Guest Review: Shen's Peking

Written by Jason Gloss

Shen's Peking; image by Google
Shen’s Peking; image by Google

Mr. Shen’s is a no-frills authentic NYC style Chinese restaurants. Things I like to look for in places like these. Is it clean? Yes. Is the service good? Yes. Do they use quality ingredients? Yes. And lastly, is the food good? Yes.
Out of all of the Chinese restaurants in Central to West Boca, I have to say Shen’s takes the title. They have an array of combo dinners but I’d recommend doing take-out, otherwise you’ll be breaking bread with most of Century Village. The staff is nice, though the man behind the register can be a bit cold, but that could just be a cultural thing. I’d imagine putting up with all these fogies for two decades his tolerance has waned a bit. To some, he might come off like Asian soup nazi, but he warms up after a while, I promise.
There are plenty of Chinese restaurants in the area and I enjoy Bamboo Wok just as much as the next person, but I happen to think the food quality at Mr Shen’s is the best in the area. The chow fun is one of my favorite dishes as well as the spicy garlic shrimp. Have patience, an open mind and remember you always get what you pay for, especially when it comes to food.
Rating: A –
Mr Shen’s Peking Chinese Restaurant
9228 Glades Rd
Boca Raton, FL 33434

Editor’s note: Mr. Gloss offered to write some restaurant reviews for West Boca News. We hope these reviews help our readers. Please note that these are his opinions and we do not always agree.
In 2014 we did a survey of readers about Chinese restaurants. Shen’s was middle of the pack.
Shen’s is in Boca Lyons Plaza next to Miller’s Ale House, on the south side of Glades Road just west of Lyons.

Chinese Restaurant Torture: Inspection Report

Hong Kong Palace on Powerline; image by Google
Hong Kong Palace on Powerline; image by Google

It was a bad week for Chinese restaurants in West Boca. At the top of the smelly pile was Hong Kong Palace on Powerline. They had a total of 37 violations including 6 marked high priority:

  • Chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength for manual warewashing. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. – employee using a cleaner/sanitizer with bleach as sanitizer in 3 compartment sink for manual warewashing.
  • Employee failed to wash hands beforechanging gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food. – from manual warewashing to cooking on line without handwashing.
  • Nonfood-grade containers used for food storage _ direct contact with food. – in walk in cooler.
  • Raw animal food stored in top portion of make table over ready-to-eat food in bottom portion of make table _ no complete physical barrier between top and bottom. – wok line cold table has raw sausage in rear with vegetables and cook foods in front of it.
  • Server handled soiled dishes or utensils and then picked up plated food, served food, or prepared a beverage without washing hands.
  • Vacuum breaker missing at mop sink faucet or on fitting/splitter added to mop sink faucet.

They also had bad inspections in August of 2015 and October of 2014. They’ve had some good inspections as well in the past.
The next biggest number goes to Shanghai City (south side of Glades across from the Turnpike entrance) with 31 violations, 3 of them high priority.
It was also a rough for Chen’s Yokohama (Boca Lyons Plaza). They had two bad inspections. On the 20th they had 30 violations (4 high priority including a stop sale).

  • Employee switched from working with raw food to ready-to-eat food without washing hands.
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food held using time as a public health control marked with a time that exceeds the 4-hour limit. See stop sale.
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food identified in the written procedure as a food held using time as a public health control has no time marking and the time removed from temperature control cannot be determined. See stop sale.
  • Squid, octopus, conch, eel, crab, shrimp, crawfish, lobster or other non-finfish offered raw or undercooked have not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded. **Repeat Violation**

Two days later on a follow-up they still had 24 violations (3 high priority).

  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food held using time as a public health control marked with a time that exceeds the 4-hour limit. See stop sale.
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food identified in the written procedure as a food held using time as a public health control has no time marking and the time removed from temperature control cannot be determined. See stop sale. – Time Extended Until Monday March 21, 2016.
  • Squid, octopus, conch, eel, crab, shrimp, crawfish, lobster or other non-finfish offered raw or undercooked have not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded. **Repeat Violation** Time Extended Until Monday March 21, 2016.

