ShangHai Noodle House

The restaurant was too busy taking care of online delivery orders that it does not care too much about dine-in customers. Although, giving the quality of food we had, I wonder why there were still people wanting to order here. We waited very long to order and to get our food. All food we got in here were pre-made, and were in freezer storage. The red bean cake was still cold in the center. The fried dough looks so dark that we initially thought they were made with whole wheat. What was worse? There was mold in it. Please check your frozen storage and monitor shelf life. The soy milk was very light, as if it was 10 times diluted. The soup dumplings looked crazily ugly (see uploaded photo) and tasted worse than their bad looks. The fried Bao, we just tasted one of them, and decided just gave up.

Unfortunately, my experience at this restaurant was disappointing. The service was lacking—staff seemed indifferent and inattentive. The dining environment was quite basic and felt neglected, making the atmosphere uncomfortable. The food also left much to be desired. Shockingly, I found a piece of steel wool in my noodle soup, which raised serious concerns about cleanliness and food safety. The soup itself was bland, lacking flavor and freshness. Additionally, the Xiao Long Bao were extremely disappointing. The dumpling skin was thick and doughy, and the meat filling had an unpleasant, rubbery texture. Overall, the taste and quality did not meet basic expectations. I hope the restaurant takes these concerns seriously and makes necessary improvements.

Is decent food. Not too crazy good but solid enough for a meal. Xlb was alright. Skin a bit thicker but is good and hearty. With that much options around, not sure if I’ll be back

Nothing to recommend. Cash only establishment Good: sliced beef (fu ji fei pian)*, Ok: beef noodle soup* Meh: soup dumplings, pork and chive bun Pass: three cup chicken The fu ji fei pian isn't a recommend because it's not the way it is usually prepared. The sauce is maybe 2/10 spicy, much less spicy than expected but the super thinly sliced tendon is pretty spectacular The beef in the beef noodle soup is nicely braised and very tender but the broth is thin and tastes more of the pickled mustard greens than anything else The soup dumplings had lovely thin skin and tasted like they were made in house but only 3/8 contained any soup and those that did had very little The three cup chicken seemed first deep fried then stir fried in a very thin sauce making the chicken overcooked. The blanched broccoli florets with it also failed to impress The meat of the pork and chive bun was tasty but the bread was thin and soggy and over steamed

Food was oily and poorly cooked. Tables and plates weren't very clean. The place was dark and there was one staff serving the entire restaurant. Not recommended.

Such a great restaurant with delicious food and awesome staff. The food is flavorful with that home cooked feeling. I’ve been coming here for years and they never disappoint. Recommended foods: Beef mustard green noodle soup Spicy beef & spicy fish noodle soup Spicy meat wontons Spicy seafood wontons Spring rolls Fried pork chop Scallion pancake Soup dumplings Salt and pepper fish Thai style chow fun Noodle with hot peanut sauce Curry beef sautéed noodles Eight treasures rice box

Overall place is good. Some dishes I like more than others. Soup dumplings are always a nice pick. I like their beef and beef tendon noodle soup. Pan fried pork dumplings and House Fried Rice are always tasty here. Price is reasonable and borders on too cheap for some dishes. They have a VIP CARD that free to apply to where some dishes are at a special price (rotating menu). Love this place especially for takeout. Easily feeds 3-4 for $50 or less

They may have changed owners. The soup dumplings are good with a lot of soup inside the dumplings and the skin is thin. They are running a promotion for a noodle dish plus 4 dumplings for $15. The noodle soup is good. I prefer chewy noodle, but their noodles are not. I will come for the soup dumplings.

