Best Chinese food I have eaten. Really, the only Chinese food I have had, except for once when I was in San Francisco's Chinatown. I say this because, as most of us know, real Chinese food is not the norm in the U.S. Ain't nothing like the real thing and, by far, Chinese restaurants here are nothing like the real thing. That's too bad. It's too bad that you have to be something of a "foodie", to jump through hoops to get what is probably everyday fare in Shanghai. But whatever the reasons for the lack in this country, I think it's worth the bit of extra effort and expense, if only once, to actually taste real Chinese food. Admittedly I'm going out on a limb here, because I have never been to China. But Jeff's product is good. I would bet it's as real as it gets anywhere near these parts.
Apparently Jeff's Kitchen survives on word of mouth alone to get customers. The only way I have found to get info on Jeff's Kitchen is Yelp. He has no website, no take-out, no hours posted on his storefront. You can't just walk in and get a table. You must call in a reservation with your order. These are the unique "hoops" aforementioned. It doesn't appear that Jeff is interested in attracting masses of people. My assumption is that he has a passion and the means to pursue honest-to-goodness Shanghai cooking - for friends, expatriates, and those few others who are interested enough to investigate. In writing this review I found myself correcting "this place" and "they" to "Jeff's Kitchen" and "Jeff", because this really is Jeff's kitchen - not a restaurant in the usual sense.
Around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon I called to make a reservation for two at 7pm. The lady who answered (I think his wife) said that only 4:30pm, or later than 8:30pm were available, so I opted for 4:30. She wasn't confident enough with English to negotiate a substitution for an unavailable (out of season) menu item, so she said Jeff would call later to complete the order. He did, and I ordered four items from the pictures of the menu on Yelp. I was very interested to try soup dumplings, which I had only seen on a television show where a traveling American cook is eating the things in Shanghai.
We arrived to an empty room. Jeff seated us, and served some lovely (oolong?) tea. My only complaint is that the teapot wasn't refreshed during the meal. Perhaps I could have done this myself - not sure of the etiquette here. Only two other tables were seated while we ate. Jeff was not exactly overflowing with welcoming delight at our presence; he was rather businesslike. That's fine. He served the first dish and his wife served the rest. They both asked how it tasted. (Yes, tasted great). Jeff asked how we found out about his place. Answer: Yelp. He acknowledged this matter-of-factly.
We got:
Soup Dumplings: Six in a bamboo steamer. Jeff instructed us on how to eat them (to avoid getting scalded by the broth inside). Delicious, with a sophisticated flavor I can't describe. I'd be happy to just eat a pile of these and nothing else.
Shanghai Green Beans: Fresh string beans cut up small with bits of pork and little, very hot red peppers. Great.
Szechuan Chicken With Peanuts: Diced chicken, peanuts, and many of the little peppers, which seemed more charred and less spicy than those in the green bean dish. Peanuts were crunchy and fresh tasting. Very nice.
Grandma's Pork: Chunks of pork belly tasting of five spice powder, with the unctuous melt-in-your-mouth layers of fat I was hoping for. Served on a bed baby bok choys which were also delicious. Delicious.
$60 for two before tip, and I will do it again, someday. I hope Jeff hangs around Walled Lake, which is comparatively a food lover's desert, for awhile. read more