Austin | Highly Recommended New Restaurant

Several new Chinese restaurants have recently opened near Hmart, and I spent a long time deciding which one to try first. After carefully observing reviews in group chats, I thought I had chosen the safest option—only to step right into a dining disaster. Here’s what I had heard about the other spots: 1️⃣ Seasons Three Meals – Originally a private kitchen known for delicious but slightly expensive baozi. During their soft opening, I heard service was slow due to high demand, so I decided to skip it to avoid long waits. 2️⃣ Golden Pot Hot Pot Buffet – Offers items like jianbing and roubing. I mistakenly thought it hadn’t opened yet, but later learned it’s already operating with great value—ideal for those living nearby. 3️⃣ Shu Kitchen – Multiple friends and online foodies highly recommended this one, praising its authentic flavors. I decided to go here, planning to order their most-loved dishes. We visited on a Sunday evening. While we didn’t have to wait for a table, parking was impossible … We ended up parking across the street and jaywalking to the restaurant. Inside, the decor claimed it was “a place for Sichuan food,” but the menu was full of Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Northeastern Chinese dishes—a bit confusing. What We Ordered & Honest Thoughts: 🥘 Eel with Hot Oil (Xiang You Shan Hu) Several people, including Shanghainese friends and trusted foodies, recommended this. I took one spoonful and never touched it again. Don’t make me relive the memory… 🦆 Salted Duck Another highly recommended dish. When I complained it wasn’t good, someone even asked, “Did you order their salted duck?” I only had two small pieces. Three out of four at our table disliked it—the duck itself wasn’t fresh, and there was a distinct “duck smell” that hadn’t been properly removed (hard to describe, but if you’ve tasted the difference between organic and regular chicken in the U.S., you’ll know what I mean). The duck was also quite fatty, which made the odor stronger in the fat layers. The seasoning was mostly just salt, lacking depth or aromatic spices. 🦀 Crab with Rice Cakes Isn’t this a Shanghainese dish? 😂 This was my first time trying a version where the crab and rice cakes were deep-fried with salted egg yolk. A few bites were tasty, but it quickly became overly greasy. Maybe the owner should consider offering “salted egg yolk fried rice cakes” as a standalone dish. 🍲 Dry Pot Beef Tripe and Tendon The only edible dish we ordered—and the only one we finished. The online foodies said their dry pot dishes were decent. Some larger pieces of tendon weren’t tender enough, but it was adequately spicy. Not amazing, but we were hungry and it was the only thing we could eat. 🍆 Yu Xiang Eggplant The first bite was nice, but it was my first time having Yu Xiang eggplant fried until so crispy 😂 After a few bites, it also started feeling too oily. Final Thoughts: My heart is broken 💔 We left with lots of leftovers, went home half-hungry, and had to cook supper ourselves. All that for $41 per person… Restaurant: Shu Kitchen Address: 9422 Anderson Mill Rd, Austin, TX 78729 #100RestaurantsChallenge #AustinEats #AustinTX #SichuanFood #ShanghaineseCuisine #NortheasternChineseFood #RestaurantReview #DiningRegret