We decided to come here again after many years. I remember when the line used to be out the door and the wait times were long. We came on a Sunday around 1pm and about half the tables were occupied so there was no wait. First thing I noticed is the inside is all different, maybe newer looking. They must have changed ownership from when I last came. The food wasn't authentic and wasn't good. We ordered soup dumplings, sweet soy milk, savory soy milk, and pan fried dumplings. Soup dumplings- the good thing is here they give you 8 pieces (vs 6 pieces in other NJ places). The skin is too thin. It was difficult to pick up with a chopstick or spoon and not 1 piece stayed intact while picking it up. All of the soup leaked out before it even reached my plate. The texture of the skin was "slippery" vs the bouncy kind I usually see with soup dumplings. My husband said he bit into a small piece of bone which is weird. Sweet soy milk- it wasn't a smooth drink. There were lots of soy grits Savory soy milk- tasted very watered down. Didn't have much soy milk flavor Pan fried dumplings- the portion was generous with 6 huge pan fried dumplings. These are the largest I've seen anywhere. They look more like buns than dumplings!! It was ok but overall it didn't taste like a pan fried dumpling. The owners seem really nice and friendly, chatting with some of the customers. Their service was good too. It's just the food isn't authentically Shanghainese.

I actually visited here early last month while on a trip to visit family friends and friends in NY/NJ. I was flipping ecstatic when I saw this place was still open and survived the C-Word. I felt so at home eating the food I had back in my college days with my original order. I will say that the restaurant did downsize, however I'm just happy that they're still there to begin with, just in case I haven't elaborated. The decor did get a nice lift and more modern than the back of the day set up. I think it's cute. I believe the young lady that's been there for years may have been the owner the whole time and I was just too oblivious to actually pay attention. The server herself... I felt bad that she couldn't really understand me as my order was incorrect on what I was missing in my soup. My usual from back in the day was Beef and Beef Tendon Noodle Soup, and I would always ask for tripe with mixed beef intestines... so I was missing the intestines but genuinely didn't really think of it as a big deal since I just wanted to taste the food again. Overall, soup, 15/10. The XLB's are just goodness and warms my soul and lord have mercy how much I have missed these little puppies. I need to let everyone know that there is no good XLB's in the San Jose or East Bay Area of California. Complete disappointment. But that's just my opinion. Shanghai Noodle House's XLB's 20/10

I've been a loyal customer of this little Shanghainese restaurant since 2014 and every visit/take out order is always satisfactory. I'm not overly adventurous with my ordering so I stick to what I know and love every visit. Spicy seafood noodle soup (I like to get it with thin rice noodles but you can get it with any of the noodles they offer) this soup is my absolute favorite soup to get anytime I need a cozy pick me up meal. It comes with squid, shrimp, tofu, and bok choy. It's a hearty portion and worth trying! Beef Chow Fen - this is not my usual order but after going with a friend and trying it from her, I instantly fell in love and knew this would become a regular order for me moving forward from here. Now the appetizers that are worth getting and can't be skipped: Salt and pepper shrimp - this appetizer is pricey IMO but well worth the new price tag because of how delicious it is. The batter they fried the shrimp in is soooo good and the onions and peppers tossed into the mix make the bite explode with flavor that you'll keep going back for 'just one more' until the whole plate is gone. Spicy seafood dumplings - these, although extremely oily, are extremely scrumptious. They are generously stuffed with their seafood mixture and cooked in a delicious spicy oil. Vegetable spring rolls - although a basic appetizer choice, these spring rolls are great. They're crunchy and stuffed to perfection with the perfect amount of veggies inside and dipped in the chili sauce just ties the whole meal together. Don't miss your change to visit this amazing and authentic Shanghainese restaurant. It's worth the drive if you're not in the area but looking for a dinner that will tick off every box this is the spot to go!

We've gotten their food for years when shopping in the area but today's takeout was just not the same. Maybe they changed the chef? If I ordered Shanghai wonton, there are certain expectations how it's made and how it should taste. It's very disappointing today that they used the (thick) dumpling skin for wontons and not much vegetable in the stuffing. My husband didn't mind but this is not what it's supposed to be or how they used to serve. The cold appetizer had no flavor, needed a little bit salt, sesame oil and vinegar. The pork chop was all right. Sorry, I will not return. Need to find another place serving real Shanghai wontons.

