Old Town Chinese Restaurant - Home Made Shanghai Style Cuisine
Restaurant Review by Ken Stewart, The Guam Food Guy
January 2002

I would venture to say that nearly everyone who's driven (or walked) on Tumon's San Vitores Road in the past six months has passed the Old Town Chinese Restaurant. I would also say that 99% of them have not stopped by to eat there. I was among the "missing" masses until the other day when I decided it was time to visit this tiny eatery that's located in San Vitores Plaza, near the opposite end from Quizno's and adjacent to Hoa Mai Vietnamese Restaurant. Look for the large red sign above the entrance..it's the only one!

I'd recently been given the nod of approval by Candy Okuhama (my friend Alice Chou's daughter), who's culinary skills and tastes have impressed me and others. Candy told me that she liked some of their Shanghai-style dishes. Never having traveled to Shanghai, I can't profess any first-hand experience as to the preparation and quality. I was told by the manager/co-owner, Mr. Chen, that they have adjusted some of the menu item's flavors to meet the tastes of local residents, however, they also enjoy a following among local Chinese, too.

The first thing you notice when you look at Old Town Chinese Restaurant's Menu is the price, which I felt to be unbelievably affordable, especially for Tumon. Though I was alone (nearly a sin when eating Chinese!), I still managed to order a representative selection of items to perform this review. I started out with two appetizers, the Shanghai-style Chicken Flavor ($3.00) and the Beef Shank 5 spice ($3.00). Both of these are cold cut dishes, and the chicken had been boiled in spices, then dried, cut up, and chilled. It was firm but flavored as though it was pickled and I marveled at how the bones were hollowed, with all the marrow gone! Shanghai cooking is known more for using preserved vegetables and salted meats than the the freshness obsessed Cantonese style of cooking. The Five Spice Beef Shank was thinly sliced and layered on a bed of bean sprouts. I asked my waitress, Fang, for advice on the type of dipping sauce. She made one up for me, using soy sauce, vinegar and red chili paste. It worked. The beef was cooked well done and had the distinctive flavor of the famous Chinese Five Spice seasoning, which is a pungent blend of cinnamon, cloves, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise and fennel. Both were pleasant appetizers.

For my main dishes I ordered Kung Pao Chicken ($5.90), Mongolian Beef ($7.00) and Baby Pok-Choi with Garlic ($6.00). The Kung Pao Chicken was marvelously spicy, with plenty of chicken and peanuts. It also was blended with baby bamboo shoots, that looked like buttons or mushroom tips...these are not commonly found in Guam's Chinese restaurants, so they were appreciated for their novelty as well as their special flavor and texture.

The Mongolian Beef was another sure-fire winner! The special blend of seasonings smothering the tender beef slices that are wok fried with fresh red and green bell peppers and crisp onions clearly identifies this aromatic dish. It's not "hot-hot", just spicy hot, so if you are easily overwhelmed by spicy foods, I'd recommend something lighter. Also, you can request that they cook your food without MSG, since it is used some times used in certain preparations.

The Baby Pok-Choi with Garlic was one of my favorite dishes...it was delightfully healthy and the garlic chunks were ever-present in the sauce used for sautéing these delicate greens, the stems of which were still crunchy. Talk about food giving pleasure--this was one dish I could eat every day! Give it a try.

Local Chinese particularly like Old Town's Braised Fish Belly ($7.00) as well as their Fish Filet with Chili Sauce ($7.00). Non-Chinese local residents go for the Fried Pork Chop plate. There are many other dishes, all affordably priced at this small restaurant, including soups, noodles, rice dishes, and seafood. The dumplings are also reported to be quite tasty according to a local Japanese businessman who I met while dining there. He was impressed with the quality and consistency of their food, with price being a further benefit. The cook used to work across the street at Yuan San Chinese Restaurant in the Grand Hotel, a place known for great Chinese cuisine.

A revealing cultural experience awaits the diner at Old Town Chinese Restaurant. When you walk in you will notice that the walls are filled with a few dozen black framed pictures showing Shanghai scenes...mostly from it's glorious past in the early part of the last century before the Communists took over. There are interesting posters of product advertisements, showing lovely ladies in Western-style clothing promoting the good life enjoyed by drinking a popular beverage. The photos of the buildings give a nice view to the past, with many of the same buildings standing along the shoreline. There's also a picture showing the new Grand Hyatt...an impressive, towering ultra-modern structure. The hotel in located off the ground floor at higher levels. There are nearly 100 million people residing in the vicinity of Shanghai!

The hours of operation for Old Town Chinese Restaurant are 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch everyday except Tuesday, when they are open for dinner only. Dinner hours are 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. They do have take-out and will do special orders for fresh seafood dishes when ordered in advance. Call 647-8200. This is a small, home-style, no frills restaurant. It is modest, fairly clean and is best known for its affordably priced tasty food.