SHANGHAI INN — Restaurant in Springfield

Shanghai nope! I have lived in Springfield for 30 years and have always passed this Chinese place, but never was inclined to try it. Hong Kong inn, which isn't the best but good for the $$, was closed so I decided to try out the Inn. The outside of the building was dirty and dated, with a food box outside a heavily duct taped door full of black birds. I should have turned around and used that as a sign to avoid spending my money here. Craving cashew and it being close to my work I went ahead. Ordered the #1 Cashew all white meat with a diet coke and added a egg roll (based on others raving about how great it was). Got back to work and no fork!!! That is ok, I will eat the egg roll and then go get one. The egg roll was thiccc and crunchy, but I was instantly turned off by the minced meat inside. I could not figure out what it was, but the meat was dark and there was a ton of it, so much so it was creating a grainy texture. It has little to no veggies and when I finished it, my stomach felt bad about itself based on the looks, taste, texture of the mystery meat roll. (Rating 2 out of 5 for crunch and thicccness.) Then on to the chicken. No cashews, no green onions. -strike one- gravy was decent and the chicken looked crispy- so there might be hope.. first bite a giant purple vein in the middle (barf) strike 2- This happened with 6 of the 12 pieces of chicken I attempted to eat, including one with a giant tendon in it. I made sure I ordered all white meat to get that nice clean all white chicken, but I spit out more than I ate due to that. This might be your thing, but I cant eat vein chicken. So my go to when the chicken is bad is to scoop my rice into the sauce for the closer. Guess what...the rice was under cooked and this trip for lunch was a complete BUST.--stirke 3 their out! I ended up throwing away most of my almost $10 lunch due to not being able to eat it. At the price of over $9.50, that should have been a bigger portion, cleaner meat, and a better overall experience. My advice, go hit one of the better Cashew spots in town and leave this one to the...

Shanghai Inn is a fairly solid option for Asian cuisine in Springfield, but misses the mark by just a hair in a few key areas.

The food itself is fairly good. We tried a variety of dishes while we were there. The Sesame Chicken was excellent, they have good potstickers, and the crab rangoons are served with a fairly unique and delicious sauce. The fried rice and the other entrees we tried (sweet and sour shrimp and cashew chicken) were fairly average. The cashew chicken in particular wasn't as flavorful as that available at other locations.

The main point where Shanghai loses is the setup. The facility is quaint and appealing, but uncomfortably small. The setup is pretty inconvenient as well. It's sort of a weird half table service half counter order situation that results in awkwardly walking up to workers washing dishes to request drink refills.

Pricing wise, it's pretty reasonable, but on the pricier side of reasonable when compared with other Asian food options in Springfield.

On the whole, standing on its own Shanghai is a fair option for Asian cuisine, but it's small but frequent deficiencies push it down the list when compared to other Asian food options...

Favorite Dishes: Orange Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken

Getting away from the Cashew Chicken, this was my personal favorite Chinese food place in town and I remember how I felt when I discovered it. It's a small place, I didn't have high expectations, and there was a deal on the Orange Chicken at the time, so I ordered it. My mind was blown. I have never since had orange chicken like theirs, and it is something I often crave. They have other great dishes here, too, but try the orange chicken and you will fall in love. It is not a glaze, but a dark and rich spiced citrus sauce, featuring chilis and aromatics. It was so good. There were times I'd feel like I was in the mood for Cashew Chicken, but felt somewhat undecided, and then I'd remember the Orange Chicken and have to go here instead. I've walked here, back when I lived on the North side, and driven across town to eat here when I didn't. It's such a hidden treasure, and never as busy as...