Very good value for the amount of food given for the amount paid. Ordered the fish with mustard green noodles with broth and got a good helping of vegetable but taste wise it was okay to me (for noodle soup and soup dumplings)

Went to try this place for early dinner. The place is empty when we arrived. We ordered fried pork ribs, Xiao long bao soup dumplings and salt fish fried rice. The food taste great, but nothing extra ordinary. This place is clean and well lighted. Take note, they only accept payment by cash, Venmo and Zelle. No credit cards accepted. Kinda weird for a restaurant.

Both food and service have been degrading over the years. Such a pity! This restaurant is pretty much empty for most of time, while others in the surrounding area are jam packed, or with waiting lines out of door, which tells you everything that you need to know!

Absolutely amazing food, every time!!! I was introduced to soup dumplings here and have been obsessed ever since

Halfway through enjoying my vegetable dumplings, I unfortunately discovered a long black hair inside one of them after taking a bite. It was a pretty unpleasant experience.

You should seat yourself and/or seek out the waitress when coming in! It's a quaint little place and the waitress was very hardworking yet attentive. The beef and beef tendon noodle soup was a hit! Tender meat and good homemade noodles. The Hong Kong style dishes though - beef chow fun and Singapore rice noodles - should have been skipped. There didn't seem to be enough "wok hei" in the kitchen, as these noodle dishes came out extremely soggy and oil-flavored, rather than the usual smokiness that should come from stir frying in the wok. The beef chow fun had a decent amount of beef to be fair; however, the Singapore rice noodles only had four measly shrimp in the entire dish. Overall, we didn't like how extremely soggy and soaked in oil the noodles were. The dumplings were an ordeal, a lot of miscommunication. I requested the seafood dumplings without any spicy sauce, but when it first came they were pork dumplings covered in red oil, which the waitress insisted it's "not spicy" as I requested. Yes, but that wasn't my intention! Second try pork dumplings came out, and I asked why it wasn't seafood. Finally third time was the charm. Overall if you're used to this kind of service and if you stick to the more Shanghai based dishes, the experience should be fine. I would come back but not for the Hong Kong food we were craving haha.

Ordered takeout and would strongly recommend avoid coming here for many reasons. First off, beware that they are trying to upcharge you: the tax they charge is automatically set to 7% instead of 6.625%. When we asked to clarify, they said it was because "the software is from China" and they can only set to one decimal place. Basically trying to make excuses. You can still set it to either 6.6% or 6.7% at most. Second, food is not good, and is way worse in quality compared to before. 2 out of the 4 sesame pancakes we ordered were completely burnt black on one side, but they still served it - we didn't realize until opening the food at home. The sticky rice roll was arguably one of the worst ones we have every had and made even worse by the exorbitant price of more than $6. Basically just rice with minimal stuffing inside: just the "you tiao" (fried dough) and a few strings of cabbage. Third, terrible customer service: the lady we encountered had a bad attitude, when we tried to ask clarifying questions about the incorrect tax charge, or when we asked for another bag because one of the containers was leaking ("you know in NJ we have to charge for plastic bags, and we already gave you a free one?") Unfortunately, will not be coming back

Placed an order and was ready when they said it was. Ordered 3 crabmeat pork soup dumplings and the stir fry rice cake. The dumplings had a lot of juice inside which was a plus, the skin could have been thinner but it was still good. The rice cake was okay wish it would had a little more sauce. Overall decent place.

It was a bit confusing figuring out if this was the right place because a different name was on the door. No one was inside. Service was great. Food was meh. Got the spicy seafood noodle soup. Lots of seafood in it but not much flavor.

My family and I get food here all the time! My husband loves their chicken fried rice and I love their pork and mustard green soup and the rice cake stir fry. They also have excellent soup dumplings - we've bought a frozen bag to have at home a few times.

Food was mid, had a craving for dim sum and saw this place had shrimp rice rolls. Ordered 3 dishes, shu mai was bland, shrimp dumpling good but the rice rolls were blah. Low flavor small and the sauce was thick and too salty.

