Hu-Chiang Dumpling House #3 - 2006.05.28 -- ****

For Shao's birthday, I was handed again the enviable task of selecting a place. When first choice Gochi was found to be not open, I decided it was time to let Shao and June try the non-dimsum items at HJTB.

As typical with 11 people ordering, one loses track of what dish is what. For Amnon I ordered the cilantro with dried tofu (thin-sliced dried tofu) dish, twice, plus the soy bean/tofu skin/preserved vegetable "stew" (sauteed snow green). Myself, I felt like crunchy vegies more than meat so I went with the cabbage heart "salad" (sliced cabbage with vinegar). These turned out to be the better dishes of the night, imo, full of refreshing flavors and herb-y goodness, showing off another side of classic shanghainese cooking. The Shanghai Cai Fang (vegetable rice a la shanghai) was good as usual, as were the Xiao Long Bao's, which were lauded by Xun and Jane but Shao/June still prefered those at Shanghai Classic. However my two orders of the Da Bing rolled beef (beef roll with green onion) turned out to be superbly dry and tasteless. I was looking forward to introducing that one to people ><.

Among the new dishes, the green beans (french beans with chili) and sauteed beef fillet were winners, though the latter can hardly be called Shanghainese (hey just making the distinction). The sweet and sour pork, Wu Xi ribs (stewed pork rib in bbq sauce), and Salt-n-pepper pork chop (sauteed fried pork rib) lacked real character to stand out from each other. Perhaps it was because of the day and my mood, that I was biased against the meaty dishes. All in all, I think it was still a fine meal for everyone and at $115 for 11 heads, tx/tip included, I'll call that mission accomplished.