Shanghai Place — Restaurant in Mission Viejo

Our family has been loyal patrons of Shanghai Palace for over 20 years. It’s always been our go-to spot for dining in or ordering individual meals. However, I am writing this review with a heavy heart after a disappointing experience catering for my brother’s wedding rehearsal dinner.

I placed an order for the wedding party, specifically requesting no shrimp dishes due to severe shellfish allergies in the family. The order included chow mein, fried rice, orange chicken, Mongolian beef, vegetable chicken, and egg rolls. Unfortunately, the experience was far from what we expected based on years of positive meals from Shanghai Palace.

While the orange chicken was excellent, the only redeeming dish of the night, the rest of the food was severely lacking. The vegetable chicken was soggy, inedible, and ultimately trashed. The chow mein and fried rice appeared unappetizing and were left untouched because of the shrimp. The Mongolian beef was overcooked and tough. The overall impression was that the food had been prepared earlier in the day and reheated, which significantly impacted the quality. Many of the people could not eat due to fears of cross-contamination.

To make matters worse, when I called the next day to discuss the issues, there was no accountability. Instead of an apology, I was met with excuses and even told that I never said no shrimp—this is absolutely untrue. I was lectured about why I didn’t call the night of the event, but I wasn’t present at the rehearsal dinner to witness the issues firsthand. I was asked to provide pictures, which I promptly sent via text, but I still received no response.

What hurt the most was spending $500 for food that was largely untouched or deemed inedible, forcing the wedding party to order pizzas to salvage the night. While I’ve always trusted Shanghai Palace for individual meals, I cannot recommend them for catering. This experience, combined with the lack of resolution or even acknowledgment of the problem, has left me deeply disappointed.

I didn’t want to write this review, but after receiving no response or resolution, I feel I have no other option. I hoped for at least a partial refund to make things right, but that hasn’t happened, leaving me no choice but to dispute the charge with my credit card company.

Shanghai Palace has been a special part of our family’s memories, and it pains me to write this. I hope this review serves as feedback for improvement, especially for future...

Lost a client,i dont do business or give my money to dishonest shady people,i looked their menu outside and the price for the house chow mein is $12.95 on the lunch menu at 2 pm so i go inside to order it to go,there was the super old woman she says ok its 16.95,so i asked why 16.95?She said it comes with a soup,i said i dont want any soup i just want chow mein,it says a different price outside,so she asked-you want the smaller size then,the lunch menu?i asked-its smaller?she just said ok its 13.95,i said-i thought it is 12.95 thats what says on the menu outside,she just replies with:you want it?I said no thats fine and walked out.Not coming back theres tons of chinese places around,i am alway here because of the laundry next door and i just was going to get something because i was really hungry,that was going to be my second time,but now the last im not coming back,on my first time i got orange chicken and there was not much taste to it very bland it was the worst orange chicken i ever had it i was going to give them a second chance lol glad i didnt because i am reading their other reviews and reading people commenting about no flavor as well and bugs on the...

I very, very rarely write reviews. But, we recently had dinner at Shanghai Palace and I just wanted to say a few words about our experience. First, our group of 5 showed up 45 min before they closed and ordered 2 appetizers and 5 dishes. They made everything fresh and brought everything out very quickly. The food was SO good! I don't know how many Chinese restaurants I've eaten at where everything tastes the super similar. Not the case here, everything was super flavorful and fresh! Plus, the staff was super kind, attentive and helpful. They brought out extra cookies for the kids before we left. The restaurant itself is clean and nicely decorated and has an intimate vibe. Unfortunately, we were just on vacation in the area, because if we lived here, we'd be eating here twice a month! If we're ever in the area again, we'll be visiting this establishment again! I highly recommend Shanghai Palace to anyone looking for some truly yummy Chinese...