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| - There is another special LJ in Cleveland that is making a name in the city: LJ Shanghai.
A newer restaurant in the Cleveland area, LJ Shanghai offers a unique flavor away from other options in the area which tend to be greasier in nature. With delicious noodle soups and their famous soup dumplings, LJ Shanghai provides a level of comfort food that cannot be found elsewhere. Finally, a place to have my fill of noodle soup.
LJ Shanghai might not meet the standards of west coast soup dumplings, but I knew that there was something special here when I left the restaurant feeling satisfied, even after having had my share of soup dumplings in Flushing, NY. Their skin is on the thicker side, leading me to wonder if they make their own skin, and one area which slightly missed the mark was the broth of the soup, which did not have the usual heavier flavors, but overall, they were delicious, soupy, and remarkably affordable.
For tips on eating soup dumplings:
- Use your chopsticks to bring the dumpling to your soup spoon (careful not to break the skin)
- The broth is HOT so be careful not to burn yourself- poking a hole in the skin can help let some steam out
- While not mandatory, the dumpling tastes better in one bite :)
- You are doing yourself a disfavor by not eating the soup dumplings right away or taking this dish to go
The restaurant's broth may not be up to the standard level of spice that people familiar with the traditional tastes may be used to, but its lower level of spicy helps make their dishes tolerable for most customers. That is not to say that the broth itself lacks flavor- by all means, a lower spice level arguably means that the other flavors itself need to make up the difference, and the broths we've had, coupled with the delicious garnish of pickles and cilantro, definitely do.
So far, we've had the shredded pork with pickle noodle soup and the beef noodle soup. The noodles are a good chew and my mouth is watering thinking about the unique tastes of both of the broths. Unfortunately, the wonton soup we had on our first visit was overly salted, but will give it another go in a future trip; the wontons themselves were good and seemed to be hand prepared.
LJ Shanghai is up and coming- they are trying to hire more hands because people are realizing what a gem this place is so that service will be able to handle the demand of customers. I usually go up to the cash register to pay for my meal at the end, though I'm not certain if that is the standard expectation ($10 minimum for credit cards). The restaurant is no frills- great eats, good service, dedicated staff, and amazing prices, without the trendy, hip vibe other restaurants may go for.
Overall, the winter season and the city of Cleveland just got way better with the introduction of a fresh, new LJ on the block ready to make a statement.
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