You hole out on eighteen at Richland a little before noon. The clubhouse has cold beer and a decent burger. The drive home runs east toward the DC corridor anyway. So instead of eating at the turn, you wait. Forty minutes later you are sitting in front of a bamboo steamer in Rockville, lifting a soup dumpling by its pleated top, waiting for it to stop steaming so it does not scald you.
Shanghai Taste sits at 1121 Nelson St in the Woodley Gardens corner of Rockville. The Washington Post called it “The Virtuoso of Soup Dumplings.” Eater DC described it as delivering authentic flavors in a small, unpretentious setting. It is the kind of place golfers find once and then build a detour around.
How Far Is Shanghai Taste From Richland Golf Club?
Richland Golf Club to Shanghai Taste is roughly 30 miles. Take US-40 Alt east to I-70 East, then merge onto I-270 South toward Washington and follow the signs toward Rockville Town Center. Door to door runs about 40 minutes when you leave Middletown around midday on a weekday.
That timing fits a morning round cleanly. Tee off early, finish by late morning, and you are pulling into Rockville before the lunch rush thins out. Shanghai Taste serves Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 9 PM, and is closed on Mondays — so plan the trip for any day but Monday, and you walk in inside service hours.
What Is Shanghainese Food, and How Is It Different?
Xiao long bao are Shanghai-style soup dumplings: a thin, hand-pleated wheat skin wrapped around seasoned pork and a spoonful of gelled broth that melts back into liquid as it steams. Shanghainese cooking favors balance — gentle sweetness, clean broth, soy and rice wine, and respect for texture over heat. That is the opposite of the chili-and-numbing-peppercorn Sichuan food you find a few miles north in Rockville. The soup dumpling is the signature of the style, and Shanghai Taste is the place the Washington Post singled out for it.
That matters after golf. Four hours on a course leaves you depleted but not wrecked, hungry for something with depth rather than punishment. Soup dumplings deliver protein, fat, and warm broth in one bite, without the heavy batter or grease that makes you want a nap before the drive home.
What Should Golfers Order at Shanghai Taste?
The menu runs broad, but golfers making the Rockville detour tend to circle the same few dishes.
| Dish | What it is | Why golfers order it |
|---|---|---|
| Xiao Long Bao | Soup dumplings — pork and broth in a thin skin | The signature; the Washington Post “Virtuoso” dish |
| Sheng Jian Bao | Pan-fried pork buns, crisp bottoms | Travels well for the takeout drive home |
| Beef Noodle Soup | Tender beef, wheat noodles, rich broth | A full-bowl refuel after 18 holes |
| Spicy Wontons | Wontons dressed in red chili oil | The one note of heat on the order |
Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings)
The dish that earned the restaurant its reputation. A thin, hand-pleated skin holds seasoned pork and a pool of broth that liquefies in the steamer. The move is to lift one carefully, rest it on a spoon, nick the skin to let the steam escape, then sip the broth before eating the rest with a little black vinegar and ginger. Order a steamer, let it cool for a minute, and you have the best three bites of your golf day.
Sheng Jian Bao (Pan-Fried Buns)
The crispier cousin of the soup dumpling. These pork buns are pan-fried so the bottoms go golden and chewy while the tops stay soft, and they still hold a hit of broth inside. They travel better than xiao long bao if you are tempted to get an order to go for the ride back to Middletown.
Beef Noodle Soup & Spicy Wontons
If you want a full bowl rather than a steamer, the beef noodle soup is the workhorse: tender beef, wheat noodles, and a broth built for refueling. The spicy wontons add the one note of chili heat on the order, dressed in red oil — enough to wake you up without the all-out Sichuan numbing burn.
The After-Round Calculation
You could eat at the clubhouse and be home by one o'clock. Or you could fold a great meal into a drive you were half-making anyway. The round ends, the car points southeast, and the reward is a steamer of dumplings that a national newspaper went out of its way to praise. The golf and the meal stop competing for the day and start belonging to the same one.
Expect to spend somewhere in the range of $10 to $20 a person. The room is small and unpretentious; it fills up, so an off-peak arrival straight from the course beats the dinner crowd. It is takeout-friendly too, which is the move when the afternoon has other plans.
Getting to Shanghai Taste from Richland
1121 Nelson St, Rockville, MD 20850, in the Woodley Gardens neighborhood. From Richland Golf Club, take US-40 Alt east to I-70 East toward Baltimore, merge onto I-270 South toward Washington, and follow signs toward Rockville Town Center; Nelson St is a short hop off the main Rockville corridor. Roughly 30 miles, about 40 minutes door to door from Middletown.
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 9 PM; closed Mondays. The dining room is compact, so peak hours get tight — arriving straight off a morning round usually means a short wait or none. Order pickup online at shanghaitastemd.com or call ahead at (301) 279-0806. Pickup keeps the dumplings hotter than delivery for the ride back toward Middletown.
Morning Round. Rockville Soup Dumplings. Home.
Book a morning tee time at Richland, finish before the lunch rush, and make the 40-minute detour to Shanghai Taste for the best xiao long bao in the corridor.