Ala Shanghai Chinese Cuisine — Restaurant in Town of Colonie

You can always tell how good a restaurant is by how busy it is between 8pm and close! I am VERY picky when it comes to asian food but I had confidence in Ala Shanghai after reading other reviews so I decided to give it a shot for my birthday yesterday!

All I can say is, I was NOT let down! Upon arriving, we were lucky enough to get seated fairly quickly, as a table opened up just as we made it to the counter. I can only assume the wonderful, female at the counter was one of the owners because she greeted me like I was walking into her "home". If you own a business, you know exactly what im talking about and if you dont but have supported a business where the owners actively work, then youll also know what feeling im talking about! As we were about to be seated, a gentleman came out to the front and started to engage customers as they were cashing out! He made his presence know with a bright smile and happiness on his face! Seeing the appreciation he had for his "Ala Shanghai Family" just solidified the notion that it was going to be a good visit! I say this because, at that moment, I could only assume he was either the head chef/owner/husband 😅

The excited started to rise even more, as i began to think about how good the food is going to be, given the admiration and appreciation shown by the owners, towards their loyal supporters (after all, no business makes money without the loyalty and "love" from their supporters!) When we were seated at a nice, clean, well lit table, the "waiter" (i prefer to call him the wonderful gentleman that waited on us) brought us a glass bottle of water and a warm kettle of tea! Glasses with ice and lemon to refill our own cups as needed (i think more places should do this!) The tea was simple, per usual, but delicious nonetheless! Sometimes simplicity is the key to something great! 😆

For us, no other drinks were needed! We dont drink soda or anything so the water and tea were perfect! We order some of the pork and crab soup dumplings because I have NEVER had them and needed to try them! My other half ordered the sweet ribs with white rice and I ordered the general tso. This is confidence because chicken is such a gamble at restaurants! Its either delicious and cooked properly with quality meat or made for volume over quality, using lesser cuts of meat to lower food cost. But Ala Shanghai is quite the opposite! I ordered my general tsos with sauce on the side and cooked extra crispy! The same goes for the ribs!! The "waiter" brought out a couple plates, some chili oil (upon request) and ginger infused, soy sauce for the dumplings!

Ughhhhhhh 🤤🤤🤤 thats all I can say! I AM SO HAPPY I TRIED THIS PLACE! The soup dumplings were amazing to say the least! The chili oil was by far, some of the best i have had (if not, THE BEST!) TRY THEM!!!! Quality dumpling, quality, flavorful filling, perfect cook, perfect twist on the dumpling and just absolutely beautiful! My only critique is that the bottoms of the dumplings were a bit "weak" so just be gentle picking them up to out on your spoon! Use a small spoon of ginger soy and a small spoon of chili oil! Pop the dumpling to let the soup out and eat it all in one bit to experience the infusion of delicious flavors! The ribs were tender, flavorful and perfectly cooked! The perfect ratio of fat to meat for a rib and the fat was MELT IN YOUR MOUTH fat, not chewy, weird textured fat. The rice was nice and sticky, cooked PERFECTLY! My "picky" ordered general tsos came out and my jaw dropped! The tempura on the chicken was thick and the cook on it was on point! Extra crispy and my mouth couldnt have started watering anymore haha i cut into my first piece and was so ecstatic to see quality white meat, cooked to absolute perfection! The sauce was delicious with the perfect balance of sweetness and heat for the iconic general tsos flavor. For me, i added a spoon full of chili oil to the sauce which made it even better, in my opinion but only suggest for those that enjoy a bit more kick to the general tso!

Service, portions, quality,...

This is the first time I have written a long reviews for a restaurant and gave it one star. I think they should return to Shanghai to operate, not in the United States. Because the United States is a free and democratic country. I hope all customers who come to eat in the restaurant can read my review!!!

Experienced the worst service ever! Called and booked an hour before arriving at the restaurant. However, when my family and I arrived at the restaurant they told me that I had to wait or choose to sit outside. We did not get angry because of it but chose to accept sitting outside. After entering autumn, Albany's night was a bit cold. My uncle brought a small bottle with hot water and put it on our table. At this time, a waiter suddenly came up and shouted at us: "Take that bottle under the table!" My uncle replied: "What? Why should I do this?" The waiter yelled at us again, "Now. Take it down!" My uncle replied: "I won't do that." At this time, the waiter yelled impatiently: "Whatever!" My family and I looked at each other and felt unbelievable that a restaurant in the United States would do this to their customers. Up to this point we have not been completely angry. The next thing almost overturned my perception. The owner of the restaurant came to our table. He was wearing a nice suit and wearing a watch, but he yelled to us, "You can't bring this bottle to the restaurant." .Because it is a beverage!" My uncle replied: "There is no beverage but my hot water." The owner of the restaurant shouted again: "Isn't hot water beverage? You must take it away. At the entrance of the restaurant, there is a written policy in Chinese regrading you are not allowed to enter the restaurant to eat in with a beverage!" After saying this, he walked away. My family and I were completely irritated, it was really too much. We fully understand that restaurants do not want diners to bring beverages and they want to make money through diners buying beverages. But this is just a very small hot water bottles. Also they should be patient to explain to us instead of yelling. We left the restaurant quickly and will never return to this...

Disappointing

We visited Ala Shanghai with great anticipation because of positive reviews and recommendations we received. Unfortunately, our meal was a dismal failure. The teapot of tepid, dirt-brown water that awaited us was foreshadowing. Their vegetarian hot and sour soup was a delight: flavorful, chock-full of mushrooms, carrots, and tofu, and expertly spiced. It was the culinary high point of our meal. The Shanghaiese steamed pork dumplings were mediocre, lacking any flavor and umami. After a while, a sizable cauldron containing our family-style casserole arrived. Our inexperienced waiter, while eager to please, had precariously balanced the steaming pot on the end of the table and proceeded to serve. He managed to scoop and serve all the vermicelli into one cup. Another got all the shrimp while got I received a bowl full of napa cabbage. The floor manager got his attention and the waiter relocated the pot to the center of the table and left. Not sure what family styled this casserole, but I feel sorry for them. The proteins were boiled into oblivion. But one could easily discern the chicken from the pork belly. The chicken had ample cartilage and bones while the flavorless pork belly had sizable rubbery fat. I learned that restaurants can be supplied with tiny, perfectly crescent shaped shrimp. The brown neoprene wads were in fact mushrooms. Part of the casserole had a festive appearance with piles of napa cabbage accompanied by pink strips of a ham-like product. Not to be outdone by the casserole, the Szechaun Style beef lacked chili and the accompanying bok choy was fresh: rock hard fresh.

To his credit, the floor manager noticed our displeasure and attempted to remedy the situation. An explanation was given regarding the casserole preparation and its components. But it didn’t match what we were served. He did bring a large bowl of brown water full of vermicelli. The vermicelli was prepared “al don’t,” boiled into slippery strings, limp and slimy.

Hopefully other patrons enjoyed their Ala Shanghai experience. While none of us are sailors, our dining experience...