Shunju Chinese and Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in North Andover

My first and last visit was on July 3, 2014. The hostess seemed professional. The waitress seemed amateurish and also overworked, easily distracted, or both. I ordered C55 - Shrimp with Mixed Vegetables, a side of rice, and a soda. The food came surprisingly quickly in about 5 minutes.

The vegetables consisted of broccoli spears and fancy sliced carrots. I've learned to expect American vegetables in Chinese restaurants unless the menu specifically says Chinese vegetables, but I was a little surprised that "mixed vegetables" meant only two kinds.

The shrimp and rice were cooked, and the carrot slices were mostly cooked, so I ate them. The broccoli made up much of the meal and was raw, so I didn't eat them. The soy sauce on everything was merely warm, and I can't imagine it was ever in a wok. Now you know why it took only 5 minutes to serve.

After a brief 10 minutes inside, I did not leave a tip, and I paid on the way out. The hostess asked about my dinner, and I shook my head and told her that the vegetables weren't cooked and I didn't eat them. I told her this quietly because other customers were nearby. She looked around and seemed to ponder the situation, I thought maybe to take something off the bill (although I did not ask or request it), but she charged me the full bill, $17 and some change.

I'm over 50, and I've enjoyed Chinese food all my life in a variety of restaurants and homes. I know the four large characters mounted on wall of the Shun Ju main dining room are the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. But I'm not a snob, and have thoroughly enjoyed many meals in many small, humble restaurants in Boston's Chinatown, including the old second floor "food court" at Beach and Harrison.

I cannot recommend the Shun...

I stopped in for lunch today. There were two people sitting at the bar and the rest of the place was empty. The woman behind the bar asked me if I was there to pick up take out. I said no, that I was there to sit down and have lunch. She seemed anoyed, waved her hand to the dining area and told me to 'sit'. I found a table by the window, and she came over with a menu. I said thank you when she plopped it in front of me, and she neither looked at me nor said your welcome..... or anything else. She just walked away. She never asked if I wanted a drink. After about 5 minutes, I got up to look for her to take my order. She said, 'Oh you are ready to order?' I said yes. I chose an item that came with a few choices, she never asked which choices I wanted. I told her a few things, and she walked away. The miso soup was very good, as was the spicy maki roll. The lunch dish with a lemon-chicken was not as good. The crab rangoon pieces were awful, unlike any I had ever had....dry and tasteless.... there was a small bowl of rice that was very dark brown (looked like pork fried rice) but I would rather have had white rice. The rice was very dark and greasey.... not good at all. The woman dropped off my food, never asked me if everything was fine, or if I needed anything else. I refilled my own water glass because she was not in sight for quite a bit of time. Each time she came to the table, she didn't make eye contact and appeared really annoyed that she had to serve me. The experience was dreadful. A couple of people came in to pick up take out food while I was there. They addressed the woman as 'Cindy', and I got the impression that she might be the owner. What a shame if she was! I won't return, and I can't recommend this...

Here are my thoughts:

I eat here a lot since I work nearby. The problem with this place is consistency. I always order the General's Chicken. Sometimes it is amazing and sometimes it is "meh". Usually it is because of weird fishy aftertastes that ruin the chicken.

I will say that they have the second best crab rangoons in the area (China Cuisine in North Reading takes the cake there)

My favorite egg drop soup. The onion chives really make it great.

Another issue (not that big of a deal) is the service. I eat here at times where there is usually no one else eating which doesn't help. Once I get seated and my order taken and delivered, the waitstaff are usually busy doing their own thing and sit in the very back corner (they might be eating themselves since I always go at dead hours). They can't see if I need water or not so I normally just get up and grab the water pitcher myself. Haven't gotten in trouble yet. lol

On to the bar... I have only sat at the bar a couple of times for drinks but I do remember distinctly thinking that the bartender girl was "forcing us out" even though there was still 20-30 mins to close. A friend and I got there about 30 min till close (so 930 or 1030, cant remember) ordered a couple of drinks and were already getting hounded about closing our tab. There were other people at the bar too. Its whatever. If you want a nice bar, go to...