Here's a surprising and disappointing closure to report from the Dining Terrace at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Shanghai Bao Kitchen has closed, only a couple of weeks after next-door neighbor
Shilla Bakery opened. A blank wall has been erected in front of their space. Shanghai Bao Kitchen had a solid 4-star rating on Yelp, and had been reviewed favorably since it
opened exactly two years ago.
How long has that wall been up? Obviously it didn't just close yesterday.
ReplyDelete"Surprising and disappointing"
ReplyDeleteDid you ever eat there yourself?
5:06: It was still open earlier this week. I got this photo Wednesday night, so yes, it did just close. Yelp and Google haven't even listed it closed yet, and they are pretty fast. Your skepticism is better directed at the inept and corrupt County Council.
ReplyDelete5:18: Weird question. You just got bodyslammed by breaking news, old sport.
Wow 5:52 that was rude. 5:18 simply asked if you had eaten there yourself!!
DeleteI ate there. I think three things did them in:
ReplyDelete1. Poor location not directly in the food court (though the same could be said of Chick-Fil-A and they do well)
2. Confusing menu. Most Americans just aren't familiar with dumplings, and the menu forces you to make all these choices, but I don't really know what I should choose, since I've never built my own dumplings before. Same issue with Roti grill if you've been there -- now they have a few "pre-set" options also.
3. Not enough Asians going to Montgomery Mall. You'd think there would be more given proximity to Rockville (also known as Wokville).. though on the other hand, maybe they'd just eat at authentic restaurants in Rockville.
If they want to bring Asian food to Montgomery Mall, I think a ramen place would work. People understand that.
I think the food concept is confusing to typical mall eaters, and the Asian demographic just doesn’t visit this mall that much. So while
DeleteIt is disappointing, it doesn’t seem too surprising. They were hardly ever busy.
Their parent restaurant, Bob's Shanghai 66, specializes in soup dumplings (delicious), something they were not allowed to sell.
ReplyDelete"It was still open earlier this week. I got this photo Wednesday night, so yes, it did just close."
ReplyDeleteToday is Friday. How come it took you a day and a half to publish a single paragraph and a single photo?