Chen’s Shanghai 外婆家 — Restaurant in Shoreline

What can I say! This is the best 狮子头that I have had in Seattle. The flavor and the texture is so perfectly balanced; shanghai house used to have the same item of roughly the same level, but it is no longer the case. The spring onion noodle is also of splendid flavor, which is quite to my surprise. In terms of authenticity, these two dishes that I have ordered exceeded my expectations, which got me thinking why they decide to open it at its current location. I sincerely thinks it deserves a better location. I will try to come here again to see if I am not mistaking. For now, I will put it on top of my list of authentic Chinese food. Though it must to be made clear that though I think it is authentic, this place is different from Sichuan or Cantonese restaurant, it is more akin to Shanghai restaurant. On the other hand, presumably labeled as being a Shanghai Restaurant, it also lacks of several signature dishes from Shanghai, e.g. 八宝辣酱，油爆虾，which i am excited to see if they decided to add to their menu.

In any case, if you want some authentic food, forget fried rice, string beans, and general tso chicken, try some lions head instead! If they maintain the standard, I am sure you will...

We went here on a Sunday for lunch and we didn't have to wait to get a table.

Parking: no parking on the lot, it's mainly a pass through lot with only 2 space for cars. You need to park on the adjacent strip mall lot next door or at the goodwill parking lot across the street.

Menu is good and extensive. We ordered like 6-7 dishes and they were all pretty good. We like the shredded lamb chops, dry pot pork intestine, chili fried chicken, and dry string beans. We also ordered the fish in foil with garlic flavor and it was good but so and so. Fried rice and chow main was also good and kids like them. Rice is not included here so you have to order some white rice. Portion sizes are reasonable for the value. They serve tea and water here.

Only one person was taking the order and bringing the food. She is very kind and moves fast. On a busy day, it might be slower service if she is the only person.

Food overall comes quick so you won't be too hungry before food comes out!

Overall, this place is a good addition to have in this area. They also have extensive menu which makes it desirable to come back several times to try something new! If you are in the area, give this...

Read the whole post for full opinion: first time here, Ordered: Salted Duck appetizer, W0W! very tender, salty but not over the duck flavor, i will order again for sure. Spicy Tofu dinner, nice quality silky tofu, spicy as advertised,,,, after I spooned off 3Tbs of pure Chilli oil floating on top. Side of rice, standard. So far, portion to price is a good balance. I will be updating the above upon future visits. Now, as to all the 5 star reviews in the first week of opening: one is by a person with the same last name as the restaurant, one person claimed that the food was so good that it inspired them to post a Google review for the first time ever (not realizing that google keeps track of their previous posts.... OOPS!), and most of the others are employees (you can't blame them for trying to help, but we also know that those reviews can't be trusted via the fact that if they gave the place a 1*, then they might not have a job tomorrow. Happy truthful...