扬州饭店 — Restaurant in Shanghai

I visited on a dinner and I wanted to make reservation knowing its a Golden Week and I was told they don't accept reservations 6pm onwards and has to be walk ins. I was quite skeptical but still decided to try and I was quite surprised the place wasn't crowded and it was even quieter on the upper floor. Got a table and then was shown the menu. I took some time looking through because the menu was rather thick and I was thinking of what a solo diner could order as well as being conscious of the price. Had a few dishes in mind, but also consulted the waitress to make sure of the portion size and it won't be too much for one person to finish. There were quite a number of more expensive dishes but I chose those which were more reasonable in case it won't be wasteful if I can't finish the food. First had the lion's head. Got the soup one instead of the one with the braised sauce because the size of the former is smaller. It wasn't too bad but just had to somehow set the expectations it's just a minced meatball that is pretty big. Then came the crab meat with prawns. Basically won't say its crab meat but its more of crab roe, and could see they were generous with the prawns. I would have loved more of the sauce thought I thought it would go well with the rice. I waited too long for the Yang Zhou fried rice, which is supposed to be the signature. I wanted to eat with the crab roe sauce but the sauce turned cold. The fried rice I thought would be somehow spectacular but was just average and somehow normal for me didn't know why it was the signature but I really loved the combination with the crab roe sauce and prawns. I think without this dish the fried rice would have fell flat and the rating would have gone lower. I wanted to save some space for desserts but really maxed out by the fried rice, which I couldn't even finish. Meal was alright thought nothing fantastic really wowed me. Price was rather reasonable for a restaurant like this. Was told this is THE place for the Yang Zhou fried rice. If you want to kill your curiosity then probably it's...

We ordered the yang zhou fried rice, 2 servings for 4 persons, braised lion head, xiao bai cai with mushrooms, steamed yellow fish (can't remember the exact name), dried chili fried chicken and 蟹黄tofu. The servings are sufficient for 4 adults (3 men who are not big water). The taste is generally not heavy, at the optimal level of saltiness and spices. So all the dishes match well with the fried rice. The chili fried chicken is actually chicken wings, it was a bit of a surprise to us (as there's not much meat) but it tastes good, crispy outside and with juicy meat. It's a place where you can have a proper meal (not sure if that's authentic Shanghai food) comfortably. Service is just ordinary for what they charge as they don't pour tea for you, except for the first round; though the rest of experience was fine. RMB 650 for the meal, I guess that's affordable for such a meal; the fish costs 1/3 of the bill. A place that I don't mind revisiting if I come...

In this classic restaurant, the expansive venue exudes a somewhat informal, aged charm. Unfortunately, both the cuisine and service left much to be desired, merely reaching a mediocre level. Moreover, the underwhelming decor nearly left me questioning if I had indeed stepped into the right establishment recommended by the esteemed...