Our Place Shanghai Tea Garden?

[summerUWS2008]

Hi,

I need to be midtown this evening and have heard good things about Our Place. Any yays or nays? Menu recommendations? Alternate midtown choices if everybody thinks this is a no-go? I'd like to stay west of Lexington. I don't feel like eating Szechuan, or I'd go to Wu Liang Ye, and I can't face Shun Lee. Don't feel like Indian or Japanese.

Thanks!

[Peter Cherches]

Here's a digest of a longish review I did on my blog in January:

I'm almost ready to declare Our Place the best Shanghai restaurant in Manhattan. It'll take one more visit to seal the deal though.

My group of six tried only a couple of appetizers, deciding to focus on main courses. The scallion pancake was respectable and not at all greasy; more interesting were the flaky turnip pastries.

All of our main courses were prepared with finesse. Nothing was greasy, heavy or overly salty. Perhaps the least exciting dish was the fresh squid with salt and pepper (lightly battered, a preparation common to Shanghai and Cantonese cuisines). It was actually beyond reproach, but I've had better versions at a number of other restaurants. My favorite dish of the evening was the lion's head, large pork meatballs seasoned with star anise among other spices, topped with an amber gravy and served with cabbage hearts. It's a famous Shanghai dish.

Also excellent were the Shanghai flat noodles with eight precious ingredients, doughy, hearty wheat noodles with mixed stuff (meat, baby shrimp, vegetables). Our other Shanghai dish was lima beans with bean curd skins and preserved vegetables. This dish is usually made with soybeans, and sometimes with shredded pork added. The thin bean curd skins are cut into noodle-like strips.

We ordered two dishes from the non-Shanghai specials menu, called "New Yorker's Favorites." I was seduced by the description of the Rack of Lamb Our Style: "Hearty portions of lamb chops grilled, then sautéed in our spicy garlic sauce, finished in Chinese sherry wine." The dish was wonderful, though I'd hardly call four baby lamb chops "hearty portions."

Chef Peng's Beancurd is described as "Creation of a legendary master chef. Beancurd in spicy sauce with shredded pork, hot pepper, and garlic." They forgot to mention the black beans. It is apparently their version of bean curd home style, a Hunan dish that has become a staple of Chinese-American restaurants. Moderately spicy, it was an excellent rendition of the dish.

There is also a "general menu," which has many other multi-regional offerings. I'm more inclined to try some of these dishes now that the kitchen has proven itself.

Service at Our Place was efficient, perhaps too efficient. All six of our main courses came out at about the same time, which made the table rather crowded. When the dishes arrived the waiter asked, "family style?" I guess the kitchen plans accordingly for the dreaded "I don't share" types. Our Place isn't a budget restaurant, but a meal there won't break the bank. Depending on drinks, I'd say dinner with tip should run between $30 and $45 per person.

http://petercherches.blogspot.com

[summerUWS2008]

Great! Believe it or not, it's the lima bean dishes and bean curds that I'd really like to have. I'm also in the mood for shrimp. I'll take a flyer on something.

Thanks again -- especially for persisting in getting this posted.

[JungMann]

Great post, Peter. I'm also a fan of Our Place and am glad to see such a comprehensive review confirm my biases.

[summerUWS2008]

Just came back from dinner at Our Place and the food was very, very good. For an appetizer we had Spicy Tangy Shrimp and it was simply terrific. First you think it's just very nice, perfectly cooked and just the right temperature -- then the heat kicks in, and just when you think maybe it will tip into the danger zone, it lays back, and the shrimp is just nice again -- but then there is a final kick. It's like drinking a complex wine! After we'd gobbled up every bite, it really did leave a tangy taste in the mouth. Highly recommended.

Less successful was the Paper Wrapped Shrimp, which I expected to be a kind of packet of rice paper, but instead was a deep-fried roll of shrimp,. Very plain, not at all greasy, very fresh and I guess meant to be dipped in duck sauce or hot mustard (they were on the table) but nothing wonderful.

My husband went with the recommendation of "Lion's Head" and I ordered Sauteed Squid with Preserved Vegetables. The squid was like a very good French dish -- although it was absolutely Chinese. It was subtle, it was addictive, it was perfectly sauced. If you are looking to get knocked on the floor, there are probably showier dishes on the menu, but I kept saying to my husband "It's so nice to be eating in a place where you think somebody in the kitchen knows what they are doing."

I'm not much of a meat eater, but the Lion's head meatballs were succulent, and they cam nestled into a row of baby bok choy which were sensational. Just so delicious.

We drank Tsing Tsao beer -- perfect -- and had lichee nuts for dessert. Hit the spot. Didn't look at the check. Can't have been much. The service was lovely.

At another table, a large group was having an office party, complete with honking secretaries and loud gag-telling bosses. Too bad for us, but I suspect most nights the atmosphere is tranquil. Great find. Thanks for the help.

[erica]

Thanks for the report. Since I live quite close, in chow-starved midtown far east, where the biggest food news of the year will likely be the advent of the new, downmarket sibling of Le Cirque, this is very exciting info!

[JungMann]

Did they keep the same custom-ordered menu? One of the things I liked about them was that they welcomed special requests like no MSG or less corn starch.