I read the kevineats’s post re free corkage. And that brings back a sour point with my past experience with ShangHai #1.
The incidence occurred when they first opened, I ordered a custom a $2000+ meal for 10 and requested that I bring my own beer for the occasion. We agreed to a $6/bottle corkage. The beer is worth at most $3 per bottle. The day before the event, I brought 2 cases of said beer to SH#1 and ask them to properly chill it before service.
When it comes to dinner time, I discovered that they left the 2 case of my beer in the designated VIP room at room temp and proceeded to serve warm beer to us and charged us the $6/bottle corkage.
Had one of my worst meals at Shanghai #1. SGV branch pales in comparison to their original Shanghai location.
Ah yes I remember that CH post
So sad to hear about this meal! How can the dessert be served in… plain warm water??? I don’t even understand the shredded beef. Argh. Thanks for saving us all from suffering from this, though. 
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Chengdu Depression…
Thanks for taking one for the team.
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I cannot speak to the taste of the dish, and to the dryness of the meaty part that you experienced, but I can attest to the visuals, and FWIW, this seems to me to be exactly what that dish is supposed to look like. The huge amount of fat is something most Westerners find off-putting, but is quite popular in the Middle kingdom.
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Thanks @CiaoBob. That pic looks succulent! 
Yah, we’ve had some Braised Pork before at some of the recommended SGV restaurants that were high fat content also. But at least for those places it was tender, succulent and luscious. Not so here.
Because those were American pork.
looks disgusting and a rip off, def not hitting this up.
i’ll stick with chengu taste 4 lyfe
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Why would you think that?
And “kevineats” is probably one of last people on earth I would look to for guidance on Chinese food.
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No, lack of demand.
Isn’t Kevin Chinese? lol
I thought the place was well reviewed by various places Gold and stuff. Must’ve been thinking of somewhere else.
What does being Chinese (true or not) have anything to do with it?
And, Gold is right behind “kevineats” for who I look to for Chinese food recommendations, or maybe just food recommendations in general.
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Lmfao
Ok.
I find Jonathan Gold entirely reliable in the sense that when I order a dish he said was great, it’s great.
Without going in depth, I had a radically different experience. Of the 11 courses, eight were excellent and showed great finesse. The other three were just okay, not bad. The highlights were (i) the fish, which I thought was as good or better as versions at SI or Chengdu Taste; (ii) the stir fried pork with peppers and pea shoots course, which was positively savory deliciousness; and (iii) the pork belly, which just melted. Everyone at the table agreed it was one of the most luscious presentations of pork belly fat we had tasted.
I also saw none of the rich kid stuff. It was all families. The service was excellent and attentive too, albeit the food was often served too fast.
Perhaps they are already getting over some opening snafus. I think the cooking was real good, and a nice addition to the area.
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