No. 1 Shanghai

We met up with Ben and Suanne from Chow Times today at No. 1 Shanghai restaurant in Richmond. It was the first time meeting up with them and I really have to say I enjoyed the company. It's nice to have another blogger with a family that we can meet up with! Despite the fact I have been eating non-stop for the last little while, I was quite hungry. I woke up pretty late today and had not eaten since I slept at 3:00am after Congee Noodle House. With the pleasantries out of the way, we got down to ordering.

I guess we kind of ordered randomly and ended up with a whole lot of food. Well, no problem, just more to take pictures of and more to blog about! Although... I did have camera envy, Ben has a very nice Canon DSLR. I really must go out and get one soon! We ordered so much, I actually had to take notes. I was getting confused as to what we ordered and what some of the items were! So here is the list of what we ordered: Xiao Long Bao (2), Szchewan Beef Noodle, Tan Tan Noodles, Shanghai Thick Noodles in Soup, Fried Pork Chop with Rice Cake (Neen Goh), 8 Treasures Spicy Noodle Soup, Pickled Vegetable and Pork with Rice, and Sticky Rice with Flavours (the flavour was most sweet red bean).

The Xiao Long Bao were quite juicy and had lots of meat flavour. However, the skin was ever-so-slightly thicker than the ones from Shanghai River and Shanghai Wonderful. The Szchewan noodles were okay, but the soup was curiously sweet and a bit thin. The broth was not as rich and full of meat flavour such as the one at #1 Beef Noodle House. However, the beef and the tendon were quite soft and flavourful. The Tan Tan noodles were quite good. It was a good balance of chili oil, peanut sauce, vinegar, sweet and salty. The noodles themselves were not overcooked and had some elasticity to them. The Shanghai noodles in soup were very good. The soup base had depth and the noodles were not mushy. The cabbage was still firm and the meat was not too fatty.

However, the pork chop with neen goh (rice cake) was not so good. It sure looked impressive, with big slices of neen goh buried beneath large pieces of fried pork chop. But, since the neen goh was in such large pieces, it was very chewy and hard to eat. In addition, it was difficult for the flavours to penetrate the large pieces of neen goh. The pork chop itself had way too much batter. There was more batter than pork chop. The 8 treasures noodle soup was a curious one. It arrived with the 8 treasures on a separate plate from the noodles. We spent some time figuring out what that dish was until we noticed that one of the bowl of noodles was quite lonely without any toppings whatsoever. I thought the 8 treasures were very good and supplied plenty of flavour to the plain noodles.

The pickled vegetables and pork with rice didn't do much for me. I guess it was a bit bland for my tastes. It wasn't bad, but it really lacked flavour. The sticky rice was an interesting dish. It arrived with a sweet glaze on top and was filled with sweet red bean, lotus root and gay jee (it's a red seed). The rice was very soft and slightly sweet. It was a pleasant dish to eat, but it was really a bundle of mush, so there was not much in the way of texture.

The meal as a whole was enjoyable. Nothing was really terrible, but nothing was all that memorable either. However, the prices were very reasonable. Moreover, the dining room itself is nicely decorated and modern. Even the washrooms were very clean and modern (think a la Cactus Club). The service was pretty good and efficient (despite what I read from other reviews). No. 1 Shanghai is not my first choice for Shanghainese Dim Sum, but it is a decent place to eat nonetheless.












The Good:
- Decent food at reasonable prices
- Comfortable dining room
- Good service

The Bad:
- Lack of parking
- Some other places have better food

No. 1 Shanghai
#120 - 4200 No. 3 Road
Richmond, B.C.
604-279-1728

Business Hours:
11:00am - 3:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm (7 days a week)