Shanghai Bistro

I have been here a couple of times and the food is good, but not exceptional.  I enjoyed this meal on Chinese New Year with a couple of friends (one of them visits this restaurant quite often).  I did not order the food, but the owner of Shanghai Bistro, Li May Tang, prepared this special menu for us.  Cost was US$30.00 per person.

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Located in the Discovery Bay Shopping Center, Shanghai Bistro seems a little out of place with a McDonald's and a Starbucks nearby.  It's by chance that I had the opportunity to dine here on Chinese New Year and I honestly expected there to be more of a crowd -- but there wasn't. 

When we arrived at noon, the restaurant was practically empty.  If I had visited a dim sum restaurant like Fook Lam, Legend, or Panda Cuisine, I can guarantee you that there would have been hordes of hungry people around.  Not so at Shanghai Bistro.  After being seated, I glanced around the room to discover four or five tables occupied in the bright and expansive dining room.

Instead of being brought a menu, owner, Li May Tang approached our table at the front of the restaurant and chatted in Mandarin with one of my friends.  After their little exchange, I was told that she was going to prepare a special menu for us.  Several minutes passed by before the first course arrived.  I don't know what the names of the dishes are, but I'll try my best to describe them.

First up, was a salad that was served in a champagne flute with a long, thin shrimp roll jutting out from it.

The shrimp roll was still hot and the shrimp were fresh and cut into small chunks.  The salad consisted of baby greens and alfalfa sprouts with a bit of spicy thousand island dressing on top.  The dressing made a wonderful "dip" for the shrimp roll and this only had me wondering about what was to come.

Just as I was finishing my salad, the next course arrived at the table.  It was a crispy bacon tofu roll.

A block of tofu is wrapped in bacon, then deep fried until golden brown.  Crisp outside, and mouth meltingly tender inside, this dish was a wonderful contrast of textures and flavors.  Salty bacon, savory dipping sauce, soft tofu and crisp bacon -- this was probably one of the better dishes.

A few minutes later, the house specialty, Shanghai style pork dumplings with broth, arrived.

Thin-skinned wrapper shaped like a rose concealed a tiny bite of minced pork and lots of steaming hot broth.  I carefully picked up one of the dumplings and sucked the broth out from a hole in the top.  Afterwards, I found myself dipping the dumpling into the red vinegar and ginger so I could finish it off. 

As we sat there enjoying the dumplings, our server brought out this -- the Shanghai bamboo cup.

In a "cup" consisting of a length of bamboo, was a bit of clean, fresh tasting broth filled with chicken, pork, mushrooms, ginger and other ingredients.  A palate cleanser, no doubt, but a very warming one.

Next came this dish, the pan fried Dungeness crab with garlic and chillies.

The Dungeness crab was pan fried with lots of minced garlic and chillies.  And although this was probably the most expensive dish served that day, it wasn't the tastiest.  I felt that the crab had been overcooked as the meat in the legs and pinchers was quite dry.  The garlic and chillies, though, were a wonderful addition to the seafood fried rice.

This plate of kung pao chicken arrived at the same time as the crab.

Boneless pieces of chicken were stir fried with sliced garlic, peanuts, dried chillies and some green onions.  This dish was the sweetest, and the spiciest, of all the dishes we had, but it wasn't necessarily the best.  The chicken was moist and tender, though, I wish it had been a bit spicier.

As we were starting to get full, our waiter brought out a bowl of seafood fried rice.

Stir fried with pieces of scallop, shrimp and squid, the rice was a bit tasteless.  It took several spoonfuls of the garlic and chillies from the crab dish to perk this bowl of rice up.  I was kind of surprised that this came at the END of our meal.  I almost feel like it was an afterthought.

For dessert, we were presented with this.

If you asked me what it was, I couldn't tell you.  It's best described as a combination of rice (black rice and glutinous rice), azuki beans, sesame seeds and various herbs.  It was slightly sweet, very sticky, chewy and medicinal in taste.  Interesting, but not something I would have served a guest, nor would it have been something I would have ordered.

The food at Shanghai Bistro has never wowed me.  It's borderline good to mediocre, even though some of the dishes like the garlic butter rice, the crispy bacon tofu rolls and the xiao long pau are better than average.  The food here is a expensive given both the quantity and the quality, while the service leaves much to be desired.  Based on this experience, as well as a few past experiences, I don't think I'll be heading back here anytime soon.

Shanghai Bistro
Discovery Bay Center
1778 Ala Moana Boulevard Suite UL-10
Telephone:  808.955.8668

Comments

[Rachel]

Wow even though the taste might be good but not exceptional, I can't believe how much attention has been given to presentation and variety in the menu. That was pretty good value for $30 :) Very nice pics. Thanks for sharing your CNY celebration with us.

[Clinton]

I think if I was fair to guess is that if you're really really hungry...this is not a place to go, right?

[milgwimper]

I have to agree with Rachel the presentation looks gorgeous. Too bad about the taste of the dishes did not match their presentation.

[Lajja]

Aloha Reid!
Hope those Shanghai dumplings were juicy?! Hope you enjoyed them :)

[Toni]

The presentation of the food is gorgeous!

I just wanted to say that I have been reading your blog for awhile now and I really enjoy it! I have learned so much being a small town girl from Minnesota. I love learning about foods different than what I know (which involves a lot of hotdish and meat & potatoes).

