The caller was aghast.
"You call yourself a Chinese food fan and you've never been to the Shanghai Inn?"
Is it good? I asked.
"It's the best," she said. "Freshest in town."
I am so glad I listen to smart readers who know their food.
The restaurant, which occupies the end unit of a busy shopping center at the corner of Monterey Avenue and Country Club Drive in Rancho Mirage, has an elegant flair, with plush booths and gleaming hardwood tables, plus unique wood and rice paper lanterns hanging above each table.
There's a bubbling waterfall just inside the front door and a long, well-equipped bar running along one wall, which explains the huge menu of specialty drinks offered.
Since it was lunchtime, though, I skipped the cocktail menu and went with one of the food specials, which includes a cup of egg drop soup or house salad and white or fried rice.
Kung Pao Calamari was like a beacon calling to me from the menu, but considering the little pepper next to the name denoting "hot and spicy" and the 115-degree heat I'd have to return to outside, I opted for a milder dish instead: almond and cashew chicken.
It was an excellent choice.
The presentation alone was impressive — a big portion arrived on its own decorative square platter — and the taste lived up to the hype. Large chunks of chicken, plenty of sweet onion triangles and pieces of green pepper were bathed in a wonderful dark-brown glaze and topped with toasted whole cashews and almond halves. (Nirvana to fans of nuts. I'm used to getting one or the other, but not usually both!)
The egg drop soup was good, too, with lots of egg strands and a few bits of noodle suspended in a flavorful, viscous broth.
The lunch specials are offered until 3:30 p.m., but if you're hungry a little later, single dinners (10 selections that also come with soup or salad and rice) start at $9.55. Most other selections are under $15.
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