AWESOME! here's the skinny...as soon as you get there, a dude brings a little plate with soy sauce and vinegar in it for the dumplings. He then asks what kind of dumplings you want. Not what you want to drink, not how are you, but what dumplings do you want! hilarious. It’s a given in the restaurant that everyone comes to eat the crab meat and pork dumplings. And they are well worth the long lines that form there. The dumplings have a light broth inside that only one chef, presumably 'Joe', knows how to make. This secret is so well guarded that articles in China and Japan have been written about it. The best part is figuring how to eat them without burning you lips or squirting the sauce all over yourself. Price for eight dumplings...$6.50. Go hungry and enjoy!

Joe's Shanghai
9 Pell Street between Bowery and Mott
New York, NY 10013-5134
Phone: 212/233-8888

Before Joe's Ginger came into the scene in the summer of 2003, I was always at Joe's Shanghai. Today, more and more people eat here (maybe because of journals like mine!) and it's more difficult to get a table, especially during prime-time dinner hours on weekends. But this place has some of the best Shanghainese food to offer.

Recommended dishes: pork and crab dumplings, steamed flounder, and string beans Shanghainese style.

It isn't much to look at, but if you want some great food check out this restaurant. In particular, I really liked the soup dumplings! The dumplings are filled with soup and pork and are very tasty. The other choices were fantastic as well and I go here on a regular basis. It is a little tricky to get to (as are most restaurants in Chinatown) but well worth the trip.