SHI - Once Again, A Crowd Pleaser

SHI - 47- 20 Center Blvd, Long Island City NY 11101
Reservations: 347-242-2450 Take Out: 347-242-2448
7 Train to Vernon Blvd/Jackson Avenue
www.shilic.com

Recently discovering SHI on Vicky's good word, we went there once again this past weekend, bringing our friends, Lisa and Jay with us. Being true Manhattanites, I don't think that Lisa and Jay expected the hotness that LIC brought but at the end of the night, I think we got them convinced (at least I hope so). And the fact that we got a primo table near a window, overlooking the entire NYC skyline didn't hurt either.

Here are some of the new things that we tried:

Fried Shrimp Wontons - What can be bad about a fried dumpling stuffed with shrimp? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It had a wonderfully crunchy shell and the shrimp inside tasted fresh. The sweet and sour sauce that came alongside it was a nice complement, as we all took turns dipping our wontons into it. This dish was gone in seconds and I'm guessing that we'll order it again.

Mango Chicken and Shrimp - What I really wanted to order was the popcorn beef (again) but I resisted and tried something new. And while I liked the combination of the sweet chicken and shrimp--the long slices of mango were especially tasty--I did not love it as much as the beef. Dan put it the best way, "I prefer to have crispy and fried Chinese food instead of gooey, messy Chinese food." And that's the truth--it's not that I didn't like the flavors in this dish, it was just that the texture wasn't appealing. I'm back to ordering my beloved beef next time.

Various Sushi - Lisa tried three different sushi rolls including salmon avocado, crunchy spicy salmon and the spicy tuna. I didn't try any of them but she seemed to enjoy everything and commented about the freshness of the rolls. She's sort of a sushi connoisseur so I took her word for it. Her favorite was the crunchy spicy salmon--it was a bit different from the norm.

Shi Sunday - We still had room for dessert and ordered the Shi Sunday, which was just vanilla ice cream topped with cognac and some sort of coffee liqueor. The ice cream was delicious but I did not care for the liqueor at all. It was too bitter and took away from the goodness of the ice cream. Call me a simpleton, but I would've preferred some good ol' fashioned chocolate sauce. Pass the Hershey's please? Lisa agreed with me but the guys didn't--they loved it.

Shi Sangria - This was my drink and it was pretty good. Not great but good. It's hard for me to drink sangria in the States now, coming from our Spanish vacation where all the sangria and tapas were so top-notch. Anyway, not to be a sangria snob but this one needed more sugar. The fresh fruit such as the apples, plums and oranges were very good though.

Service and Cost:
Our waitress was friendly and quite knowledgeable about the menu. We asked her to explain what a couple of the dishes were and she definitely eased our worries. All dishes came out of the kitchen in speed time and we never felt that we had to wait long for anything.

In terms of cost, it was an expensive dinner. Not because of the food but because of the alcohol. Note to self, if you want to keep the cost of the bill down, order beer and skip the hard liquor. For 3 appetizers, 4 entrees, dessert and 6 drinks our bill was about $168, not including tip.

2 Mmmms