Shanghailander Palace

We ordered one of the pre fixe menus and while there were a lot of dishes and a wide variety of dishes, I felt that the flavor was mediocre for many of them. The green beans had msg but no salt. The crab was pretty good but it was only one crab for a party of 14 people. The dessert soup was also very bland. I understand that Shanghainese cuisine runs sweet but it was a lot of overly sweet dishes. I wouldn’t say anything was downright bad but it was definitely not worth the cost.

Food is delicious. Favorites include Shanghai Spare Ribs, Lion Head soup, lamb wraps, rice noodles, and dumplings. Food is brought out promptly, but service can improve. You need to ask for tea pot to be refilled. No one will come check and ask how your food is. But so far, food has always been consistent. If food is your priority, you won't be disappointed.

I'm by no means an expert on Shanghainese cuisine, or Chinese for that matter, but I have tried at least a few places. This is my favorite overall Chinese restaurant for a number of reasons but at the very least, a place I cant recommend enough. The food is top notch, in terms of quality, variety, portion and speed to prepare. Service is also good. The pic below is prob the best item, a lightly battered (w/ seaweed!) fried fish served with salt and pepper. A little vinegar puts it over the top. Other favorites are the eggplant with bonito flakes, bbq pork belly, and xiao long bao (soup pork dumplings) I'd argue are better than Din Tai Fung (or at least on par, cheaper and less waiting!