ShangHai Taste

ShangHai Taste is the "best spot for soup dumplings and craveable small plate Chinese," according to Bryan Bass, vice president of marketing at Carver Road Hospitality. Those signature soup dumplings -- or xiaolongbao -- are steamed with a flavorful broth that you can slurp out with the first bite. (Just be careful, it's very hot.) The filling is often pork, but can also be chicken, shrimp or angus beef. Chef Jimmy Li sometimes uses natural coloring like carrot, bok choy and squid ink in the dough to identify different types.

The soup dumplings are available in a crispy fried version (sheng jian) as well, but that's just the beginning of the menu, which features a wide variety of Shanghai-inspired street food. Try the bean noodles in curry or pork spare ribs you can suck off the bone. "I dream about the scallion chicken salad," adds Bass. ShangHai Taste is one of the most popular restaurants in Shanghai Plaza in the Las Vegas version of Chinatown west of the Strip. It's one of the relatively few plazas in the neighborhood with somewhat easy parking -- always a plus.