Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

1998 N. College Ave.

Fayetteville

This is one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in Northwest Arkansas and definitely our favorite for atmosphere, what with the glassed-in room and lush greenery outside.

On a recent lunch trip to Shanghai, we were first surprised by the inexpensive prices on the lunch menu. Many dishes were only $4.09. The most expensive items on the lunch menu were $5.19. But diners can also order from the dinner menu during the midday meal to get more variety.

We each started off with a bowl of egg drop soup, which came with the meal and was received and consumed with little fanfare or notice.

For entrees, the three diners in our group ordered spicy beef ($4.75), vegetable delight ($4.09) and chicken chow mein ($4.09). (We were floored when we got the final bill and it was only $15.)

The spicy beef was just that — spicy! The strips of tender beef were accompanied by cabbage, carrots and water chestnuts. The dish was served with rice and an egg roll. The diner who had spicy beef said it was good and filling.

The diner who had chicken chow mein said that dish was “mild” with “lots of vegetables.”

“It’s very filling,” he says. “It’s too much for lunch, but most Chinese restaurants are that way. In general, it’s one of my favorite Chinese places in town. It seems to me the food is a little lighter there.”

The diner who had Vegetable Delight found it, as usual, a tasty and attractive dish. The all-vegetable plate comes with a couple of scoops of rice to complement the broccoli, carrots, baby corn and other vegetables. The dish includes a smattering of water chestnuts and mushrooms. It would be nice if those particular items were a little more prevalent in the dish, but at least it’s not overpowered by zucchini or other squashes.

Vegetable Delight also comes with an egg roll.

Although the meals received good to excellent reviews from each diner, the egg rolls rated a bit below that.

Shanghai has all the usual Chinese foods in a variety of combinations to satisfy almost any diner. The dinner menu is easily deciphered with the meals arranged by main ingredient: meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables or house specialities.

The restaurant even offers four diet meals for lunch. The steamed meals with no seasoning ranges from $6.20 (for mixed vegetables) to $7.30 (for shrimp and mixed vegetables or for those two ingredients plus chicken).

We were surprised when two of the diners at our table got the same fortune in their fortune cookies. But we have heeded the message nonetheless: We’re not going to believe everything we hear.