LaoWu Authentic ShangHai Dumpling — Restaurant in Edison

TLDR: Cramped restaurant, quick service, delicious & authentic food.

We (party of 2) arrived around noon on a Saturday. We lucked out in having a table readily available, but throughout our meal people who came in were made to wait for tables. Notably, nobody left while waiting, even when the line was out the door. Surely a testament to the delicious & authentic food.

We ordered the Shanghai Chicken in Wine Sauce, Pork Soup Dumplings (on the menu, stylized as "Pork Steam Juicy Buns"), Crab Meat & Pork Soup Dumplings (also stylized as "Steam Juicy Buns"), Shanghai Pan Fried Udon, and for dessert the Floral Eight Treasure Taro Pudding. Note: If unsure what to get, just use the overhead menu. Everything there is classic Shanghai fare.

The chicken in wine sauce came first, served cold as meant to be. The chicken was tender and soaked with the strong wine sauce. It was salty and aromatic. Delicious. The udon came next. The noodle texture was soft & slightly chewy. The sauce was savory and rich. It came with cabbage and sliced beef mixed in. It was very good. Then came the soup dumplings. We ate the crab meat one first, which turned out to be a mistake, as it was more flavorful than the plain pork ones. I would recommend eating them in the reverse order. Anyhow, the dumplings were soft and delicate. The soup inside was rich and plentiful. The filling was melt-in-your-mouth. Absolute must have. Finally, the dessert. The taro itself was not all too sweet, but when mixed with dried dates and other various sweet toppings, as well as sweet red bean paste inside, it made for a hearty and filling bite.

The service was fast and efficient. They wanted to clear tables as soon as possible for guests waiting, which I appreciated and understood.

The restaurant is rather unremarkable. The seating area was small and there were not too many tables due to the extensive kitchen taking up most of the shop space.

Overall I would highly recommend trying this joint out, even if there's a line. 10/10 authentic,...

This is a no-frills spot where the food is solid. The service is friendly, attentive, and efficient. While the seating can feel a bit tight in certain areas, it's generally easy to find a spot if you're coming in with one or two people. For larger parties, however, you may need to wait for a table. The staff is very good about clearing away dishes once you're finished. There are many delicious options, but since it was our first time here, we stuck with the basics.

Here’s what we ordered: ~ Crab Meat & Pork Steamed Juicy Buns (XLB): These dumplings were a great size. While the skin isn't paper-thin, it's still delicate enough to be careful with when picking it up with chopsticks. Be sure to have your spoon ready, as the soup inside might spill when you take your first bite. The soup had an amazing, aromatic fragrance, and the flavor was heavenly. These XLBs were done brilliantly. 5/5 stars. ~ Spicy Beef Tendon: Very flavorful with just the right amount of heat. 4/5 stars. ~ Rice Cake with Preserved Pickles & Shredded Pork: The pork was beautifully sliced and evenly cut. The balance between the preserved turnip and shredded pork was perfect—neither one overpowered the other. The rice cakes were soft with a nice chewy texture. 5/5 stars.

This place is a must-visit for a hearty and delicious meal. Surprisingly, they also offer sweet dim sum items, which I consider desserts. Some examples include Shanghai Eight Treasure Rice Pudding, Shanghai Rice Balls in Sweet Rice Wine, and Floral Eight Treasure...

I almost don't want to reveal how good this place is. It's tiny, there's always a lunch rush, and the one or two waiters here are always visibly hustling. Hands down the best xiao long bao (soup dumplings) in the area. Dumpling skins are a perfect thickness and there's so much flavorful broth in the dumplings without being overly salty. No porky taste at all. Even their crab & pork soup dumplings are delicious and I don't usually care for the crab ones.

Other hits: -Preserved egg w/ tofu -Chicken in wine sauce (would go better with rice imo) -Spicy minced pork noodle soup -Pickled cabbage fish filet soup -Lion's head noodle soup (the lion's head meatball is huuuge) -Shanghai pan fried noodle

Not bad: -Beef scallion pancake wrap: the scallion pancake is deep fried and really puffy/heavy if you're into that -Pan fried pork buns: really filling, I could probably make a meal out of two of these -Pan fried pork dumplings: bigger than I expected! Also pretty filling. I would guess it uses the same pork filling as the pan fried buns -Rice pudding and taro pudding: not actual pudding, imagine the consistency of steamed mashed taro, densely packed. I enjoyed both of these puddings. They're on the sweeter side and would be better shared.

Some misses: -Chive boxes -Turnip cakes: not what I expected, tastes alright but on the dry side -Cold noodles with sesame sauce: much too thick and heavy, could only stomach a few...