Joe’s Shanghai
Before my group went on our tour of Flushing, I was looking forward to it very much. Chinese is my favorite type of cuisine, so getting to walk around Chinatown and stop at various eateries in one day sounds like my type of homework assignment. After going, I enjoyed it very much. All of the places we stopped for a bite to eat were both very different and very good. My favorite food stop, however, was definitely the famous Joe’s Shanghai restaurant. Before out trip, I had heard of Joe’s Shanghai before, but I had never been there, nor did I know too much about it. I learned that Joe’s was famous for its soup dumplings, which are exactly what they sound like- dumplings with soup inside as opposed to just meat or vegetables. I’ve always liked dumplings very much but I’d never heard of any place filling a dumpling with soup. The thought of it made me quite curious, and I was anxious to visit the restaurant to see the dumplings for myself.
We decided that we would go to Joe’s Shanghai first and eat a real meal there, then stop at various other places and get smaller samples of food. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m rather opposed to trying new foods. I’ve always eaten what I want to eat and I have no interest in trying anything new. I don’t eat soup, so I shouldn’t be expected to try soup dumplings. However, I was quite intrigued by the idea of soup in a dumpling, and my fellow group members Alex and Chris were raving about them, so I decided to give it a shot. When the dumplings came to our table, I tentatively picked one up, trying to figure out the best way to eat it. I ended up biting the dumpling and sucking the soup into my mouth, which might not have been such a bad idea if I had given the soup inside time to cool down. I instantly burnt my tongue, immediately ending any hope of me trying a soup dumpling ever again. While the main attraction of Joe’s Shanghai was not a big hit with me, personally, that does not mean I didn’t enjoy our trip to the restaurant.
I decided to order sesame chicken and white rice, which is my favorite dish at any Chinese restaurant. I’ve had sesame chicken at several different Chinese restaurants, and I can honestly say that the chicken I got at Joe’s was some of the best I’ve ever had. So, after having had sesame chicken, scallion pancakes which we also ordered as an appetizer, and a whole lot of white rice since I finished Alex and Chris’ rice, I was quite happy with our trip to Joe’s Shanghai. Not only was the food great, but the service and atmosphere of the restaurant was great as well. Its easy to see why Joe’s Shanghai has such a great reputation throughout New York City.
Joe's Shanghai
Soup Dumplings
