Shanghai House Restaurant 上海人家

The last Shanghai cuisine restaurant in Richmond for me to try is Shanghai House, and with an 80% rating on Urbanspoon, I was looking forward to the dinner. 

We had dinner on a weeknight so fortunately parking at the plaza was not an issue. Walking in, I was a bit surprised by how the staff was dressed. The waitstaff wears a white button up, black vest and black pants, which gives the impression that the service will be attentive as well as professional. The next thing I noticed was the interior. The interior looked more appealing in the photos online and in person, the restaurant looks a bit run down with squeaky tables along with ripped tablecloths (which we did not mind).

TWO COMBINATION PLATTER, MARINATED JELLY FISH AND MARINATED CHICKEN WITH WINE ($13.85). 

The marinated jelly fish has a slight hint of sesame oil rather than the heavier taste in Cantonese style cuisine. As for the chicken, there is a medium strong wine flavour and the white meat has a nice stiff tenderness. If anything, the chicken does not taste as flavourful as other restaurants'.

SAUTEED PORK AND VEGETABLE WITH CHILLI SAUCE ($12.98) + STEAMED RICE ($1.50).

The dish has a few red and green peppers, sliced bean curd and Chinese mushroom, shredded cabbage as well as a skimpy amount of pork belly (around ten pieces). As for the base, there is soy sauce and very extremely mild chilli flavour, with no hint of spiciness.  From my numerous experiences, rather than asking if this particular dish is spicy (most restaurants respond yes), I recommend asking for the dish to be spicy. As for the pork, the meat is thinly sliced and has a nice chewy snappy texture.

STEAMED SHANGHAI BUNS, XIAO LONG BAO ($4.98). 

The xiao long bao has a thin layer of skin without being too thin and tastes juicy. As for the pork, the meat tastes gritty as well as bland, and neither smooth nor flavourful. After trying many Shanghai cuisine restaurants in Richmond, Chen's Shanghai Kitchen is my favourite location for XLBs. Also, Shanghai River's is pretty good as well but the quality of their other dishes have gone down.

SALTED PORK AND PORK WITH BAMBOO SHOOT SOUP ($13.98). 

The ingredients in the soup are salted pork, pork, Shanghainese bok choy, bean curd and bamboo shoots. As for the taste, the soup has a light clear pork bone broth along with a vegetable flavour. In addition, the bamboo shoots taste fresh as well as tender (unlike Shanghai Morning's which tasted rubbery and chewy).

SWEET AND SOUR ROCK COD ($22.98). 

The rock cod is a freshly battered previously frozen deboned fish with a sweet n' sour sauce topped with sprinkles of water chestnut and peas. The sauce has a light sweet and tangy flavour along with some baby shrimp. As for the fish, the meat tastes slightly stiff since it is previously frozen but the sauce tastes okay, not overwhelmingly sweet but not tangy enough either. If comparing to Jin Jiang's previously frozen sweet and sour rock cod, their sauce tastes a lot better. Also, previously frozen and deboned fish is always easier to eat, with the sacrifice of a bit stiffer meat (I would pass for those who like fresh fish).

PAN FRIED DUMPLINGS ($5.28).

The pan fried dumplings have a perfect crisp on the bottom without tasting greasy (the only restaurant that served extremely greasy pan fried buns would be Shanghai Wonderful) and the skin is a bit thick but very tasty. The skin tastes soft, pillowy and has a tiny barely there no need to mention sweetness. Furthermore, the bun tastes juicy and the meat is quite flavourful. I also like that the buns are sprinkled with sesame seeds, black sesame seeds and green onions. These pan are a lot tastier than the XLBs.

POSITIVES
- Pan fried buns taste good
- Approachable waiters/waitresses?
- Pan fried buns (3/5)

NEGATIVES
- Average or below average eats and prices are $1.00-$2.00 higher than other restaurants
- Too many better Shanghai cuisine restaurants around

LITTLE THINGS
- A bit odd for the owner to assume we tipped 20% and did not give back change, especially when there was no service. I feel obligated to mention this because I gave Onyx Steakhouse hell for "not having change"
- My recommendations for Shanghai cuisine from best to worst

1. Jin Jiang's Shanghai Restaurant (Burnaby)
2. Chen's Shanghai Kitchen (Richmond)
3. Shanghai Elan (Crystal Mall, Burnaby)
4. Top Shanghai Cuisine (Richmond)
5. Shanghai River (Richmond)
6. Shanghai Morning (Richmond)
7. Shanghai House
8. Shanghai Wonderful (Richmond)
9. Shanghai Lu (West Broadway)

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 2.5/5