Free XLB = Happy Me

I met my father, Brother Monkey, and Torry for dinner last night at Shanghai Restaurant (140 W. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel). Mr. Monkey was in Palm Springs.



Unlike the lunch I had earlier in the day, there was little to nothing organic about this meal, but it was authentic and good. There are deals to be had, too. Non-Chinese readers, here's a tip: if you buy three entrees on a weekday, you get eight xiao long bao for free!

Now isn't that a far more useful tip than being careful with hot food? Gotta love secret info that is only available to the Chinese literate! (I can't take full credit. All I could read myself was "Shanghai xiao long bao" and "Monday through Friday." Hooray for Papa Monkey for filling in the details!)

Sauteed ong choy ($7.95) is my favorite vegetable, as many of you know.

The smoked duck ($10.95) was very...smoky. Good, but I prefer my duck thinly sliced, bone-free, and ready to be enveloped in a fluffy little pancake.

The mapo tofu impressed everybody. Spicy!

We liked the pan-fried sea bass, too.

The Wu Xi pork spare ribs ($8.95) were the weakest dish of the night. Too sweet. Too red.

And here are our free xiao long bao (usually $5.95). Juicy little pockets of joy.

After dinner, we hit Nubi Yogurt and Tea Station for sweet treats. Nubi is like Yogurtland. You weigh and pay. My tart yogurt with strawberries and mochi only cost $2.55.


Torry and I got yogurt. Papa Monkey and Brother Monkey got boba. Everybody got happy.