I don't have a food blog yet (no digital camera), but have a regular blog...

I just wanted to comment and say hello and that I really enjoy reading your posts :) I've learned so much!

[J]

hi reid, beautiful pictures of delicious things, as always! the bacon and tofu roll, in particular, makes me very hungry!

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - This a Asian-Fusion restaurant, right? Your photos look great as always. But I must say that the fried rice looks very dry, and the Kung Pao Chicken, which ain't very Shanghainese looks somewhat strange. I'll save the rest of my comments for later.

[MBS]

Where's Iron Chef Chinese--Chen Kenichi when you need him? =)

[OsloFoodie]

Hi Reid, I do like the look of that Shanghai style pork dumplings because I think it's a good idea to use the cabbage leave to lay the dumplings on. One thing I wondered about though, were the dumplings steamed like this (good to avoid the dumplings sticking on the steamer and might also impart taste on the dumplings) or did they just use the cabbage leave for garnish because the cabbage doesn't look cooked to me.

[Reid]

Hi Rachel,

The food was OK as was the service. I've seen better presentations elsewhere for less money. There are some good dishes to be had here, but I didn't have them this time.

Hi Clinton,

No, not really. Especially if you don't want to spend tons of money on a meal.

Hi Milgwimper,

I know. =(

At least I didn't have to pay. That was one good thing.

Hi Lajja,

Those were one of the better dishes, with the other being the crispy bacon tofu roll. I rarely eat crab out because I find that it's too much work.

Hi Toni,

Welcome and thanks for leaving me a comment.

I'm glad you enjoy the blog and thanks for providing a link to yours. When I have more time available, I'll stop by and look around a bit.

Hi J,

That bacon and tofu roll was great! I have to try and make it at home. The coating was really light and crisp so I'm thinking that it was just cornflour/cornstarch. I'll have to experiment a bit.

Hi Kirk,

I guess you could call it fusion, but most of the menu is Chinese. I think the chef just likes to mix things up a bit.

The fried rice OK, it just had no flavor. That's where the chilli and garlic from the crab came in. Once I spooned that over the rice, it was delicious!

Hi MBS,

I know. *sigh*

Hi Oslo Foodie,

I'm not sure if they put the cabbage in before or after, but my guess would be that it was done before it was steamed because the dumplings have soup in them. When you try to pick them up, the skin tears (sometimes) and you lose the delicious broth.

[Jazztazz]

Hi, just to drop a comment: The fried rice is not an afterthought. In most multi-course chinese meals, the rice/noodles is the last main course to arrive just before dessert commences. For example, in a tradition Chinese wedding dinner, the noodles is always the last course before dessert. I'm not too sure of the purpose of such placements, but it could be that the host does not want to risk filling the guests with too much carbohydrates at the start of the meal or the subsequent dishes will not be that well-appreciated. After all, the aim of the meal is to aim for maximum satisfaction and allow palates to savour the flavours of the meal. Yup, that's what I feel. :) I read your blog sporadically, and well, GOOD JOB! :) Continue posting!

[cindy]

Hey Reid, Discovery Bay in Waikiki? I think that's where CAPRICCIOSA is. Is it still there? A nice family style restaurant. I think it's a Japanese chain. I love that Italian-Japanese taste. They have the most delicious spinach and eggplant in tomato sauce. Mmm. Plus their dessert of 4 big scoops of gelato served in a martini glass is yum!

[joanna]

I think this is more like a chinese imitation of Keiseiki.

Serving dishes in little portions, one after another.

But I guess it failed on the part of flavor. What they failed to remember is that since every bite is precious, they have to make sure that every bite is as best as it can be.

[Reid]

Hi Jazztazz,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm glad you enjoy it.

As far as the fried rice being served right before dessert, I just don't know what the explanation was, but thanks for thinking about it.

Hi Cindy,

Yes, Capricciosa is still there. I haven't been there in ages and thanks for reminding me of another place that I have to visit!

Hi Joanna,

Thanks for stopping by.

You are exactly right. It did remind me of kaiseki, but then agian, the Chinese are famous for serving elaborate multi-course meals. This meal, however, was a bit hit and miss.

[Alai]

Actually, the gongpao chicken is served in Shanghai at many places. The Shanghai style is to serve is red, with just peanuts and chicken -- looks just like that, though usually with smaller bits of meat and more sauce. I see no complaints.

The xiaolongbao in Shanghai are usually pan-fried and are absolutely delicious. If you can ever find a restaurant doing that, I recommend it twenty times over their steamed cousin.

[Mike Acebedo]

Yes, I agree that the presentations have been done well considering your eating Chinese food. I especially enjoyed the shrimp with mayo and walnuts along with the shrimp steak. What I was totally blown away by was the live entertainment featuring a fantastic singer named Shari Lynn. She did over an hour of incredible Broadway show tunes featuring songs done by famous broadway performers (Merman, Minelli, Streisand, etc.) With her performance I believe the food I was eating was even better. This place beats most of the chinese restaurants in Honolulu that I've eaten at in over 30 years living here.

[Alvin Wong]

My very best to owner Li May Tang for a well put together classy Chinese Restaurant. What stood out was all the live potted plants that made place come to life.
"Common indoor plants may provide a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. Those plants in your office or home are not only decorative, but NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings." http://www.zone10.com/tech/NASA/Fyh.htm