The Xiao Yang Blog

Shanghai Restaurant -- letdown in Oaktown

Shanghai Restaurant (Shanghai Xiao Chi, in Chinese) In Oakland's Chinatown, has long been one of my favorite places to be when I pine for Shanghai.  It has the most uncompromisingly Shanghainese menu, top to bottom, I've seen in the US and on the many occasions when the air is filled with energetic  banter in the musical Shanghainese dialect  it's easy to imagine oneself in a small family-run restaurant in Hongkou or what used to be Nanshi.  Specials posted on the wall (on fish-shaped pieces of paper) often promise the vegetable delicacy jiaobai, beloved by Shanghainese, but not to be found anywhere else in the US that I can recall.

Unfortunately, authenticity is no guarantee of excellence, and when six of us descended on it on Boxing day and ordered up a storrm, it became evident that the cooking at Shanghai Xiao Chi had seen better days.  The xiaolong bao, the cold appetizers and the red-cooked pork joint were decent, but the other dishes reflected a desultory preparation and lack of flavor.  My Shanghainese wife could have done better on about half ot the dishes and for once I wasn't dissembling when I agreed with her on that score.

I'll probably still hit Shanghai Xiao Chi at lunchtime once in a while for the xiaolong bao and more than passable salty soy milk soup.  But return for dinner, and experience an authentic mediocre Shanghainese family-style restaurant dining experience?  The yearning may never reach that level.

Sign of the Day: Zante's Pizza

No, it's not a pioneer specialty.  Zante's serves something called "Indian Pizza."  What's that?  Someday I may find out, though I've  heard suggestions that maybe I don't want to.

Rachel Revisits Mission Burritos

The holdays featured a welcome visit from my New York daughter Rachel.  She subscribes to the "There's no good Mexican food in New York" catechism (of which more later) and for our last get-together before her departure we hit a mutual favorite, Taqueria Cancun in the Mission District.  She was up for a full-blown carne asada "Mission" burrito.  Her arm provides some perspective on the size of the thing, which is no mere nosh, but she was able to eat the whole enchilada, er, burrito.  I had a mandate to show up at my inlaws a couple of hours later with an appetite for a  major feast of Chinese food, so I contented myself with a 'super" taco al pastor.

After the meal, we stopped into Acaxcutla Restaurant a couple of doors away, which now sports a full blown Guatemalan panaderia.   I was clueless, but asked what was "tipico" and "delicioso" and the pleasant counter woman suggested the croissant-shaped Gusano "caterpillar" and the two-dough Concha. This combination was suggestive enough of a good time, so I took home two bucks worth (each 4/$1). They both had a nice doughiness to them and were obviously fresh, but even unfilled they were too sweet for my taste, reminiscent of breads from Chinese bakeries but even a bit sweeter. The Acaxutla bakery  has a large variety, so next time I'll try to tell her I want something a little less sweet.

Personally, I find it hard to buy into the "no good Mexican food in New York" cliche.  Queens alone has over 70,000 Mexicans, probably almost as many as San Francisco, and there are that many again and more in other boroughs.  The Mexicans may be overshadowed by South American and Puerto Rican populaces, but there is certainly a critical mass of gullets clamoring for home cooking.  The task is to find who's cooking it.

Happy New Blog!

I didn't plan to begin my new blog on the first day of a New Year.  The two events just happened to merge.  And what's with "Living from Hand to Mouth?"  No, this is not another "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George, the phrase is simply a reference to the mechanics involved in that most basic and pleasurable of acts, at least at my age, eating.   The figurative meaning of "living from hand to mouth" is also not inappropriate, however;  this blog will focus on street foods, "small eats" and the most homey ethnic foods from all cuisines.  There will be no bombastic "My Dinner at The French Laundry" posts here.

Enjoy!