Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant

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DJ Bear

Joined 2 years ago

NYC style chinese food. I am a transplant from NYC and scouring around for chinese food was a headache in the bay area. We happened on this place "shangri-la" by word of mouth and ordered some dishes which we brought home, though it smelled wonderful in the car we were wary of what we were about to digest. We were mezmorized by the taste of EVERYTHING we ordered form Shangri-la and have been back numerous times to try other entree's. This golden nugget was a find and the food was memorable of the NYC eateries. KUDO's Shangri-la you have a loyal customer with me no matter how much others are not!

Doesn't Recommend

miag

Joined 6 years ago

Shangri-blah. The cuisine is far from the imagined paradise implied by the name. To the contrary, it is the singularly worst Chinese food I have ever eaten, so poor in quality and lacking in taste that I felt prompted to write my first-ever dining review in the hopes of sparing others from wasting their money and appetites. If I could have given this place a fraction of a star, I would have.

Ever since our favorite Chinese restaurant in Los Gatos (Edna Ray) closed down (hopefully only for the time being) due to a strip mall overhaul being done by the landlord, my husband I have been looking for another excellent Chinese restaurant.

We ordered from "Shangri-la" hot and sour soup, mongolian beef, seame chicken and steamed rice. The rice was the most palatable item. The soup was unusually thick and overloaded with vegetables, the abundance of which did nothing to perk up the soup's absolutely flat taste. The mongolian beef was equally flat and the sesame chicken was so hard and crispy that I thought I was chewing on duck feet (dim sum) rather than chicken meat. The meat dishes had a similar underlying taste, as though cooked on the same grill in oils that had been used for multiple other dishes.

The fortune cookie that accompanied my meal was equally sobering, something in the vein of, "Time takes care of grief and loss." Must have been a reference to the loss of Edna Ray.

On the upside, "Shangri-la" a good place to order from if one is on a diet. The food was so bad that I threw most of it in the garbage.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

It doesn't quite live up to its lofty name. But it's still one of the better take-out spots in town.. The Food
Nestled in the corner of a busy shopping center, Shangri-La is a great lunch or dinner alternative to nearby Togo's and other fast food spots. The three things that you need to know about a fast-food, take-out Chinese restaurant are: 1. Are the portions big? 2. Is the food good? 3. Are the prices reasonable? With this spot, the answers are check, check and check. All the standards are on display and worth ordering. Try the sweet lemon chicken or the tasty vegetable chow mein.The mu-shu dishes have some heavy supporters. Don't skip the appetizers. The spring rolls and fried won tons, in particular, are greasy, decadent treats.

The Scene
It looks like your standard Chinese spot in any number of strip malls. Most people take their food home but there are a few tables and chairs on site.