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Entering The Tang Dynasty

written by John Chow on May 26th, 2008

Now that we’re back in Shanghai, it means we can once again take part in this lifestyle of the rich and famous that Shanghai seems to have become obsessed with. And very few places exude wealth and power better than the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang looks more like a hotel than a restaurant. Its huge lobby looks like the grand foyer of some five star hotel. The place is made almost entirely of imported marble and there’s enough staff running around to overwhelm even the pickiest guest. The menu is a 98 page full color book!

One thing for sure, you’ll never see a restaurant like Tang in the West. They wouldn’t be able afford the staff requirements. Because wages are so low in China, the restaurant can hire enough staff to make sure everyone receive top notch service. For example, the serving of food is performed with two waiters - one delivers the food to your table and another set it down on the table.

BTW - this was only lunch. We’re going to an even fancier place for dinner. To get rich really is glorious. :twisted:

The Blues Blogger said on May 26th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

Always enjoy these tasty posts …

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Bob said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:49 pm

Me too!! hey john you make us hungry withthese posts :!:

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Chris Jacobson said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:51 pm

Mmm… suddenly I’m hungry. Thanks a lot John! :twisted:

Reply to this comment
James Christensen said on May 26th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

98 page book? My wife would never decide!

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Flimjo said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:09 am

I get all flustered just going to the Cheesecake Factory with its enormous menu. But that doesn’t compare to this!

Reply to this comment
Thiago Prado said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:58 am

thanks God I’m not alone. My wife always makes me mad when we go out to have lunch or dinner because the fact she takes to much time deciding what she’s gonna get.

Reply to this comment
Terra Andersen said on May 27th, 2008 at 9:58 am

That is the most gorgeous menu I’ve ever seen! woah!!

:shock: :shock:

Reply to this comment
Terry Tay said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:08 pm

Especially when most people are so used to ordering by Number. I’ll have the Number 1 please, coke with no ice :lol:
~Terry

Reply to this comment
Clickusername said on May 26th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

Your content over the last week is just TOP NOTCH. You have opened my eyes about the new and the old in China and I’ve been there 3 times already. Maybe it’s time to go again.

Reply to this comment
Bibokz said on May 26th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

Wow!!! My tummy is roaring… hate these pics. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Reply to this comment
Kyle Klingler said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:02 pm

Your food posts ALWAYS make me hungry for some real food. It seems like all there is over here in the US is McDonalds. I want some real food! Send me some food from China John! :D ;)

Reply to this comment
Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing! said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

Lol really? I live in the US and I eat amazing food all the time, just make it yourself!

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Webmaster Forums said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:43 pm

Its becoming more and more annoying seeing your reviews on restaurants. Dude we come here read new stuffs on how to make money; could you get in real business.

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Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing! said on May 26th, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Your entire site is a perfect ripoff of DP :lol:

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Sha said on May 26th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

You’re right. That looks a wee bit too much like DP. They do say that imitation is a form of flattery.

Reply to this comment
Webmaster Forums said on May 26th, 2008 at 11:00 pm

“Your entire site is a perfect ripoff of DP”.
Hah you must be color blind:) You even did not check the site as a whole–it got some features even DP does not have. Thank you for post is to mention one.

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Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing! said on May 27th, 2008 at 10:29 am

I looked at the homepage, saw it was DP with different colors and closed it. Show me a few differences and maybe I’ll take that back :mrgreen:

Reply to this comment
Chris Jacobson said on May 26th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

You keep referencing America, when you live in Canada. :cool:

Reply to this comment
Flimjo said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:11 am

Good point. Perhaps a Freudian slip?? :cool:

Reply to this comment
The Berry Tree said on May 27th, 2008 at 9:54 am

We all now know where he wishes he lived at :P

Reply to this comment
make150aday said on May 27th, 2008 at 3:28 pm

Very true..
But Canada including Mexico is also in The Americas…if thats what he meant.
May be majority of the visitors are from USA.

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Most of my readership is from the USA. I used to list all prices in USD but since the CAD is equal to the USD, it doesn’t matter anymore. :)

Reply to this comment
JJDW said on May 27th, 2008 at 9:50 am

He lives in North AMERICA.

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Monetize your blog said on May 26th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

Good I know now , when I come to Shangai I`ll take a beautiful girl out to dinner at the Tang Dynasty. :grin:

Reply to this comment
Sha said on May 26th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

The food looks good. Not sure about the soup.

And the restaurant kind of reminds me of a buffet near here. The inside looks nothing like a restaurant either.

Reply to this comment
Pyjammez said on May 26th, 2008 at 10:31 pm

D E L Icious!

Reply to this comment
Paul B said on May 27th, 2008 at 12:52 am

Gordon Ramsey says that if a menu has pictures of the food you should avoid the place at all costs, it looks tacky.

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am

Gordon Ramsey wouldn’t be eating at any restaurants in China then. It’s standard business here to show photos of food.

Reply to this comment
Affiliate Confession said on May 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

I see you’re wearing shorts in a super high class restaurant there. I thought China would require at least a coat with your shorts.

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:16 pm

There’s no dress code for lunch. Not sure about dinner.

Reply to this comment
Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing! said on May 27th, 2008 at 10:27 am

I love it when they have pictures of the food. If you don’t know what the hell it is how are you supposed to order it?

Reply to this comment
Paul B said on May 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am

I think Gordon’s point was that it makes it look like a McDonalds, from looking at John’s pictures I don’t think you could accuse the Tang Dynasty of being like that though :smile:

Reply to this comment
Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing! said on May 27th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

Haha yeah I know what he means. Unless it’s a 4 or 5 star restaurant though I actually prefer pictures, seems like people would try more dishes like that and not just order the one they know is good.

