This page is for archiving comments from 2008 for Shanghai Town.
2008-01-19 18:47:38 Despite it's shabby appearance inside the restaurant, the food is really good. I agree with a previous comment on here: $3.60 for 6 pot-stickers is a great deal; they were very juicy and delicious. I had chicken fried rice too, which was also good. The total price came out to be $10.35, but the man who was serving me only charged me $9.00. —KristinaKarson
2008-01-24 15:37:21 they translated the menu —YooHyunOak
2008-05-14 23:06:46 suprisingly, this place is good. it looks like a homeless shelter from the outside, and they take about 45 minutes to make your food, but it's like eating a home cooked meal. they are short staffed, which is why the service is slow, but it's cheap and good. you should try it, but not if you're in a hurry —foodexpert
2008-07-18 19:21:38 I disagree. This place is actually very fast. You just have to miss the lunch and dinner rush. Most of the time I will call in for a take-out order and they have it ready in 5 min! —AmandaAbughosh
2008-08-22 22:26:16 My friend from Shanghai actually recommended me this restaurant. My favorite dishes are the shanghai rice cakes (its more like a noodle) and the sui lung baos (steamed baby buns), which are really juicy. So yummy! Some dishes are greasy, but who cares! It's very tasty and it's worth the trip. The sweet soy milk is really fresh too. Clean and cool environment. Service is slow since only a few people work there, but you get use to it. Best and most authentic Chinese restaurant in Davis! —Terry
2008-09-01 19:14:41 Holy crap, so much food. Good food too. —KellyM
2008-09-20 15:21:26 This restaurant is definitely self-serve. I was the only one in the place and the service felt really forced and awkward. I was really unhappy with this restaurant until my food came out... about 3 minutes after I ordered it. That was the last time I saw my waiter — eventually, after I packed my to go boxes, someone from the back noticed I was still there, and they rang up my tab. The food was really tasty — the chicken I ordered was all white meat and prepared very well. Like people have said, go here for the food, not the service. I'll be hitting them up for takeout next time. —MichellePalmer
2008-11-09 08:47:00 Service can be slow, but the food (dim sum) is amazing. It's Shanghai dim sum, not Cantonese dim sum, so things like char siu bao and siu mai, won't be here. Instead, my friends and I usually get steamed baby buns (comes with ginger/vinegar dipping sauce), braised pork meatballs (these are mind-blowing), green onion pancakes (which I add hot oil to), chive stickers, and preserved vegetable with pork and rice cakes. One friend also really likes their tan tan noodles. Lion's Head meatballs are also pretty darn good. In the summer, it can be bloody hot as they don't seem to have an a/c, plus it faces west, so try and do take out then. —DiLane
2008-11-12 18:52:34 Ya know, it really is a double-edged sword here. I've only been here twice, so keep that in mind when you read this, but my previous statement means precisely this: there is a HUGE discrepancy between lunch and dinner meals. The first time around I ordered dinner and it was absolutely delicious; vegetable chow fun had plenty of fresh veggies, crab cheese wontons had BIG CHUNKS of crab (or imitation, either way I was surprised by big chunks of anything really), and the szechuan beef had the most unique and delicious sauce (aside from great cuts of beef). A bit on the greasy side (and I am being nice), however very tasty. I walked in, grabbed a menu, ordered, and they cooked it right then and there. All in all, a great dinner that left me with plenty of food in my gut and a smile on my face.
Lunch this afternoon was quite the experience. To mirror many of the comments here, there was barely anything out under the sneeze guard. Nevertheless, the did not hesitate to offer to cook up whatever we wanted right then and there. When they realized they didn't have enough chow mein or # of entrees for my meal, they threw in fried rice and an additional entree to make up for spare room. Still, as I walked over to the utensil station, I noticed rice and food bits on both the forks and knives. COMPLETELY disgusting! All the sanitation cons previously mentioned are one thing, but food on things your supposed to eat with? C'mon
I will say overall that the food was great and I did enjoy it on both occasions. I guess the dirty utensils are there to reinforce your chopsticks skills, because I definitely got more practice. I highly recommend you order for takeout though; stay far away from their dishes and utensils! Oh and another benefit of getting take out is that they are more likely to actually cook for you right then and there. Otherwise expect them to nuke your food in a microwave, because they can, and will, as they did earlier today. Don't believe me? The microwave is in perfect view from the utensil station and I watched as one of the ladies took my plate out, do a double take, nearly drop my food, and scamper off as she realized I saw the whole thing. Whatever, I paid just under $6 bucks for a meal with enough grease to lube my car for a year, I guess this is all hindsight... I still give it a thumbs up for dinner. —DirtDiver
2009-02-06 19:18:28 OK. I read most of the comments for the asian restaurants in town not too long ago. overall, shanghai received good markings. so today, i and my roommate happened to be in west davis and decided to give it a try. one of the biggest mistakes ever. the service as well as the food was horrible. in the middle of my lunch i stopped eating and walked out. the chicken was splintering in my gums, the noodles cold, the fried rice flavorless, the shrimp not cooked. we both debated sticking a finger down our throats to keep from getting food poisoning. i suggest this restaurant (based on the food alone) to only my worst enemy. all of you that gave good comments either do not have taste buds, have a death wish, or have NEVER tried chinese food before. —holdinon08
