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Quick summary:
Food: Dim sum was good, the appetizers was also great but certain specialty pricey items were sub par.
Pricing: Pricing was fair given the reputation, location and environment. I would go as far as to say it was on the cheap end considering it's peers
Environment: A bit loud but overall very comfortable. Service was amazing, tables were spacious and i would say a very economical fine dining experience
After a bit of shopping at Harbour City after work, We decided to go here (Ye shanghai - 夜上海) for dinner. We are quite particular about the Dining selection. There wasn't anything that we were in the mood for but our usual spots include Al Molo (Italian) and BLT Steak, both on the waterfront closest to the Star Ferry entrance to the mall. Anyways i digress, We had stumbled upon this gem out of desperation as there were no other choices with walk-ins at the time and I'm glad we did. In general, Ye Shanghai offers an above average food product with a superior dining experience.
Food: There are a number of great dishes that we have tried over the course of 2 meals but a the same time, there are a few that are one and dones that left us with a lot of disappointment. Items that i would recommend are the Drunken Chicken, the Xiao Long Bao and Pan fried dumpling equivalent (Wor Tip. Yes these are generic shanghainese dishes that you can find everywhere but in my opinion it's these little common dishes that really separate the leaders from the pack. On the contrary, a few of the pricier dishes that we have tried turned out to be very sub par in comparison to the rest of the other options. There are 2 that stand out, the "Dragon Whisker Freshwater fish" and the Sea Cucumber. For the "Dragon Whisker freshwater fish" dish, i'm not sure how to write this in chinese but it's a freshwater fish that's cut into tiny strips and fried then served looking like a clump of noodles. Don't get me wrong, it's a great dish when cooked right but the quality of fish just wasn't there for this particular dish. Taste was decent but it was the quality of fish that was disappointing. The dish itself was 320 I believe which was surprisingly cheap as this dish usually runs you up about 5-600.
Pricing: As mentioned before, I believe the pricing is actually very fair given the location (Maro Polo Hotel) and the environment + service. Even the pricier options were not that pricey in comparison to similar restaurants of this reputation. While there were no real expensive items, ordering many appetizers and dim sum options will run you up quite a tab without seeing it coming. If i remember correctly, Xiao Long Bao were 60 for 4 pieces, same with the pan fried alternative and other appetizers were about 50-100 dollars a plate which included things like the Drunken chicken etc.
Environment: I would say this is the biggest selling point of Ye Shanghai. The restaurant is set up very nicely with beautiful decorations. Tables were very conservatively spaced with lots of room between each, and the overall decor was very clean and organized. The employees were very well trained with most roles being sub-delegated nicely, aka certain individuals would only be in charge of refilling tea, changing plates and other "captains" or managers were strictly in charge of orders and other issues. It's rare you see this nowadays in any less than superstar asian restaurants so that was a nice change.
Overall, i was and am impressed with this establishment as a whole. There are obvious and what seems like a clear issue with the higher end dishes maybe due to the rarity of them being ordered, or just the quality can't be kept when those ones are ordered; but the dim sum and appetizer options are very well prepared. The decor and location is amazing and really makes you feel like you're in a restaurant that is worth the money. I would recommend this venue for people who would like to spend a bit more, but honestly not much more than other, average or slightly above average Shanghainese restaurants such as Ding Tai Fung.