Finechinagirl

Midtown Lunch at Joe’s Shanghai

*I’ll do a quick post on this before I start on the Vegas ones.*

Joe’s Shanghai
24 W 56th St
(near 5th Ave)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 333-3868

After a nice massage at the Townhouse Spa with my mother, across the street we saw Joe’s Shanghai. My mother recognizes this restaurant since there are two locations in Chinatown – the one on Mott and the other on Pell. Instead of going to Benihana, which was down the block, we decided to go to Joe’s since we were freezing our asses due to the nasty cold face ripping winds and the ten degree temperature.

We sighed with warm relief as we entered the restaurant. It was brutal out there. But we were disappointed with so little people eating in the restaurant.No one greeted us by the door and we decided that they wouldn’t mind that we picked our own table. The waitress was at the bar reading the newspaper, one of the waiters was chirping away on his Nextel mobile phone, and the later out comes a waiter who came to us and told us to sit on the table with two chairs, instead of the four chair table that we were at. Alright, fine that’s alright with us. But considering that there were only 4 other people there…ok, fine.

The waiter gave us the menus and a pot of warm tea that my mother and I were desperate to drink.We decided to order their signature crab pork buns/soup dumplings that we loved so much from the Chinatown one. We also ordered the shanghai noodles and vegetables.

When we ordered, the Chinese waiter spoke to us in English which was ok, awkward, to us because we’re used to speaking in Chinese to the waiters because we did that at in Chinatown. No biggie. After that was said and done, we received or utensils and I noticed how dirty the forks were. My god it was dirty. The fork was very smudgy. Maybe it just needed one more cleaning or a nice polishing. Yeesh…if it’s not cleaner than the chinatown ones, oh god help us all.

I didn’t expect this kind of cleanliness at the midtown restaurant, but now I’m not going with any kind of expectation. I told my mom this and she didn’t seem to care and told me to use the chopsticks. I’m fine with that, just surprised. Yes…

Out comes our soup dumplings.

After being so turned off by the fork and eventually the plate, I had no expectations for this. Surprisingly the dumpling turned out to be pretty good. The soup was exactly how I remembered it to be, the skin wasn’t too doughy and the pork with hints of crab meat is very juicy. My mom bit a piece of shell, she claims that it’s sand, but whichever. She didn’t like it too much, but it was fine by me. A round of these babies would cost you about $9 for 6 pieces. That’s pretty expensive because the Chinatown ones give you 8 pieces and it’s about $7 too. What a rip.

Recommended if you’re around the neighborhood. If not, go to the chinatown one, please.

Shanghai Noodles:

This is by far the saltiest dish I have ever eaten in my life. I know shanghai noodles are salty, but this dish has surpassed that. The noodles are pretty doughy and every bite has a burst of salt and soy sauce in my mouth. My mom agreed and we just couldn’t finish it.

Nappa w/dried baby shrimp

I forgot exactly what it was called on the menu, but my mom did not expect this. She says this dish is supposed to have abalone with bok choy, but apparently not. The nappa was covered in a nice sauce, probably with soy sauce chicken broth and a little bit of flour to make it thicker. This didn’t taste too bad, but I wouldn’t order this again because it cost $12 for something I can definitely make at home. Again, what a rip-off.

I would never come back here again. This by far is the worst restaurant of Joe’s Shanghai. There’s a reason why it’s so empty here. The utensils were dirty, the staff lacked motivation, and it felt so lifeless here. There was no music, nothing. How this restaurant stays open for business is completely beyond me.

Alright, I did a little homework on the cleanliness on this joint and this is what the NYC Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene posted on their website:

JOE’S SHANGHAI RESTAURANT
24 WEST 56 STREET, MANHATTAN 10019
212-333-3868

Violation points: 26/28 (barely passed)

Inspection Date: 05/14/2007

Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.

Sanitary Violations
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
3.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
4.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.

JOE’S SHANGHAI RESTAURANT
24 WEST 56 STREET, MANHATTAN 10019
212-333-3868

Inspection Date: 03/28/2007
Violation points: 35 - Failed

Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
Sanitary Violations
1.) Canned food product observed severely dented.
2.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
3.) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
4.) Evidence of roaches or live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
5.) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations.