Our group ate in one of the private dining rooms, located on the second floor of the building. The tables were already set with cold appetizers laid out on the ubiquitous revolving trays when we arrived.

The food is mostly Sichuan in style, a bit heavier in texture and far spicier than Shanghainese cuisine. Just how spicy is something I am apparently not a good judge of; a dish I thought was a bit hot had my fellow diners gasping for water and mopping their tearing eyes! Among the dishes I especially enjoyed were spicy eggplant and roasted chicken or duck. Bok choy, a type of cabbage, must have been coming into season. This was the first meal at which I had it, cooked so that the edges were soft, but the middle still crunchy, and served in a delicately flavored light broth. We were also served some great noodles at the end of the meal.

The service was attentive and one of the highlights of a meal at Meilongzhen is the serving of tea from a pot with a spout that is several feet long. When they really want to show off, waiters will stand halfway across the room and send a fountain of hot tea toward your glass. I never saw them miss, nor did any bystanders get so much as splashed!

When dining in China, don’t expect to be served rice with your meal. It will be brought if you request it. Rice with the addition of chopped vegetables, dried fruit and/or nuts may be presented as a special last dish. Small bowls of plain white rice were traditionally presented to diners at the end of a banquet, but not to be eaten. Instead, it signified the quality and quantity of the meal, from which the participants would be so full that they couldn’t eat even a bite of the rice.

Dining at Meilongzhen is an experience that is definitely recommended to get a glimpse of life at the upper reaches of Chinese society.