Even though I love Shanghai Night, I really wasn't planning on going back so soon, afterall, so many restaurants, so little time. However, I have to go where my mother wants to go, and that's how I ended up back here again, this time for a family dinner.
Food
I wasn't unhappy about returning, there is so much new stuff to try, and my rule was to not eat anything I had last time.
As usual, the food arrived in a random order, first up was wonton and cucumber in chilli and peanut sauce - this dish has a very pretty Chinese name, that translates roughly into hands in a sea of red, a very famous dish in Shanghai. This one is not so "red" or spicy, but I love the peanut taste and the refreshing cucumber. Next up, mushroom and meat wonton was nice, but that's all there is to that dish, no sauce, no anything else. Last time I tried the pro Shanghai steam buns, so this time we had the crab and pork Shanghai steam bun - I think I prefer the plain pork, as this one is sweeter, but it's still good!. Shanghai fried new year cake was better than the XO sauce new year cake though, the wok-fried taste evident, and it wasn't too salty, even with the added pork. Elaine is a fan of sweet and sour soup, so we ordered one here to test it out. I think this is the worst dish of the night, the soup gluggy, and I can only taste a vinegarly flavour. At $9 to serve 3, you do get lots of ingredients for your buck. After a long long long wait, the famous pork fried dumplings arrived. Again, the ones we tried last time, with the crab and pork, was slightly better, but these are the 2nd most divine pan-pried dumplings I've tasted. Everyone else seem to agree, as the long wait was caused by every single other table ordering one. They are very generous, 10 plump dumplings with the bottom crisped just so, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top... hmmmm, they are definitely worth the wait.
We had room for dessert this time, but they ran out of the sesame glutinous rice balls, so we had papaya and sweet syrup soup - that's all I can describe it as. Not very generous with the papaya, but not too sweet and kinda refreshing. There's another wait for the fried red bean pancake - unfortunately these weren't really worth the wait. The pastry is kinda gluggy and the red bean was a let down. It didn't fill the whole pancake either so I was eating just pastry half the time.
Rating - 7.5
Atmosphere
Well, Sunday night seems busier than the Saturday night we were there, but it's probably because this time it wasn't pouring rain and that we were a bit earlier. We still managed to secure a table. This time we got a good view of what other people are eating and ordering, and I watched firstly, the couple next to me who managed to consume 5 dishes among themselves, and after they left, two middle-aged guys eat dessert first, followed by beer and then the pan-fried dumplings. I guess they have their priorities right!
Rating - 2
Service
Efficient and aloof. This time we managed to get a Mandarin speaker, who dad was conversing with. Still, better than most other Chinese places.
Rating - 3
C-factor
Well, he didn't pay this time, but for the amount and quality of food you get, this place will have me coming back time after time. Plus, this time we had side table entertainment.
Rating - 1
Brownie Points - 13.5
Info
275 Liverpool Road
Ashfield
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9798 8437
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