Jeff's Kitchen

I called a couple of weeks in advance, reserved a table, and ordered the foods for 12 people. Chef Jeff discussed each dish with me on the phone. I like the fact that Jeff shopped for the fresh ingredients after he received the orders. When I and my guests arrived at the restaurant at 6:30 PM tonight, the foods were served exactly as planned, one course after another. We had, in the following order, the smoked fish, marinated gluten, steamed pork dumplings (xiao long bao), pan fried buns, egg rolls, stir-fried shrimps, fish filet soup, braised pork shoulder, spare ribs with sweet and sour sauce, rice with salted pork belly and green veggie, stir-fried pork liver, steamed baby cabbage with ham, and finally the sweet wine soup with rice balls as dessert. Everything was exquisitely prepared and super-delicious. The xiao long bao are better than those in most Ding Tai Feng stores in the world. I have had Shanghainese dishes served in New York, Toronto, LA, San Francisco, Taipei and Shanghai. Jeff’s interpretation of Shanghainese food is definitely one of the best I have ever experienced! After dinner, I and my friends continued to sit at the table and chatted for an hour. Jeff and his wife stopped by occasionally to replenish our tea pots and to make friendly small talks, but never tried to rush us to vacate our table. It was an absolutely enjoyable dinner experience!