I'm always in the area, catching a movie or two at AMC, so I was thrilled to find this excellent spot for Shanghainese food back in March! I've since been back multiple times, and their food never lets me down. There's a good amount of seating, the staff is friendly and helpful while thankfully not overtly attentive, and it's also open shockingly late if Google is to be believed.
Crab meat pan fried soup dumplings - Their sheng jian bao is top notch. I get the crab version every time I'm here. They're so absurdly juicy and flavorful, with a perfectly crispy bottom. Be careful though, these are real squirters. On our first visit, my partner bit into one soon after they arrived at the table, and the soup burned his cheek. Pretty sure he's (mentally) scarred for life now. Proceed with patience and caution!
Garlic oil boiled shredded eel over noodles - Gotta pay $2 extra for the dry noodles mixed with sauce, but it's worth it. The sauce is delicious and perfectly coats these noodles (which I've already waxed poetic about). A really savory dish, and one of my favorite things here.
Beef stew noodle soup - A giant bowl filled with nice, chewy noodles and flavorful broth.
Sauteed crab meat over noodles - Alas, this inexplicably includes shrimp, which I can't eat. But I tried my partner's, and the crab stew is very tasty, with the same bouncy, quality noodles.
Shanghai style meatballs - The entree portion comes with three ginormous lion's head meatballs that are moist and super tender, with little crunchy bits of water chestnut mixed in, and a thick sauce with that signature five-spice flavor. It's one of the better iterations I've had. There's also some bok choy to lighten up the dish.
Shredded beef with hot peppers udon - Not really that spicy, but it's a reliable, comforting dish.
Shanghainese rice cakes with pork - The rice cakes are soft and chewy. I could've used a bit more sauce, but you can't go wrong with this dish.
Dan dan noodles - Pretty good, but my undisputed champion is still Han Dynasty's version, so I probably wouldn't reorder these when there are so many other things on the menu.
Sweet and sour flounder filet - My partner ordered this, and it's fine... exactly what you think it'd taste like. As with sweet and sour pork chops, this one's fried and not crunchy since it's smothered in sauce. Another one I'd skip in favor of their other menu items.
If you pay with cash, you can also try their sweet rainbow rice balls bisque or red bean rice cakes with mixed fruit for free! The soup was hot and comforting, kinda like an egg drop dessert soup, and the different rice balls had strawberry, peanut, and black sesame filling. I prefer this over the red bean rice cakes with mixed fruit, which is actually one big sweet rice mound with red beans, golden raisins, and a syrupy sweet sauce. But either way, both are good, and it's so nice of them to offer it. read more