On Sunday evening, my family and I decided to order in dinner from Shanghai Town restaurant in West Davis; the menu is posted here. My mom and I ate there once many years ago and remembered it as being mediocre, but a family friend told us recently that the dishes were really good now, and we took that recommendation.
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| Shen jian bao |
We ordered thusly: Shanghai gluten (kao fu), Shanghai soy sauce duck, Shanghai-style ham and pork clay pot soup (yian dun xian), pan-fried buns (shen jian bao), broccoli in garlic sauce, Shanghai-style chow mein, Shanghai-style braised pork ribs (technically Wuxi-style), some sort of fish, and walnut prawns.
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| Wuxi-style pork ribs |
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| Whole fish |
The gluten, soy sauce duck, soup, and Wuxi pork ribs were excellent - all reasonably authentic (as judged by my mom and second cousin, both of whom grew up in Shanghai). I particularly liked the ribs, which were wonderfully tender. The pan-fried buns, chow mein, and fish weren't fantastic, but still good. Sadly, the broccoli in garlic sauce and walnut prawns were extremely disappointing; the former consisted of overcooked broccoli drowning in cloyingly sweet sauce, and the latter was doughy and heavy instead of delicately battered and fried.
The total was just over $70 - a great deal! We would happily order some of these dishes again; no other restaurant in Davis serves Shanghai specialties.