All the dumplings are frozen. Food is very bland and pricy. Go elsewhere and don't waste your money.

Came here after trying to go to the NJ Food Court next door, FYI it got shut down for some reason Food: I got the Gua Bao (Taiwanese Hamburger) and Spicy Beef Noodles. The Gua Bao was fluffy and light, and the condiments complemented the meat perfectly. I was going to order the original Beef Noodles, but then decided to get the Spicy Beef Noodles on a whim. Let me just say that the Spicy part needs to be emphasized... because my nose started clearing up and becoming runny after eating this. (I usually have a decent spice tolerance, but I guess not today) So if you're not used to Spicier dishes, you might want to stick with the original. Either way, the meat and noodles will both taste great. Service/Environment: The restaurant itself was pretty standard looking, with a decent amount of seats for both large and small parties. Service was average when it came to friendliness/attentiveness. The waiter did mess up one of my friend's orders (He got the wrong meat in his rice dish), but he ended up enjoying the dish anyways. Price: The lunch specials are definitely the go-to if you want quantity and quality for a low price. For less than $10 per rice dish, you get a very generous serving of meat and veggies with rice to pair. (I will probably be getting this next time) Overall: Besides the service mishap, this is a very solid restaurant. If you are looking for cheap and authentic Chinese food, this place is should be on your list.

For lunch, dined in with 4 dishes: -fresh garlic with shrimp & pork noodles-had bean sprouts on top, not much garlic, good flavor -smelly tofu: pungent smell, could not finish this dish, it was too dry & stinky, spicy sauce was provided but did not use -Taiwanese burger : big sized pork belly, pickled mustard greens on top added some crunch, very good, bun is not crispy, but soft -pork soup dumplings :  standard, good Was told that credit card was not being accepted after the bill came. Notification of cash only should have been mentioned upon entry to the restaurant. Gave 1 less star for this reason.

Excellent food and service. Great homemade style noodles and dumplings, Good selection of entrees. Strongly recommend.

This place was pretty disappointing- both food and service. Sat down on a Sunday for lunch, pretty busy at the restaurant, but it took over 10 minutes before they took our order (not sure if understaffed or what). A lot of the plates/bowls were poorly clean, and the food was quite subpar. XLB dough texture was off, beef noodle soup was lacking in flavor. The Shanghai stir fry noodles had somewhat decent flavor, but that's about it. The rice dishes were priced pretty well, but I didn't get a chance to try any of them.

A go-to destination for my friends and me for some time now. Although Chinese food is not typically my first choice, I must admit to having enjoyed a variety of authentic and well-prepared items here, among them the soups, the dumplings, and the not-so-spicy entrees. Definitely give it a try! You will be greeted with hospitality.

My family has been going to Shanghi Noodle House for years and we have never been disappointed. Whether it is dining in the restaurant, takeout or going there yearly to celebrate Chinese New Years, the food is always excellent. Some of my family's favorites are the Scallion Pancakes. I can't get enough of them. Then the Sha Cha Beef Sauteed Noodles, Pork Soup Buns, Salt & Pepper Fish only to name a few. The food is great, the portions are satisfying, and the prices are reasonable. I would recommend trying it.

This restaurant is not just for noodles. Many great and delicious food options are available for order.

My wife and I had been frequently eating in Chinatown in Manhattan when Shanghai restaurants started appearing. When we stopped going to Chinatown, we needed a closer Shanghai restaurant, and this was it. We've been going here once a week for over ten years and have never had a bad meal. The prices and portions are reasonable, the menu is authentic and extensive, and the food is always good. Of particular value are the rice box combos which my wife and I often share. They come with an entrée along with a hard boiled egg, cabbage, a vegetable (usually potato, string beans, or eggplant), and rice. They range in price from $10.65 to $11.45. They also have a wide variety of noodle soups, many dumplings, hot and cold appetizers, sautéed noodles, special entrées, and Chinese breakfast (Open at 8:00 AM).

