Shangri-La

There are some restaurants that are a little tough to explain.  Perhaps it can be chalked up to sentimentality, or perhaps something else, but there are no really solid reasons to return to some restaurants.  However, there will always be one or two shady places that you will call home, and Shangri-La is one of those places for The Connoisseurs.  We have been going there since my college days at Emerson College, and decided that it was time for another visit due to Connoisseur Michael being in town.

We walked up to the familiar door on Cambridge Street in Boston, and the first thing we noticed was the handmade posting on the door that all patrons would be carded.  Shangri-La has had a bad reputation for a long time for allowing underage drinking, which is one reason why it is so popular amongst college kids.  I can only assume that there was a recent crackdown due to police presence.  This was proven when, upon being seated in the restaurant, we saw a plain-clothed private dick in a nearby booth.

Even though it was lunchtime, and this Chinese restaurant has a buffet, we all decided to order from the menu due to previous knowledge of the buffet.  Connoisseur Tom had tried the buffet before, with sad and unsavory results.  We started with a few drinks:  a London sour, a zombie, and a coconut mist.  All of these beverages came out quickly (the restaurant was rather empty), and all were a bit sharp.  After mixing them up well, the flavors began to meld.  They were good and strong.  This is one of our favorite parts about this restaurant.  The drinks are cheap, strong, and the bartender can follow a recipe.  Connoisseur Tom has ordered very obscure drinks here and has never been let down, even when the drinks were not known by the waiter or bartender.  We also got the standard pot of tea with our drinks, which was weak.  We looked in the pot and then stopped drinking.  The teapot had so much buildup on the inside that it was splotched black.  Steer clear of the tea.

Whenever you go to Shangri-La, make sure you order the crab rangoons.  We always do, and this visit was no exception.  Although the filling in the triangle pouches is occasionally lacking, they are crispy, light, and hot.  It is helpful to order these appetizers when the buffet is on, because they are made hot and often for the buffet, so they are a quick and fresh choice.  I like to douse mine with the classy ketchup bottle of watery duck sauce on the table.

Our entrees came out next:  General Gao’s Chicken, Kung Pao Pork, Sesame Chicken, and Shangri-La Lo Mein.  They all came out steaming hot on heaps of fried rice or lo mein.  The portions were huge!  Unfortunately, they were difficult to eat due to their saltiness.  Every dish was mouth-numbingly salty, so much that we had to leave a lot of food on the table due to inedibility.  I assume that it helps sell drinks, but whoa!  We love salt, especially in junky Chinese food, but come on.

All told, Shangri-La has a lot of cons, but also a few pros.  We like the cheap prices, strong drinks, excessive duck sauce, and crab rangoons.  We dislike the dirty teapots, shady characteristics, buffet, and artery-busting salt.  However, we love the nostalgia, and will continue to go to the Shang, regardless.