Day 7 - Dinner at Shanghai Uncle

appetizer: dried tofu and vegetables - 8/10

so apparently shanghai uncle is THE place to go for shanghainese food in shanghai. according to frommer's, if you had only one restaurant to go to in the whole of shanghai, this would be it. it displays great spread of shanghai cuisine, and really introduces you to the culture of the food.

drunken chicken - 5/10

the restaurant was already really crowded by the time we arrived, and we were surprised because we were there early at 6. it looked like a good start. in typical shanghainese fashion, the place was rowdy and noisy, and the restaurant was bustling and brightly lit.

we started our meal with the complementary dried tofu and vegetables, along with the drunken chicken. the tofu and vegetables were great. the tofu was firm and slightly spicy while the vegetables were salty and crunchy. the drunken chicken wasn't as good as the ones we had in ye shanghai. somehow there was a really strong chinese herb inside that i didn't really like. (something about this whole restaurant and all the food there simply screamed chinese). it was like you knew you were eating mainland shanghainese food just by tasting the food. thats the only way i can describe it.

stir fried crystal shrimps - 8/10

akin to the river shrimps, these tasted just as good as any that we had througout our little shanghai journey. i must admit that we loved this dish alot.

the Uncle's Crispy Pork of FLAME - 9/10

the crispy pork with the tender meat underneath it

this was good. they served this to us and just as they came close, the lit it us. the flame was huge at first, so much so that i couldn't even take a proper picture. i only manged to get one when the flame died down a little. the dish was super hot and fresh. the pork was reallyy crispy and good. it was crispy all around but really nice and tender on the inside. at the same time the crust was nicely marinated with spices so that the flavor was greatly enhanced. highly recommended.

beef in stone pot - 9/10

the beef was super tender and really highly marbled. it almost melted in your mouth. it reminds me of those korean bbq dishes where they just grill the beef. it was nicely marinated and cooked with onions. and the portion was huge. this really was good.

tang bao - 7/10

Tang Bao. Like a really big Xiaolong bao but without the meat. You poke it with a straw and savor the broth inside. the soup was a rich broth, really tasty and delicious.

pine seed pork ribs - 8/10

this is supposed to be the house specialty. a nice slab of meaty and fatty pork ribs marinated in pine seed and other sauces then stewed till the meat is so tender it almost falls of the bone.

all in all i thought this place was a great place to eat at if you wanted to try some local cuisine. it really is quite different from most chinese food you eat. if you live in singapore, most of the time the food that you're exposed to is cantonese, so this shanghainese restaurant really exposes you to some new adventures