After we had called and placed an order and paid the cashier over the phone,  she said she'd give my number a call when the food was ready for pick up. I drove over and she gave my phone a call and said the food was ready and to come and pick it up. She said there was a line at the door but to walk in and go ahead of the line since the food was ready. Once I walked up there was a line and everyone said the same thing. It was very confusing. After watching some people cut the line and walk out instantly with their food I did the same thing and it wasn't a problem after that besides getting fussed at by someone for cutting the line it was a pretty easy experience. The food was very good. We ordered a slew of things. Hot & Sour soup, Egg Drop soup, beef lo mein, Salt & Pepper shrimp and Mongolian Beef. All of these dishes were incredibly good and the portions were sizable. I'd recommend these to anyone and easily get these again.  Overall it was a good experience at Shanghai. This place has been here forever and have adapted their business to deal with the current COVID situation in a very smart way even if it can be a bit confusing for some people. If you're looking for some tasty chinese food in this part of Durham look no further. read more

I love the mayonnaise shrimp. I didn't expect to. Now I have ordered it three times in the last year. Prepandemic I liked the inside booths and the overall vibe of the place. read more

The sweet and hour soup was pretty good with a little bit of red pepper flakes. I ordered beef and shrimp Mongolian style. Not many veggies ever come with this besides onions and green onions. I enjoyed the complimentary hot tea. My meal was about $12. Any restaurant with brown rice gets bonus points from me but I do have a major complaint. My meal was too oily. The spring roll was way oilier than my aunt's pork egg roll. Usually spring rolls aren't obviously greasy but i had enough to oil my hands. I was surprised to see Shrimp inside. The duck sauce didn't have the sweet taste I was looking for (pineapple/apple sauce mix). The staff was very attentive and eager to provide great service. read more

My boyfriend recommended this place after he came here once to eat Shrimp with Lobster Sauce and dumplings. We got the Shrimp with Eggs, Dumplings, and Spicy Chicken Wings, and it was all REALZ GOOD. Shrimp with Eggs were super tasty and tasted delicious with our breakfast the next morning, dumplings were super meaty (we got the pork kind) and pan-fried made the dumpling wrapper SUPER YUMZ, and the dumpling sauce was like a sweet soy sauce that went really well with the dumplings. Spicy Chicken Wings came with a liquidy buffalo sauce, but I need to highlight how tender they were. Like, wow. The meat slid right off the bone but there was still some crispiness to the skin of the wings. Sauce was just spicy enough and I even poured some on the eggs because it was so good. Service was great. Restrooms were clean. They don't have bubble tea and they don't allow outside drinks, so that was a bummer but it's okay they offer hot tea. Water tasted good, too. Ice cubes were on point. read more

Always love this place, have been going for decades and the food is always consistent. It taste fresh and not drenched in oil. The staff is so wonderful read more

The chef and many of the waiting staff are from Malaysia so I was hoping the food would be authentic but was disappointed. The service is EXCELLENT. And you can ask them not to add MSG, which is nice! Vegetarian dumplings - 2.5 stars On the bright side they didn't taste like they had MSG in them as they were rather bland, in a good way. Dumpling skin was thick. Wanton soup - 2.5 stars Decent. Shrimp-stuffed eggplant - 2 stars Eggplant was rather tasteless and the "shrimp" tasted artificial. Beef and scrambled egg - 3.5 stars Beef was rather tough. read more

We were looking for our new favorite Chinese take-out. We found it! We ordered chicken wings, shrimp chow-fun, chicken chow mein, and hot and sour soup. It was all so plentiful, we'll have another meal for two. Everything was fresh and delicious. Shrimp were huge, numerous, and cooked just right. Chicken was tender and generous. 8 HUGE chicken wings. The soup was full of all the good stuff. We can't wait to try more of the menu. read more

Their orange chicken is a fave for me. And recently, I ordered takeout through an online service, and they were extremely organized and efficient at pickup. read more

Yum! Very very good food! I just pick random entrees off the menu at this point because everything is awesome! I always order hot and sour soup from a place I haven't tried before. It's kind of my benchmark test; if they get it right, then they will likely get everything else right. They nail it every single time. Delivery drivers are awesome, too! read more

we love going here for our tuesday dinner with our grandpa! we're familiar with the owners as well & the service never complains or fails! the food is great i totally recommend the pork chop & tofu (though we got it without stuffed shrimp) they were so kind abt that too! the atmosphere is pretty good though the only downside i've had sitting in the booths are how you can feel the people behind you & it just disrupts your eating overall but there's nothing that can be done unless you sit at a table! the dishes come out in a timely manner & the portions are very generous! love coming here & it won't be the last! read more

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Delicious food, large portions, and friendly attentive employees. I visited this establishment with a friend by her recommendation. We had a great time and the food was very good. We ordered curry tofu and tofu with mixed vegetables. We each had to take some home since the portions were large, however, I do recommend that they provide more rice with the dishes. We quickly ran out of rice and still had a lot of tofu, vegetables, and sauce left. Overall the food was flavorful and we really like how they provide tea upon being seated. read more

Shanghai serves distinct dishes.. not just sweat and salty style typical american chineses.. My favorites are salt and pepper pork chop and orange beef.. Their hot and sour soup is very good appetizer.. We always order those three for dinner.. Their shrimp stuffed tofu hot pot is very good as well.. Their lunch special is very good price ~ $7.. For lunch, I usually order New Tze chicken or Hunan beef with the soup.. lots of vegetable and good flavor.. read more

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My family has been coming here since the 1980s, and when my wife and I moved back to Durham 3 years ago we became regulars again. We love the food and the service. The owners and their staff couldn't be nicer. If you're in the market for American-Chinese cuisine, the orange chicken, tangy spicy chicken and new tze chicken are great. Very fresh ingredients and a judicious hand with sauces and spices. Their authentic dishes are also delicious. They offer efficient delivery, and their dining room is also spacious and comfortable. I've taken my parents there for birthday dinners. read more