Order from Uber Eats, 口水鸡 steamed chicken in chili sauce is the worst I have tried, extremely salty and not at all authentic. The 白粥 plain congee tasted mid too.

Food is old. My daughter got food poisoning. Smells horrible. Never again. Do not sell your old food.

So the location looks a bit run down and the noodles we ordered were pretty bland. Happy I finally tried it so I no longer have to drive by and wonder if it's any good.

The place has a variety of dishes to choose from and I was happy that they have duck noodle soup because it's my favorite. The noodle soup was ok. The noodles they used were a bit thicker than I expected. I also got the soup dumplings which were ok. The skin fell off so easily so I think it was over-steamed. The scallion pancakes were crispy which were also decent and some items I wanted were not available.

Congee is very watery and shui mai is very bland. Again they asked me to pay venmo & zelle which i did not appreciate. Please save your money and get better food somewhere else. They can't even make simple food good.

We initially were going to go to Golden Seafood for dim sum, however didn't take into account the massive crowds during a busy Sunday afternoon. So we settled for this place a little further down in the same strip mall. Menu is fairly large and prices are reasonable. They serve Shanghainese fare, none of your typical Cantonese or American Chinese dishes. Service could have been a little better, probably hit hard during these labor shortages as only one server worked the entire restaurant. Most people come here for the dumplings which we thought were a tad overpriced...so we opted for noodle/rice dishes. Overall, flavors were good, portions pretty generous. May come back again if dim sum is jam packed lol!

In the old days (prior to COVID), we used to dine at Shanghai Noodle House a lot, driving up and down Rte 1 to attend our grandson's baseball games. We no longer go there because (1) their boss lady was rude with me a couple of times, (2) they no longer accept credit card, (3) their food had deteriorated.

Good soup dumplings. Had dinner there a few times with friends after work. Something for everyone, nothing fancy, or overly expensive. BYOB is always a plus for groups.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet. I've moved from the area and don't get there much any more. If you're looking for Chinese food that is a little different, check it out. Lots of dry noodle (like stir-fried) and soup dishes. Quite a variety of dumplings as well. Good portions and pretty reasonable prices. I alway over-order. Pretty quick service as well, dishes seem to come out as they're ready. I like that, at least as far as I can tell, there is a homemade noodle option.

Nothing fancy, but great and solid Chinese food. The General Tso's Chicken is just the right amount of sweet, salty, and spicy. The Beef and Beef Tendon is really good and, like the rice dishes, the portion is huge. No idea why this has 3.5 stars...deserves 4+. Big portions and great prices.

affordable & large portions, good to grab a quick lunch. the rice combos and scallion pancakes are great

My sister found this spot by accident and now takes everyone she knows here! It's super low key and the food is AMAZING. Every time we come, I get the spicy sea food broth and I like to try the different noodle options they have. This time I tired the homemade noodles and they were thick and chewy. It was the first time we tried the spicy fried chicken and it was absolutely delicious. It crispy, fresh, and had the perfect amount of spice-ness . The food here is perfect after a long day or if you are REALLY REALLY hungry. The portions are huge and filling and perfect for sharing. The staff is always great and the food comes out super fast.

This place is poorly managed and low staffed. We ordered short ribs and found a piece of styrofoam in our dish. Food came quick but was not good. Service and food is subpar. Additionally the woman running the operation told us the card machine doesn't work - for us to Venmo her personally. All in all, extremely disappointed in both service and quality of food. Not recommended. Save your money.

Went here for porridge and soup dumplings . Porridge was ok, little bland. Soup dumpling wasn't that good. Not much of the soup. Noodles looked good, but didn't try it.

Such a popular spot. Get here early because it can get crowded. Food tastes great and is affordable. Recommended getting the soup dumplings and spicy dumplings. All the noodle soups are safe options.

