Petite Soo Chow

Today’s my last day in Jersey, and the only one I didn’t make any plans for. When all else fails, Chinese food is ALWAYS welcome on the agenda:

Petite Soo Chow is a Shanghainese restaurant in Cliffside Park. We arrived a little past noon, over 14 hours since my pre-bedtime snack, and I was seriously ready to get my grub on.

They’re known for their soup dumplings. Immediately upon entering, you can see them being made!

My parents told me this place gets crazy on the weekends. I can see why – it’s pretty tiny!

Started off with complimentary tea and peanuts.

The first to arrive were some Sauteed Snow Pea Leaves, and Shanghai Style Rice Cake (with Preserved Cabbage and Shredded Pork)

This was the Beef with Hot Pepper, which my mother specifically asked not to be made spicy. It comes with four hot n fresh Mantou (dough-y steamed buns)

Each Mantou has a little pocket cut into it, perfect for stuffing!

I couldn’t wait to try the soup dumplings (labeled “Steamed Bun with Meatball” on the menu) to compare them to the ones I’ve had at Din Tai Fung. Not as juicy/soup-y as the West Coast version but definitely delicious. I ate about 3 of these.

More of the other stuff…

White rice came with the dishes too, but I didn’t have any. Why waste precious stomach space when there’s freshly made Scallion Pancakes?!?

Thoroughly enjoyed with more veggies and pork (this plate x2)

And even though I was pretty full, I couldn’t resist one last piece (it’s fried, so leftovers aren’t as good). It got dipped in the dumpling ginger/soy/vinegar sauce.

If you’re in Jersey and looking for a really good, authentic place – this is it – the food is fresh and flavorful, not greasy, and reasonably priced. Tell them Mrs. Chen’s daughter from Los Angeles sent you!

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Tagged as: chinese, new jersey