Others with more than 10 violations include:
Odyssey Diner in Delray (19 violations)
Loggers Run Plaza – Mama’s Pizza (16) and Nikuya (13)
Palmetto & Powerline – New Golden China (14) and Sushi Yama (13)
Thai Delight in Deerfield (13 violations, all minor)
and Hunan City on Yamato at Lakeridge (12)
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Good News
The best inspection of the week goes to Jet’s Pizza in Somerset Shoppes. They were perfect – zero violations.
Other notable good inspections were had by Davito’s in Boca Greens (2 minor violations) and Stallone’s on Glades (4 minor violations).
Our full spreadsheet for the week is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/allinsp1-24-2016.pdf”]

Pei Wei To Open June 29th and …

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We received an erroneous press release from Pei Wei this morning, which seemed to indicate the new restaurant at Glades and 441 is already open. We stopped by today. They were supposed to open but it got pushed back two weeks for unspecified reasons.
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That’s not all that’s going on the plaza. We asked around and got details on all the shops that will be open, as discussed in this video:

Facing the new mini-plaza looking from the corner of Glades and 441, from left to right there will be a Vision Works, Verizon Wireless, Mattress Firm, European Wax, and then Pei Wei at the southern end.
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From Pei Wei’s press release:

The newest tenant in the Westwinds of Boca shopping plaza, Pei Wei will introduce 50 jobs to the area and is part of an expansion plan that will bring another Pei Wei to nearby Pompano Beach later this summer.
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The restaurant is located at 9930 Glades Road and is open from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday for both dine-in and takeout customers. Takeout orders can be placed by calling 561-483-7067 or visiting www.PeiWei.com.
Pei Wei Asian Diner serves freshly prepared, wok’d-to-order dishes with Asian inspiration in a comfortable, modern diner environment. Pei Wei owns and operates 193 restaurants in 25 states and the District of Columbia and licenses the Pei Wei brand for use by partner restaurant operators in airport and international locations.
Menu highlights include:
NEW Ways to Kung Pao: The fan-favorite Classic Kung Pao Wok Entrée combines chili seared soy sauce with hand-cut scallions, garlic, snap peas, carrots and peanuts, served with choice of protein and white or brown rice. For a limited time, fans of this craveworthy dish can enjoy the Lighter Kung Pao Wok Entrée, swapping the rice for crisp lettuce cups, or grab their chopsticks and try the new Kung Pao Shrimp Sushi, a sushi roll topped with crispy shrimp, crumbled peanuts and kung pao sauce.
NEW Sushi Crunch Rolls: Topped with tempura flakes to pack the ultimate crunch, the hand-rolled Teriyaki Crunch Roll and Wasabi Crunch Roll are bold twists on classic sushi favorites.
Light and Fresh Salads: Pei Wei has a selection of lighter salads like the Asian Chopped Chicken Salad, tossed with sliced chicken, assorted lettuce, Napa cabbage, carrots, Thai basil, tomatoes, crispy wontons, toasted sesame seeds and sesame ginger vinaigrette.
Wok Fresh Entrées: Pei Wei is known for its made-to-order wok dishes, fired in 700-degree woks to seal in the bold flavors. Popular picks include the Honey Seared Wok Entrée. Recommended with crispy chicken or shrimp, this dish combines sweet honey garlic sauce, chili oil, rice sticks, scallions and red peppers. On the savory side, the Mongolian Wok Entrée, recommended with tender beef, mixes soy sauce, scallions, garlic and white mushrooms.
Perfect Additions: Complete any meal with a number of options including edamame, Vietnamese Chicken Salad Rolls and the signature hand-rolled Vegetable Spring Rolls.

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