Shanghai - Chinese - Durham, NC

Due to the unfortunate closing of Mama Wok in Cary, we have begun yet another search for a truly good Chinese restaurant. Shanghai is out of the way for takeout if you live in Cary, but if you are in the Durham area it is definitely worth the trip.

I have to admit I had low expectations since every other Chinese place we've tried with high hopes turned out to be disappointing or just average.

Shanghai is a real, sit-down Chinese restaurant, the kind that gives you hot tea free (not common in NC in my experience). It's very close to the Chinese restaurants I remember from the MD/DC area and not just a hole in the wall with pictures of food on the wall behind the register with 2 tables to sit at if you decide to eat there.

We only tried 2 dishes - the Szechuan Tofu and the Curry Tofu, but both were very good. We also had the vegetable egg rolls (not spring rolls, egg rolls - it's so hard to find veggie ones in restaurants so I was excited) and the vegetable dumplings. The dumplings were the only in NC that I've tried so far that were anywhere close to the ones I had in the DC area. The dough is fresh and you can tell the dumplings do not come frozen from a bag. Again, I was very excited.

We will definitely be back to Shanghai restaurant to try more vegetarian dishes. They have a good selection on the menu, and even some included in the daily specials.
They even have lettuce wraps with a tofu option, so now there is another option besides PF Chang's if you want to try it somewhere else.

I only wish they were closer to Cary so that they could become our new takeout place, because I know they would.

http://shanghai.ypguides.net/page/o4ce/Select_Vegetable_Tofu_Dishes.html