Shanghai Bistro
Truthfully, I am not an avid fan of Chinese cuisine. I cannot say it enough that my taste buds are tired of sesame oil, oyster sauce and soy sauce. But I live in a country where Chinese food is as staple as rice. But once in a while I chance upon a place that serves great tasting Chinese dishes. And I am a hypocrite if I do not admit that of all Chinese edible creations, dimsum is the best. It is also the easiest to imitate. Imagine all the stalls that sell siopao, siomai, sharks fin in all shapes and sizes.
An invite to Shanghai Bistro at Paseo Center made me crinkle my nose. I heard that the place served food that cost and arm and a leg and I was not about to throw away money on food that I know I would not like. But THE BOSS is paying so I was not one to argue.
The place was at the 3rd level of the Paseo Center along Sedeno in Makati. Shanghai Bistro looked snobbish from afar. Super glossy dark wood tables, high backed chairs… I was half expecting everything to be gilded with gold. The wait staff was attentive though and we were quickly seated dispelling my discomfort at such formal surroundings.
Acting on prior instructions, we ordered seafood bean curd soup, honey pork combination with roasted duck, crispy shrimp in mayonnaise, deep-fried boneless chicken in lemon sauce, fried squid in salt and pepper, and some yang chow fried rice. In addition, I got myself some dimsum - steamed pork and shrimp “siomei”.
The soup was hot and good for our empty stomachs. I don’t think it was oooh! ahhh! as I cannot even think of a nice word to describe its flavor. The other dishes were similarly forgettable except for the siomai. I must have been so used to the all-wanton-wrapper siomai sold in most restaurants that truly satisfying dimsum amazes me. Just look at the picture of those siomai wrappers filled to the brim with the pork and shrimp mixture. With these, you taste more of the meat and shrimp and less of the wrapper.
Another thing I wanted to say was that despite some people tendency towards mayonnaise (imagine Megastar Sharon and a spoon of pure mayo) - crispy shrimp drizzled with sticky mayo (not even creamy mayo) is definitely in my gross list. And this is my own taste buds talking so readers please feel free to try it.
Lastly, I think the one consistent feedback I have read and heard is how service stinks. We were there for a late lunch which means there were very few customers to cater to. The place had tons of waiters ready to accommodate your requests… but for some reason, our orders, request for water or more tea, or kubiertos - were either ignored or forgotten. THE BOSS asked for a glass of water and he nearly choked on the lemon chicken and still the water did not come. Tsk tsk.
I must say, no matter how fine the place is or how lovely the food tastes, if the service is not very good, then the restaurant is clearly not very good too. I really hope the staff gets better at it soon.
Shanghai Bistro
3rd Floor Paseo Center, 8757 Paseo de Roxas cor. Sedeno St.
Makati City, Metro Manila
Tel. No: 892-8872
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My salivary glands went on overdrive after I saw those carved portions of duck.
It’s too bad if the ‘bad service’ story is true though.
benj - Shanghai Bistro has other branches like in Eastwood. Not sure if they have the same service problems over there.
I like Chinese food! But one problem I’ve been encountering with Chinese food is that after eating, you feel so full, then just after 30 minutes, you feel hungry again!
Kinda weird actually.
type ko din mga chinese foods
Jigs - Does that only happen with Chinese food? Since its difficult to eat Chinese without rice, I find it surprising that you feel hungry after 30 minutes.
acnerdz - Good for you!
[...] Shanghai Bistro | Casual Dining | food blog of a couple of voracious eaters [...]
[...] Shanghai Bistro | Casual Dining | food blog of a couple of voracious eaters [...]
Shanghai Bistro sounds disappointing considering the price. I think I’ll stick to Super Bowl which is not bad at all.
I like Chahhh neeeeze!
Too bad, the service in this place is not so good. When we had lunch there, it was only 11am and we were the only customers so we had no problem. I hope they will improve soon. I hate to see a good resto go down because of bad management.
Cheers to you all!
I think you were lucky. We were there after lunch so there weren’t too many customers also but still the wait staff failed to provide minimum service. We had to ask 3 different waiters for a glass of water and my boss had to raise her eyebrows in anger in order to get the message across.
Sorry to hear that. But you know what? Never mess with the chef! You just don’t know what they can do to your food and drink.
their mango pudding and quail siomai is good. the others are same as other chinese restos.
i love love love Shanghai Bistro!! what i love most about it is its dimsum lunch buffet
not sure though if they still have this at present 
fran - Ooh! I didnt know they had dimsum buffet. I would have loved that.
I wonder which is better..or for that matter more affordable - Shanghai Bistro or Hap Chan? (I love Hap Chan by the way..)
Sean - Hap Chan is way affordable of course. Shanghai Bistro is more upscale and offers more of an ambience than your neighborhood Hap Chan.
shanghai bistro @ eastwood is the worst restaurant ive ever been,the service is very bad although they have a lot of practicumers and waiters.. the food is good but the service is the problem i think the boss should look forward for that!!!!!!!!!!! where is the boss? huh..
wendy - Shanghai Bistro seems to be consistent in their poor service. Its too bad as their food is really good.
haller!!!!!
sarap pag kain dyan… ajejejeje
sarah - I agree, although service sucks big time.