Shanghai Ming Zhu

Lesson learned (again)! You can not just judge a book by it’s cover. This is absolute a hidden gem in the haystack. From the outside of the store, it’s just a typical unattractive Chinese Restaurant., but boy once you tasted the quality of the food, you will be amaze and the menu prices are some of the best around town! We eat out a lot and been to similar types of restaurants such as Shanghai Dumpling King, Shanghai House, etc but this place definitely have the best value by far. So far, we visited this place 6 times now and never been disappointed, tho parking might be a bit challenge but where isn’t in SF.

this place was pretty good as far as inexpensive chinese places go. i certainly don’t consider myself any authority on chinese cuisine, but i’m guessing this place is pretty authentic due to the fact that the menu was lacking most of the ubiquitous sweet n’ greasy sino-​american faves that us gringos tend to go for as well as the excellent selection of shanghai style dim sum. for our herbivorous friends, this place also has an extensive vegetarian selection. i got the shredded pork and bean curd, it was nice and spicy and the veggies were tender, but not overcooked. my entrée was accompanied by a bowl of tasty egg flower soup, steamed rice and tea included with the cost of the meal. i’m giving this place an extra star for prompt and courteous service; i had barley finished ordering before a pipping hot plate of food was zinged out to my table. as soon as i had finished my soup, i was offered a refill, same with my rice. i got out of there for around 8 bucks, tip included. i will be sure to go back next time i’m at school and haven’t packed a lunch or need a hot meal.

We had a GREAT experience here our first time, a sunday AM for dim sum.
Xiu Lum Bao were great and extra juicy. Pot stickers were fresh and crispy on the bottom. Rice sticks with pork had lots of cilantro and fresh greens. They were out of green onion panckcakes, so they steered us to their garlic chive pancacke, which was thick and had garlic chives, scrambled egg, and bean thread noodles inside. It was thick and fried crispy on the outside and quite good.
We were very happy. They were beyond attentive to us.
Our family was really bummed when the old Shanghai restaurant in the 99 Ranch Plaza in daly city closed. It was great food. We’re hoping we have finally found its replacement.
Will definitely go back for dim sum again.
As others have said, this location seems to be doomed. Hope these guys can make it.

shanghai ming zhu is in a very poor location at the corner of geneva & san jose. muni passes directly in front. there is no visible parking.
seeing this was a barebones operation: a cook and a waitress, i asked the waitress many times were the xiao long baos here home made? in english and in mandarin. no answer at all.
i asked her did they have spciy beef noodle soup. she steered me to
szechwan tan tan noodle. when she brought out the first dish. i asked her was this xiao long bao? she looked at the potstickers and hurriedly took it away.
sampling:
–szechwan tan tan soup 6.95)minibites of meat, most bits seem to be fat and cooked pork bits, mixed into a very spicy broth. the noodles were ingeniuously disquised as instant ramen noodle. it also had the same texture, tasted and looked the same as instant ramen.
–xlb (8/5.75): smaller sized xlb’s with some very tender meat and a little gristle. lots of juice inside. seen this at other restaurants. coincidence?
leftovers:
–take out menu claims «no msg». still tasted slimy aftertaste
–waitress spoke english but didn’t seem to understand it.
–cook spent time not cooking in the dining room or outside (smoking)
–take out menu is vey confusing. sections include shanghai special dim sum, tradional special, healthy vegetarian, seafood, clay pot/​soup, homemade, and healthy eats. noodle soups are lised in shanghai dim sum section.
–dine in menu looked different.
–looks like a lot of shanghai items on menu.
–mostly muni and city workers eat here
–regular mandarin menu mixed with shanghai menu
–oh, waitress is clueless.
–no doubt went there on a bad day. will review again in a few months, maybe. maybe not…
chinese lessons (mandarin)
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When I noticed that this location had new ownership (again), I decided to give it a try. I was happy with my first take out order. Within a week, I took my husband and 2 toddlers there for sit down dinner. We had a very good meal there and my little ones even asked for more Chinese dumplings. We will be back soon and more frequently.

I love trying out new food and when this restaurant opened a few weeks ago (changed ownership) I decided to them a try. I don’t regret it. This restaurant always look empty because it is located in an unfortunate location, fast traffic and not enough parking. But don’t let that deter you.
To really appreciate the food, you really have to order the unusual stuff not the sweat and sour and chicken chow mein stuff. Just ask the waiter for recommendation. Their English is not very good but they will try. My wife and I try to make a point to try new dishes every time we go in. So far we are very impress. In fact, I’ve going back there almost every week. I highly recommend the restaurant.

My tofu lunch was quite alright…
The service here was confused, to say the least, but the kitchen churned out decent Chinese fare. Locals should check this place out…

I decided to order something from here to try it out — it was either this or the taqueria around the corner.
It always looks empty — as expected. I mean this place changed business every couple of months — what more can you expect. Nothing much changed when it used to be Chef Tam’s — same white walls, same tables, same arrangement, same cleanliness. The only difference is the name of the restaurant and the sign on the outside. When I walked in, there was a lady wrapping egg rolls and a younger, tall guy sitting in the same table.
I ordered one of my most favorite dish — Ma Po Tofu (tofu in spicy sauce with ground beef). The young fellow who took my order told me it will take two minutes… and it did only take two minutes. Humm… I was expecting more like five minutes. How the hell can you make a dish in two minutes?!! I guess everything was prepared in their fridge already.
I got home and was ready to taste my delicious ma po tofu. Pretty spicy but also a tad bit too salty. Spicy does not equal salty. A little disappointed but it is a hole-​in-​the-​wall type of restaurant.
They have pretty normal dishes as in any other shanghai restaurants: shanghai dim sum, appetizers, homemade dishes, traditional specials, seafood, clay pot/​soup, dessert, vegetarian and of course lunch specials. Lunch specials are served with soup and steamed rice from Monday to Friday, 11am to 3pm. Price ranges from $ 5.50 to $ 5.95 plus tax.
Not sure if I’ll be coming back again or not. The good thing is that it is on my way home from work — beats walking an extra 5 – 10 blocks to Mission for food.