A Return to the Temple: Joe's Shanghai

Restaurant	Joe's Shanghai
Address	136-21 37th St Flushing, NY 11354 718 539-3838 http://www.joeshanghairestaurants.com/
Hours	Mon-Thurs, Sun 11am-11pm Fri-Sat 11am-12 midnight
Cuisine	Shanghai
Scotch	Springbank 10

Joe's Shanghai in Flushing was the temple to which Wise Woman took Young CA Scotch Chick in order to teach her the craft. In those days, its Xie Fen Xiao Long Bao (Crab Meat with Pork Meat Steamed Buns) were the highest art, and their other dishes, such as Clams in Black Bean Sauce, Lion's Head Meatballs and Braised Pork Shoulder were superb. It was not uncommon for the instruction to reach such a level of intensity that the waiters had to open extra leaves on the table to accommodate all of the dishes. 

A visit to Joe's Shanghai before CA Scotch Chick caught the flight to California was not a given, however. Like many great restaurants Joe's Shanghai was a victim of its own success for awhile. With lines out the door at their Flushing branch, the owners decided to launch two new branches during the late 90's, one in Chinatown and one in Midtown. The quality of Joe's Shanghai cuisine immediately began to decline. The skins on the Xiao Long Bao no longer had the proper consistency, and the dumplings lacked the necessary soupiness. Moreover, dish after dish on the menu fell short, until Wise Woman had no other option but to declare Joe's Shanghai to be unworthy. 

The situation changed when Joe's Shanghai suffered a fire. Wise Woman decided to return on its reopening, and discovered the food to be much improved. While the Xiao Long Bao were not all the way back to their original glory, they had the proper skin consistency, and they were plump and flavorful. The other dishes seemed to have improved as well. This trip was the first time CA Scotch Chick had returned to Joe's Shanghai since it made its way back into Wise Woman's good graces.

The tables no long have leaves for opening, but this was to be a meal of small eats before the flight. Upon sitting down, Wise Woman ordered the Xie Fen Xiao Long Bao so that they could get started on it. She then perused the menu and chose for our tasting pleasure, Shredded Chicken with Vermicelli, Sliced Kidneys with Mixed Vegetables, Shanghai Fried Flat Noodles, and Dou Sha Guo Bing (Sweet Red Bean Pancake). Since this was a light meal, CA Scotch Chick would recommend Springbank 10 as the scotch. It is equally light and pleasant.

The Xie Fen Xiao Long Bao were delectable. The crab taste is much stronger than those at Nan Xian Dumpling House, making it almost a different dish. The skins were excellent, not too thick and not mealy, and the dumplings were brimming with soup. Moreover, Joe's Shanghai uses the larger bamboo steamers providing the necessary buffer between dumplings so that they will not stick together.

Xie Fen Xiao Long Bao

The Shredded Chicken with Vermicelli and the Sliced Kidneys were fine if one is a fan. CA Scotch Chick does not ordinarily care of kidneys but these were firm yet tender and flavorful. The Shredded Chicken was a sesame based nice light dish. Both were flavorful, but CA Scotch Chick would not go out of her way to seek them out.

Shredded Chicken on Left, Kidneys on Right

Joe's Shanghai used to have some of the best twice fried noodles around. Alas, Wise Woman reports that these are still not up to standard. Consequently, she ordered the Shanghai Fried Flat Noodles. These had an excellent chewy consistency and were very flavorful. 

The meal concluded with Dou Sha Guo Bing, (Sweet Red Bean Pancake). As indicated in the Nan Shian Dumpling House review (a.k.a. Noodle House), these are very difficult to do right. It is easy to create a dish that is crispy on the outside but undercooked in the inner layers. Joe's Shanghai used to produce consistently perfect Dou Sha Guo Bing. Their efforts this time were not up to their earlier standards, but they were better than most and much better than those at Nan Shian Dumpling House.

Dou Sha Guo Bing

Overall, Ca Scotch Chick would agree that Joe's Shanghai is once again worthy. Although she didn't partake in most of her earlier favorites, the food was consistently good and the Xiao Long Bao were fantastic.