Chang's Garden - Arcadia

While it wasn't mind-blowing, Chang's Garden offered a solid and authentic introduction to Shanghainese cuisine. I visited with a large group, and we ordered 11 dishes, some of which were better than others. We started with boiled peanuts, which made for a nice little snack as we waited; they had a subtle flavor of allspice. The service had a shaky start, however. They mistakenly served us mu shu pork instead of the pig shell we ordered, and it took about five minutes of chaotic discussion with the waitress to clarify that it was not what we wanted. Her English was a bit limited, and she insisted that the dish was good regardless. Thankfully, after that hiccup, the evening went smoothly, with the food being served quickly and our big table receiving attentive service.

The large plate of pork belly was impressive to look at and satisfying to eat, though I’m generally not a fan of pork belly. The tea-smoked fried duck, served Beijing style, was delicious but challenging to eat because it still had all its bones. The deep-fried fish with spinach dough was enjoyable, and the whole fried fish was okay too, although it tasted overwhelmingly salty, largely due to the soy sauce. The chicken with chestnuts was quite dull as well. I love bamboo mushrooms, so I was disappointed to find that the dish featuring them with squash had very little bamboo mushroom—it's not an expensive ingredient, so they could have included more. The snow cabbage with soybeans and tofu leaves had a unique quality, but again, it lacked flavor. There were these doughy treats I used to eat as a child, known as Zang Yuen, but since I didn’t like them back then, I still don’t care for them now. The siu long bao was decent, but they served it with black vinegar instead of the traditional red vinegar, which was confusing. I didn’t try the beef rolls, but they sounded appealing. I can't recall all the other dishes we ordered, but overall, I’m open to going back to explore some soups and other items I haven’t tried yet.