Eight pan fried dumplings on a foil plate with dipping sauce cups and wrapped chopsticks

TJ's Shanghai Dumplings: the best wonton soup and the worst door

TJ's Shanghai Dumplings · Chinese · $ · Madison Heights, MI

Visited June 23, 2026 · Posted September 14, 2026

Chinese food isn’t usually my thing. Then Jesus V and I went to TJ’s Shanghai Dumplings and I had the best wonton soup of my life.

TJ’s is a carryout on John R in Madison Heights. There’s a framed certificate on the wall from Yelp naming it one of the Top 100 Chinese restaurants in the country. The whole place is about the size of a living room.

The order counter at TJ's with a laminated menu, register, and People Love Us on Yelp stickers — Ten items on the menu, nothing over thirteen dollars

Framed Yelp certificate reading Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the U.S. granted to TJ's Shanghai Dumplings, dated December 2024 — On the wall by the register

The food

Everything came out at once. I went straight for the dumplings. You pick shrimp, chicken, pork or veg. I wanted the shrimp, they were out that day, so pork it was. Eight of them, pan fried, with soy sauce to dip. Great crunch, and the texture was right.

Jesus got the green onion pancake and that was the other winner. Flaky and layered. It came with crisp cucumber spears.

Then the wonton soup. Best wonton soup I’ve ever had. Not the best around here, the best I’ve had. Real quality, and it tastes homemade.

Both of our lunch combos came with a fried side. I picked the cheese rangoon and Jesus picked the fried wonton. His was better. I’m not a big rangoon guy to begin with.

I took the TJ’s Chow Mein home and ate it that night. It was my least favorite thing by a mile.

Two pieces of flaky green onion pancake on a foil plate with fresh cucumber spears — The green onion pancake, with cucumber

A lidded quart container of wonton soup with pale wontons visible in dark broth — Best wonton soup I've had, in a to-go quart

Two golden cheese rangoon with sauce cups on a black tray — My cheese rangoon. Jesus picked better.

A plate of shrimp chow mein with green pepper, onion and carrot in a red sauce — The chow mein, at home that night

The vibe

It’s tiny. A counter where you order, an open kitchen right behind it, and a raised bar along the side with about four seats. That’s the restaurant. Laminated photos of the food are pinned up on the counter wall and there’s a lucky cat by the register.

Even eating in, it all comes in carryout packaging. Foil plates, a plastic soup container, a wrapped fork. The menu says carry out only and no delivery, so I think the four seats are a bonus rather than the plan.

Wheels-eye view

This was the least accessible place I’ve been to. Maybe ever.

Start with John R, which was torn up with construction the day we went. Getting to the other side of the road was a project on its own. Parking is very limited once you’re there.

The front door was propped open, but only halfway, and something was blocking it from opening any further. My chair barely made it through.

Once I was inside there’s nowhere to sit at a normal height. It’s the raised bar or nothing, so eating was awkward the whole time. I managed. There’s no public restroom either.

If you use a chair and you want TJ’s, call ahead and send someone in for the bag.

The verdict

The food is genuinely great, and the wonton soup by itself is worth the drive. The problem is the drive.

I’d go back. I’d get the soup and the dumplings and skip the rest. But I’d think hard about that door first.

Three wheels.