Shanghai2Taipei is a Chinese restaurant in central Queenstown, tucked upstairs in The Mall above the Lululemon store at 34B Ballarat Street — a short climb from the bustle to what the team calls 'a hidden den of enjoyment'. The idea behind the menu is Shanghai meets Taipei: the two cities, they say, where all styles of Chinese cuisine mingled in the best way, so the kitchen roams across yum cha favourites, Sichuan wok dishes and Taiwanese comfort plates under one roof.
The menu leans hard on New Zealand produce. Coromandel Peninsula scallop sashimi, Marlborough Sound and Bluff oysters, wild-caught scampi, Milford Sound crayfish and paua share the page with local venison — dry-fried hot and spicy, or tossed with ginger and spring onion. Dim sum runs from xiao long bao and prawn dumplings to sticky rice siu mai, while hot pot gets its own chapter: individual pots or a communal split pot with S2T dipping sauce, a 'sudoku' tray of nine seafood and side nibbles, or full set feasts built around NZ lamb, beef rump and wagyu.
Google reviewers rate the experience 'Excellent' across 76 reviews, praising fresh, high-quality ingredients, quick and attentive service, generous portions and prices that feel fair by Queenstown standards. There's a surprisingly deep drinks list — Central Otago pinot noir, champagne, sake, single malts and local Canyon Brewing beer on tap — plus desserts like molten quicksand buns and sticky rice cake with brown sugar syrup. The team welcomes bookings and functions.
Queenstown's Ballarat Street hums with visitors all day, but few think to look up. Above the Lululemon store in The Mall, a short flight of stairs leads to Shanghai2Taipei — a warm dining room the restaurant itself calls 'a hidden den of enjoyment'. It bills itself as Queenstown's newest Chinese restaurant experience, built around one inviting idea: Shanghai and Taipei are the two cities where every style of Chinese cuisine mingled in the best way, so the menu sets out to mix the best tastes of both.
The name says it plainly — Shanghai 2 Taipei. In practice that means a menu that roams freely: Shanghai pork dumplings and spring onion oil noodles sit alongside Taiwanese braised pork on rice, Sichuan classics and Cantonese dim sum. Reviewers often mention the genuinely friendly, attentive service, and more than one has called it a lovely family-run restaurant. It's the kind of place where the kitchen clearly takes its time — 'you can tell the kitchen puts a lot of work into making each dish', as one Google reviewer put it.
The yum cha side of the menu covers the familiar favourites — prawn dumplings, Shanghai pork dumplings, sticky rice siu mai, prawn siu mai and BBQ pork buns — alongside crisp appetisers like prawn twisters, deep fried squid and vegetarian spring rolls and wonton. Then there's the seafood, which leans hard on New Zealand's own waters: Coromandel Peninsula scallop sashimi, fresh salmon, wild-caught scampi, Marlborough Sound and Bluff oysters, and live crayfish and paua that can be served as sashimi or cooked several ways — ginger and spring onion, spice and garlic, salt and pepper, steamed, or as a crayfish rice soup.
On land, the dry-fried venison is the local game standout, appearing alongside kung pao chicken, twice-cooked pork, wagyu beef with black pepper sauce and Mongolian lamb with cumin. Vegetarians are looked after too, with mapo tofu, mixed vegetable stir-fries and a full run of tofu, mushroom and vegetable plates for the hot pot.
Hot pot is the other headline act. Sets include the Shanghai Feast — a 'sudoku' tray of mussels, pineapple squid, fish, NZ clams, chikuwa, vermicelli, wood ear, lotus root and crab stick, plus plates of NZ lamb and beef rump — the NZ Freshness set, which adds scampi and scallop sashimi along with wagyu oyster blade, and the Wagyu Set pairing New Zealand wagyu with Japan A5 wagyu. Prefer to build your own? Individual pots or a communal split pot come with S2T dipping sauce, then you choose from sliced lamb leg, beef ribeye, venison, pork belly and a full seafood and veggie larder. One reviewer reckons a shared hot pot comfortably feeds four.
Dessert is worth saving room for: sticky rice cake with brown sugar syrup, molten 'quicksand' buns with salted egg yolk custard, or the playful Creamy Bear Bath — double chocolate ice cream, sweet tea syrup and milk ice. The drinks list runs surprisingly deep, with champagne and sparkling, Cloudy Bay and Gibbston Valley wines including several pinot noirs, local Canyon Brewing beer on tap, sake, and a spirits list that stretches from Yamazaki 12 to Peddler's Shanghai Gin.
Google reviews currently sit at 'Excellent' across 76 ratings, and the themes repeat: fresh, high-quality ingredients, quick and attentive service, generous portions and prices that feel reasonable by Queenstown standards — 'quite affordable compared to all the other places in Queenstown', one guest noted. Diners single out the tender venison stir fry, the seafood and tofu hot pot, and scallops and sui mai among the highlights. There's no separate kids' menu, but reviewers say the Taiwan braised pork with rice is the perfect size for a child.
You'll find Shanghai2Taipei at 34B Ballarat Street, upstairs in The Mall — look for Lululemon and head up. Dinner is served nightly from 5pm; from Thursday to Sunday there's also a lunch sitting from 12pm to 2pm, ideal for yum cha. Book by phone or email, or through the booking form on the website — set menus are for a minimum of two people, and some delicacies, like the sea cucumber braised in paua sauce, need pre-ordering. The restaurant also takes functions.