Reply to this comment
Financial Jesus said on May 30th, 2008 at 2:01 am

Having pictures makes it so much easier to decide. Being in a foreign country and not speaking the language can make deciding what to eat quite a challenge!

Reply to this comment
Pradeep said on May 27th, 2008 at 1:39 am

simply deliciouses post :razz: by the way do they serve pure vegetarian food coz i cant eat only meat or fish i want something vege with it :grin:

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:19 pm

The menu is 98 pages. They’ve got you covered. :cool:

Reply to this comment
Greg from Make Money Online said on May 27th, 2008 at 3:08 am

I really enjoyed the video. It shoew a side of china I have never seen before. With the low wages supplemental income from the internet is needed.

Reply to this comment
I Need Alex said on May 27th, 2008 at 4:15 am

you made me all hungry now! :shock:

Reply to this comment
Shams said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:07 am

Oohhhhh…………….my……………..GOD :cool:

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Thiago Prado said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:09 am

I like the post about fine dining…. the only problem is that I don’t eat this kind of food even though it looks amazing.

Reply to this comment
Make Money Talks said on May 27th, 2008 at 6:33 am

Very tasty mmmmm :) that looks great man!

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The Berry Tree said on May 27th, 2008 at 9:52 am

Agreed, the food looks lavish.

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Zak Show said on May 27th, 2008 at 8:15 am

that looks Very tasty It make me hungry man ! :lol:

Reply to this comment
Asswass said on May 27th, 2008 at 8:16 am

In South America restaurants do have two waiters serving your food. But of course people also earn minimum wage for less than $150 a month.

Reply to this comment
Ronald Su said on May 27th, 2008 at 9:47 am

I like the duck dish. Looks really appealing :idea:

Reply to this comment
The Berry Tree said on May 27th, 2008 at 9:56 am

Indeed, I’d like to indulge in some right now

Reply to this comment
Clive said on May 27th, 2008 at 10:02 am

John,
I think you should be concerned, have you done a comparison between your site and John cow’s site on Alexa? Your site has made a massive dip while John Cow is on a rapid increase.

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 4:24 pm

No, I am not concern nor will I ever be concern about an Alexa ranking. I’m actually thinking of putting the blog on a secure page so Alexa would say “Not in the top 1,000,000.” Then imagine how many comments I’ll get! :twisted:

Reply to this comment
TheRestaurantBlogger said on May 27th, 2008 at 10:03 am

John, what was the total bill?

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 4:34 pm

I don’t know. I didn’t pay.

Reply to this comment
Terry Tay said on May 27th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

Did they figure you couldn’t afford pants and say it’s on the house? :lol:
~Terry

Reply to this comment
ElectroGeek said on May 27th, 2008 at 10:38 am

I wish there was a place that served great looking food like that in my town. Bummer… :cry:

Reply to this comment
Philip Robert said on May 27th, 2008 at 11:06 am

John, My nephew Joe Birdsong worked at a small upscale restaurant in Covington, Louisiana where there was a server for each guest at each table. While everyone was eating the servers stood unobtrusively behind each quest ready to respond to any need or request. The food was amazingly delicious, and the service incredible. The price… a bit more than Ruth’s Chris steakhouse.

Maybe not as big or flashy as Tang Dynasty, but incredible food and service.

Reply to this comment
Affiliate Confession said on May 27th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Is that the same Tang the astronauts took to the moon? lol!

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Start Blogging said on May 27th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

Wow, looks like a nice restaurant. At other restaurants you could be done eating before you even get through the menu at the Tang!

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Affiliate Confession said on May 27th, 2008 at 2:37 pm

Looks delicious. Maybe I missed it on the video, but how much did the whole meal cost?

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VeRonda said on May 27th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

You know what, seriously John, you really inspire… No joke, when I read this articles and see these photos I say that I can do that, too, and I can have that, too. The inspiration is real… no other word for it. Thanks.

Reply to this comment
Will said on May 27th, 2008 at 3:29 pm

Hmmm…somehow, my local take out place just won’t cut it anymore!

Reply to this comment
make150aday said on May 27th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Actually in US also you can find places where there will be someone who takes the order and the person bringing the food will be different.
We had that in a Thai restaurant as well as in Mexican restuarant.


BTW–John I guess the dress code is not mentioned.

Reply to this comment
John Chow said on May 27th, 2008 at 4:38 pm

As far as I know, there is no dress code for lunch. Not sure about dinner.

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Noobpreneur said on May 27th, 2008 at 5:50 pm

John,

It is glorious indeed - especially if you have $30,000 p.m. rushing in your bank account :D

Again, nice vid, John!

Cheers

Reply to this comment
m4stono said on May 27th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

woow.. sound like tasty foods..

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Binary Ant said on May 28th, 2008 at 1:57 am

John you should come to Spain, I’m sure you’d enjoy with our wonderful cuisine.

Cheers!

Reply to this comment
1minutefilmreview said on May 28th, 2008 at 2:25 am

Shanghai, Ni Hou! Oh man John, those are genuine Shanghai traditional food we assume! What are those dishes’ names haha?

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Joy Smith said on May 28th, 2008 at 2:44 pm

That sashimi looks yummy! I love the ideaof the menu book, even though it is insane!!! :mrgreen:

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1minutefilmreview said on May 28th, 2008 at 11:06 pm

We don’t see any sashimi?? Where??

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Turn One Pound Into One Million said on May 29th, 2008 at 9:22 pm

I am such an indecisive person I could never cope with a menu that long - I would need a week to study it beforehand!! Seriously it was such a beautiful thing though - I cannot imagine anywhere in the UK having such a lovely menu.

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$ Secret Money Blog $ said on May 30th, 2008 at 7:06 am

i am feeling hungry after watching these dishes…..

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