Chef Zhao Kitchen

I could eat here every day if my wallet and arteries could handle it. Our party of 3 came around 6pm on a Saturday night, and the place was packed. We waited 45 minutes before getting a table; luckily, the food and service was prompt afterwards (I was definitely getting hangry). The 3 of us ordered the following, and it was the perfect amount of food - we all left satisfied and pleasantly full.

Dong po pork belly ($16.95): my favorite dish, and one that I order every time I come here. A huge slab of pork belly over a bed of bok choy, covered in a soy sauce glaze. They cut the pork belly in front of you into 9 generous pieces. There is a perfect mixture of meat on the bottom covered by a tender layer of melt in your mouth fat. The bok choy is tender and helps assuage some of the guilt of eating such rich meat.
Xiao long bao (6 pieces, $7.95): the soup dumpling are true to their name. Filled with ample hot, rich broth and a pork center filling, these are the best in the Bay Area.
Shanghai style rice cakes ($10.25): I prefer these a little more than the rice cakes with mustard greens, although both are very good. I like the soy sauce flavor more than the pickled mustard greens flavor. The rice cakes are tender and chewy and the portion size is huge.
Chefs special tofu ($11.95): this was also very good. The tofu was crispy fried on the outside and piping out, and soft on the inside. The meat sauce gave a nice umami flavor, and it was nice to use the tofu to soak up some of the sauce for more flavor.

We ended up spending $20 each after tax and tip - totally worth it for a fantastic meal.

Every time I come here, this place never ceases to amaze me. I try to arrive close to 11:30am (when they open) because it fills up. By 11:45am, there was already a line of people waiting for tables. My friend and I ordered the following:

Xiao long bao (6 pc, $7.95): I've already reviewed these extensively in my last two reviews. Suffice to say that I was not disappointed. Truly the best XLB I've had in the Bay Area so far. Large, plump, and full of deliciously hot broth.
Dong po pork (braised pork belly, bok choy, and braised soy sauce glaze, $16.95): the slab of pork belly that comes with this dish is HUGE. The waitress cut it up in front of us into 9 large chunks. The pork belly was melt in your mouth tender, without having too much fat to be overwhelming. I also like the bed of bok choy that it comes on, which provides a nice textural component (and also the appearance of something healthy) with the deliciously unhealthy pork belly.
Rice cakes with mustard greens and shredded pork ($10.25): I slightly prefer the Shanghai style rice cakes, but these were very good as well. The mustard greens impart a slightly tangy flavor. The rice cakes themselves were soft, tender, and well-cooked.

The food was so good that I stuffed myself so much I skipped dinner. Definitely my go-to place if I'm craving Chinese food!

My second time trying this restaurant, and the food was just as good as the first. We arrived just as they opened at 5pm on a Saturday, which I recommend since by 6pm there was a line of people waiting and they don't take reservations for parties under 8. We were seated and served quickly. From the menu, we ordered:

Xiao long bao (6 pc, $7.95): still the best XLB I've had in the Bay Area. Each dumpling was large, plump, and filled with a delicious fragrant broth.
Pan fried juicy pork bun (6 pc, $8.95): The same filling and broth as XLB, but within a pan-fried thick dough skin. I love the crispy, crunchy exterior and how it contrasts with the hot broth on the interior.
Dong po pork (braised pork belly, bok choy, and braised soy sauce glaze, $16.95): my favorite dish that I've tried so far. The amount of pork belly is absolutely huge, and it is about a 50% meat to 50% fat ratio (mmm delicious, delicious fat). The meat is tender, melt-in-your-mouth, with a salty soy sauce glaze and tender, soft bok choy on the bottom.
Chef Zhao's special tofu (square cut soft tofu deep fried with grounded special meat sauce, $11.95): surprisingly good! I normally don't go for tofu dishes, but this was cooked just right. The tofu was soft on the inside and crunchy and well seasoned on the outside.

For 3 people, this was more than enough food, and I thought the value was great for the quantity and quality.

As someone born in Shanghai and recently moved from Boston, I was looking for a Shanghai restaurant to replace my favorite place in Boston. After several failed attempts, I have finally found a restaurant that I can confidently say has the best XLB (soup dumplings) in the area that I have tried. This will definitely be my go-to place for Chinese food!

We arrived around noon on a Sunday. The restaurant is quite small on the inside and was already packed with a line waiting outside. Luckily we were a party of 2 and were seated immediately. The service was fast and efficient (they don't give you water unless you ask for it which is a minor downside). We tried the following:

Pork xiao long bao (soup dumplings, 6 pcs, $7.95): these were so good! Large, tender, juicy, flavorful, and filled with so much delicious, hot broth. I had been disappointed by other Chinese restaurants in the area that served small XLB without much broth or flavor in the broth. These blew the competition out of the water.
Pan fried juicy pork bun (6 pcs, $8.95): also called sheng jian bao in Chinese, these are very traditional Shanghai dumplings. They have a pork filling and broth inside as well like XLB, but the outer skin is much more doughy, chewy, and crispy since it is pan-fried. I enjoyed these just as much as the XLB.
Sweet and sour pork spare ribs ($13.95): these were very good as well. There was a lot of meat and only a couple bones, and they were very crispy and glazed in a tangy sauce.
Shanghai style rice cakes ($10.25): these were the best rice cakes I've had in a long time. The rice cakes themselves were tender and chewy, and the sauce had just the right amount of saltiness and flavor from the soy sauce without being too overwhelming. Delicious.

Overall, this is the best Chinese restaurant I've been to in the Palo Alto area, and they serve authentic Shanghai dishes! For two people we pairs $52 for 2 entrees and 2 orders of dumplings, which is a bit on the expensive side but worth it for the food, location in Palo Alto, and the amount of leftovers we took home.