sychocism

In case anyone missed it, Lo Pinto has left Crave. http://www.northjersey.com/betterliving/re...fires_chef.html

Thanks for your help. I did see the other thread but I figured it was a year old and things tend to change. You'd be amazed at how many new dim sum places we've had in NY in the last couple of years. My friends are planning on sleeping less than 3 hours before heading up to Whistler but I plan on sleeping in and visiting Richmond before making the trek up 99.

I'll be traveling out to Vancouver/Whistler area come mid-January and am looking for some great dim sum to try. I've never been to BC so I'm really looking forward to my trip. We get in extremely late/early Tuesday night so we'll be staying near the airport before picking up our rental car Wednesday morning. Are there are authentic HK dim sum places near the airport that are open quite early? I've gotten some suggestions such as Kirin and Jade and Top Gun. Which do you prefer and why? Much appreciated!

I definitely have to agree. I work in Roseland and do the trek out to Viet Ai at least once a week for Vietnamese food. It's probably better than anything I've had in NYC and I know the people there are true Vietnamese as only one of the staff seems to be speak any chinese at all. I'm closer to Saigon Cafe than I am to Viet Ai but I find Saigon to be overpriced. Their lunch menu was deceiving and the quality is quite up to snuff in my opinion. I ordered a lunch special that's supposed to include an appetizer and an entree and they decided to charge me ala carte rather than the "prix-fixe" price.

I don't disagree at all, and even though NY Shanghainese isn't authentic (I've had better in Cupertino); it's miles ahead of this place. I was about to ask the owners if they had anything to do with the Shanghai Cafe in NY's Chinatown, but the second I saw the Chinese name, I knew they weren't remotely related. In the meantime, I'll stick to Noodle Chu for my Chinese fix.

Sounds good, you may want to check out the menu online www.shanghaicafenj.com

It is actually right on the corner of Bloomfield and Passaic. It's in the plaza where the Shell Gas station is, across the street from the plaza with the TJ Maxx. If you know where the UPS Store is, it's basically right in the center of that plaza.

Ok, I'll reply to my own thread. I actually went out to lunch there today and have a mini report. I ordered the juicy steamed buns and the beef thick fried noodles. My compadre had a chicken noodle soup dish. The buns, while less greasy and oily than most of what I find in NYC, was lacking a little. The skins were far too thick and the buns were rather large. Although the filling was decent, it wasn't terrific. I personally prefer Shanghai Cafe in NYC over this. The stir fried beef thick noodles dish was similar to what you find in NY, however, it was far too salty for my taste, as well as a little sweet. To get to the bottom of the picture, I asked the owners where they were from. They're from Tian Jing, which may explain why the tastes bordered more towards Northern China cuisine than what we expect to be Shanghainese.

I haven't been out in West Caldwell in a while and saw there was a Shanghai Cafe in West Caldwell. Has anyone tried this place before and any reviews? Thanks. I truly appreciate the suggestions I've seen on this forum. I've had many more lunch choices since I started browsing through here.

I definitely agree. I live minutes away from the east village and the number of restaurants just on st. marks probably outnumbers the total number of Japanese restaurants in whole cities. I always look at the menu before I go. If I see dishes that normally isn't on a true Japanese menu, I don't bother to go at all.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm definitely looking for authentic Japanese, as I am somewhat spoiled residing in New York and being able to find places that are owned by the Japanese rather than another ethnic group. How crowded would the place be on a Tuesday night around 8?

Hi guys, long time lurker, first time poster. I've found this site extremely helpful in my quest for good food in Northern NJ and I'm sure the California board is no different. I'm looking to take a couple of friends who are getting married out for dinner and sushi is what they have selected. Are there any good places out in the South Bay? They live in Santa Clara so we're looking to travel no more than 20 minutes. Thanks!