★★ Club Jin Mao - Shanghai

About 4 hours ago I was eating here in the old streets of Shanghai, now I am in the fifth tallest building in the world 金茂大厦 (Jinmao Tower) at one of the fanciest Shanghai restaurants in the city. I ofcourse ordered the same dish 红烧牛肉面 (Beef noodle soup), just to compare it with the experience I had earlier in the day.

The Soup - was a very surprising thick broth that is filled with the flavor of beef and the fragrance of various Chinese herbs. The regular spices such as anise stars and gui pi are toned down, instead Chinese herbal medicine such as dang gui are used giving it a flavor that I have never had before in beef noodle soup.

The Noodles - are medium thin straight noodles cooked medium firm. The noodles were chewy and absorbed the flavor of the soup very well.

The Toppings - were big chunks of beef and bok choy cabbage. The beef weren't that tender and a little dissapointing, though I believe that is how they are suppose to be... and unlike my experience earlier in the day, I had no doubt that what I was eating here was beef.

Overall - the soup really made this beef noodle soup quite interesting. The smell of the Chinese herb dang gui was so strong that it didn't feel like beef noodle soup, instead it felt like something my grandmother would cook for me if I was sick. By the way, the price of this ramen was $10, compare that to the $.40 I spent earlier in the day... I guess the view was worth the higher price.