Hey!!! So yesterday night, a very special family friend decided to stop by which translates to : EPIC DINNER!!!!! While home cooking is nice, this occasion was just too special so we went to a restaurant. My dad chose the 耶里夏丽 at 918 DongFang RD. Here’s how it went.

Appearance and Atmosphere

To be honest, I thought we made a wrong turn when I first came. We were pretty much in an alley and the big lighted sign and plastic drapery didn’t really help it’s elegance. It also seemed pretty small, but boy was I wrong

As I stepped in, I learned to never judge a book by it’s color a) the restaurant is huge  b) it had a very cool Middle eastern flair.

The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming. Even better, from 6:30-7:00pm, they have mini performances!! YAY!!! Now onto the important stuff

Food

Xinjiang food is not your traditional Chinese fare. The region is largely populated with the muslim Uyghur minority. Consequently, their food has a heavy Middle Eastern influence full of lamb, beef and more lamb. As for this restaurant, here’s some of the dishes we ordered:

 Cold Beef Tendon

This dish is basically boiled beef tendon that has been chilled and doused with spiced chili oil. Despite the rather unappetizing description, the dish itself was quite delicious. The tendon was actually chewable, but not too soft, but the chili oil made it a bit too greasy and wasn’t distributed evenly

 Grilled Saury

I was very surprised to see this dish on the menu since it is a staple on Japanese menus, but as it turns out, grilled fish is common in Uyghur cuisine. The fish was very delicious and flavorful, especially with the middle eastern spices. Most importantly, it was crispy on the outside while retaining a juicy and tender inside

 Grilled Lamb Kebabs

This is probably the most cliché item on the menu. It’s literally on the menu of every middle eastern restaurant. The ones at this restaurant were very good (and juicy) and flavorful, but they didn’t taste much different from ones at other restaurants, like 西贝.

 Boiled Lamb Chops

Sound boring? Not quite. This dish is probably some of the best lamb I’ve eaten. While the cooking method is simple, the meat is stewed to tender perfection and the broth is sooooo good. The only downside is that the meat is a bit bland, but luckily, the dish comes with seasoned chili oil and you can always ask for condiments. I dipped mine in spice powder. Did I mention I pretty much ate the entire plate of this stuff??

 Traditional Roast Lamb leg

This dish was the hero of the night. It was perfectly well seasoned, flavorful, juicy, tender….etc. It was so well done that I didn’t even need the extra flavorings. Did I forget to mention that it is HUGE!!!!! There was at least 600g of meat on that thing. If there’s one thing to order, order this

 Homemade Yogurt

So everyone’s stuffed and we’re about ready to go, when my mom sees the waitresses carrying trays filled with little ceramic jars of yogurt. When we heard that the yogurt was housemade, we just had to try some. As expected it was creamy, rich and delicious. However, I thought it was a bit too sweet- but that’s just me. It was the perfect way to end dinner

Service

One word: Fast. Most of our food was already on the table in 30 minutes. Pretty impressive considering that the restaurant was nearly full.

Overall impression:

The restaurant is a great one. It has a good, vibrant atmosphere and amazing food. I highly recommend it, or at least on of it’s other 8 locations in Shanghai. Check out the website for more info: www.yelixiali.com

 

• Dining