| Shanghai-style dishes and dumplings at this well appointed restaurant. |
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 5/4/2006
Rating: 8.5
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This was the only Cupertino restaurant on our wishlist and being that I work so close, I felt it my duty to take it down. So Agent Eddie and I headed over there. The place was not very packed yet, as we arrived just as they opened. We got a table quickly and looked at the menu. We settled on the Crab dumplings, Veggie dumplings, and an order of the vegetables and rice cake.
The food arrived fairly quickly. And still, by the time we received our food, the place as packed. And a line was forming outside. Wow!
The crab dumplings arrived first and were not bad. The crab was not the best, but was OK. It also had butter in it that seeped out. As expected, it was super scalding hot. Dipped in the soy sauce supplied, it was quite delicious. Didn't over-impress me though (I still had no idea why this place was so popular).
Then I tried the veggie dumplings. Wow, these things are incredible. Enough flavor (more so than the crab I think) and were quite tasty. The veggies really were noticeable in the flavor mix. And of course were scalding hot as well.
I finished off some of the veggie rice cake plate. This was also a winner. Though it wasn't on the menu - Eddie asked for this specifically from the waitress. Tasty stuff!
While I was not impressed with the crab, the veggie has me sold, and the rice cakes a pleasant surprise. I will return for those dishes alone. Service was fast and courteous. Lines were long, so arrive when they open at 11:30 and don't show up on a tuesday as they are closed.
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Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 5/11/2006
Rating: 7.5
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The first time we stopped by for lunch this place was packed. Word on the street was that this place served excellent Shanghai steamed dumplings. It is hard to find good Shanghai dumplings in the south bay. This place was so popular for lunch that there was a 45 minutes wait. We decided to skip it that day and come back some other day to try it out.
Next time we dropped by around 5pm for dinner and discovered the place does not open until 5:30pm for dinner. When the place finally opened, they started to hand out seating numbers knowing that there will eventually be a line of people waiting out the door for a seat. We requested a table for four and was seated, served hot tea, and given the menu. Minutes later the place filled up. I was told that the only thing decent to get at this restaurant were the steamed dumplings as everything else was served on a small al la cart style dish but charged as a full price dish.
We decided on the regular version of the dumplings, the crabmeat version and the veggies version. Tracking down a waiter took some time as several tables were making orders for the same items. Actually is rare to see a table without the steamed dumplings as this is what they are known for. A few minutes later, we found someone to take our order. The waiter asked if that would be enough for four people and suggested we get the spinach steamed rice with our meal as well. We took his suggestion.
After several minutes, more like 10 minutes, our first order arrived. There were eight dumplings were steam tray. The dumplings were on parchment paper but surprisingly they did not stick to the paper. WOW, these suckers are burning hot. They were perfect, as the skin was thin, yet there were plenty of fatty juices at the bottom and the pork was flavorful. The crabmeat version was good as well but surprisingly the veggie version was flavorful and equally good compared to the meat version.
Finally, the rice arrived last. As mentioned before, these dishes are charged full price starting at 7.95 per order but served in tiny serving bowls much like the portion sizes of ala cart style plates. There was not much food for four people. The dumplings ranged from 7.95 to 9.95 per order. Each person ate six dumplings and a small portion of the rice. The total meal ended up being about $12 per person, yet every one of us was still hungry and actually went our for a second meal to fill us up.
I would not recommend anyone to come here for a full meal and expecting to be full. If you are a light eater, stop by for a light meal. If you are a heavy eater, do not expect to be full. Either way your wallet will take a hit, but definitely these Shanghai steamed dumplings are legit and should not be missed. Do not take the dumplings to go. When these suckers get cold, the juice evaporates back into the meat.
Pluses: Authentic Shanghai steamed dumplings. Variety of filling choices in dumplings.
Minuses: Expensive, small portions, crowded, longer waits.
Would come back if someone else was paying!
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Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 148
Reviewed: 12/17/2007
Rating: 7.5
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Ended up here late this past Saturday night. We were attended to immediately, but there was a 5 minute wait. After we got out of the freezing draft we were immediately brought menu's and hot tea.
We settled on the beef dumplings, veggie dumplings, tofu with winter peas, and a small seafood clay pot.
The claypot came out first and the broth was tasty, but had a strong hint of bacon. upon further inspection there was bacon in the soup, along with baby corn, bamboo shoots, white fish, shrimp, sea cucumber, etc. Overall, I think I could have made this at home, the seafood flavors were not in the front, it was heavy on napa cabbage, then ended with bacon.
The beef dumplings didn't strike me as fantastic either. I thought the dough/wrappers were fantastic...thin enough to be delicate, but elastic and firm enough to stretch and hold in the liquids. The dip they serve was heavy on the seaseme oil, but the veggie dumplings - these were FANTASTIC, both of us agreed that these were delicious. It had textue, flavor, consistency, and appeal. definitely order these.
By the time the tofu and winter peas arrived we were both pretty full. This was a classic dish - soft tofu cooked with mustard greens and winter peas. went well with rice.
~$40 for 2
a bit on the expensive side, for mediocre food. bonus points for service and presentation.
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