Shanghailander Palace — Restaurant in La Puente

Growing up, a typical weekend always consisted of a large family friend gathering where the kids would awkwardly converse while the parents laughed and drank. The round table would be filled with a large variety of food to share and each spin brought you a different dish. Thinking back now, these memories were a huge part of my childhood and have shaped and influenced my love for food and the way it brings people together.

Recently I went to this restaurant that I’ve gone to ever since I was a kid and was able to truly appreciate the beauty that is Shanghainese cuisine. This cuisine is on the sweeter side and has a good balance between sweet and sour flavors. Here are some classic dishes that Shanghai is known for:

Crispy Fish with Sweet & Sour Sauce 松鼠全鱼 Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant in Pot 百花茄子煲 Fish Fillet with Seaweed 香脆苔条鱼 Braised Pork in Brown Sauce上海滩红烧肉 Shanghai Style Spare Ribs 上海小排骨 Sauteed Lamb with Pancake 小炒羊肉包饼 Sweet Lotus with Osmanthus 桂花糖莲藕 Baby Shrimp 深海虾仁（清炒/龙井/百合） Soybean Leaves 大豆苗 Eight Flavor Sweet Rice Cake 秘制八宝饭

@eatswithedith on instagram for more in...

This is a higher-priced Chinese restaurant in this area, which features non-Cantonese southern style cuisine. Its interior is well-decorated and much cleaner than its local peers, and the quality of its entrees is much better, too. What this restaurant can improve is the portion of its food, which is generally MUCH smaller than many of its peers in this area, which doesn't seem to match the price of each food item, and is certainly inadequate for accommodating group dinners. Its servers also need better training so that they know when to replace used plates for individual guests and what entrees need to be portioned out in small bowls or dishes to serve individual guests. Also, it is both inconvenient and even impolite to let dinner guests wait outside the restaurant until exactly 5:30 p.m., as this place is literally closed after lunch time until then every day, a practice which is quite unusual among local...

I'm by no means an expert on Shanghainese cuisine, or Chinese for that matter, but I have tried at least a few places. This is my favorite overall Chinese restaurant for a number of reasons but at the very least, a place I cant recommend enough. The food is top notch, in terms of quality, variety, portion and speed to prepare. Service is also good.

The pic below is prob the best item, a lightly battered (w/ seaweed!) fried fish served with salt and pepper. A little vinegar puts it over the top. Other favorites are the eggplant with bonito flakes, bbq pork belly, and xiao long bao (soup pork dumplings) I'd argue are better than Din Tai Fung (or at least on par, cheaper and...