Popular Chinatown dumpling spot to open new southwest Las Vegas location
Get ready to slurp, southwest Las Vegas. ShangHai Taste is opening Saturday.
The Chinatown staple — known for its xiaolongbao dumplings that people nibble the tops from to slurp out hot, savory broth — is debuting its second shop, this time on South Rainbow Boulevard near Windmill Lane.
“I love the southwest. I never spent much time here, and now I’m spending a lot of time here,” said Joe Muscaglione, who owns ShangHai Taste with chef Jimmy Li, a 2023 James Beard Award nominee. “People were coming in from all over the area, ‘Please open in the southwest,’ and so we did.”
Besides significant customer interest, ShangHai Taste is expanding because of tight quarters in Chinatown, an even tighter kitchen and the fact that the dumplings are best hot and slurpable right from the steamer. Xiaolongbao don’t travel well, and delivery apps sometimes won’t travel to the far southwest.
New dishes; a 3rd shop
In November, work began on the restaurant, which encompasses 2,400 square feet (a 50 percent increase from Chinatown) and 48 seats (up more than 30 percent).
The Chinatown menu will be offered in the southwest, plus three new dishes. Tofu noodles and shrimp bathe in coconut milk, a sort of laksa meets curry (the dish is popular in Shanghai). Eight treasure noodles convene, among other things, shrimp, chicken and edamame. Shrimp are wok-fried in hot chili oil, rendering the skins crisp like lacy chips; eat the dish with skins on.
The ShangHai taste in the Dallas area has had construction delays, Muscaglione said, but he’s hoping to open on July 8, for good luck. Another shop is in the works for Boca Park.
On Saturday at the grand opening, there will be a ribbon-cutting, a dragon dance, local worthies speaking and, of course, much slurping. The restaurant is at 8060 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 130. Visit @shanghai_taste on Instagram.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