It's really hard to believe every single dish came out horrible. All dishes were somehow bland. There was no scallion in scallion pancake, all soup dumplings were broken. In addition to that, the customer service was terrible. Not recommended. Go wait in line next door. The dim sum place seem nice lol

Hands down, best Shanghai soup dumplings and special soup in the area! Mostly homemade especially the wonton, noodles and dumplings. We ordered the fish ball soup, beef and beef tendon with homemade noodles special soup, Hong Kong style wonton soup, fried pork chops, shumai, and eggplant in garlic sauce. All superb. Service was great, prompt and attentive. Great for place for groups, bright and welcoming. We're definitely coming back again and again.

Filthy dirty place. Nasty rude hostess... Will never come back here.This kitchen has COVID written all over it. Walked in a walked out. The hostess was exceptionally rude..... Never again!!!!

My first time here enjoying the dim sum. Tasty and highly recommended. Everybody liked everything I ordered.

Chow fun is good and decent place for dumplings. I don't eat pork so limited selection but I usually get the beef chow fun here.

Well, my family and I just can't see what all the fuss is about. Everything we tried is better at our local Chinese restaurant, Chung Sing in Old Bridge. Yes, we all have different tastes, but nothing was flavorful enough. Chow fun should be smokier and tastier. Soup dumplings were bland. Veggie dumplings were bland. Sesame chicken lacked punch and was terribly overcooked and hard to swallow. Scallion pancakes were decent. Beef and veggies were nothing to write home about. Just a generally disappointing meal. This is the consensus of three of us with varied palates. We strayed from our favorite place because we wanted to try some new things, but we won't bother ordering from Shanghai Noodle again.

I was originally looking Shanghai dumpling house. I found it. Unfortunately it was closed even though on Yelp it stated it was open. I turned my cute little car and I proceeded to the Shanghai noodle house. I was nervous because I've read about the service being really bad. I went there on a gamble and perused the menu with some help from my fellow Yelpers, ordered the following: -Steamed pork soup dumplings, -Taiwanese hamburgers (this place gave us two generous portions of pork and bun for only $6), -beef with veggies and rice noodle soup (all the soups come with your choice of noodles: flat noodles, egg, homemade, rice and thin rice noodles), -flat noodles with mustard greens and fish fillets (not fried), and rice cake with sauce and pickled vegetables. All these dishes for three people. Bill came out to be $36 before tax. Not bad at all. Better still, the food. There's a reason why they call this place the Shanghai Noodle House. It's got excellent selection of noodles and it much much more than just a soup dumplings as their star attraction. All the beef dishes were rich in flavor and the fish soup was nice and delicate. Our favorites all happened to be the same: the fish with wide noodle soup and the rice cake with vegetables. None of the dishes were greasy or too fatty. What's really great is my husband, who actually has an aversion to Chinese food "too oily, too much msg, etc etc etc" loved this place. He only eats Chinese food because one of him, more of us. Yes, we are bullies. He couldn't get over how tender the meat was in the beef noodle soup but how succulent the Taiwanese hamburger was. At another restaurant, it was one big wad of fat in the bun. Ok, I'll admit it, I like the fat so I ate it. He never had soup dumplings before so he was completely floored at how this restaurants made them and the skin was tough enough to not tear as you get them onto your spoon but isn't tough as you bite into it and the soup flows out and fills your mouth with goodness. Finally, onto the staff. I braced myself for rudeness and was pleasantly surprised when they were very busy yet they kept up with all the orders, got the orders right, and made sure our tea cups was always full and hot. We spied other dishes that we would like to try such as the Mongolian style lunch, mixed beef intestine, steamed vegetable dumplings and the fish soup. So many wonderful dishes. Til next time.

Shanghai Noodle House is a really authentic Chinese restaurant. It is just like the kind of restaurants that you would find in southern China. Everything is served the way they do there, with the dishes served family style, and each customer gets the small serving cup. There isn't much atmosphere, but that also makes it feel more authentic. All the workers are extremely patient and nice. They answer all your questions and make you feel welcome. The prices are very good. My buddy and I were able to order three dishes to share for not a lot of money. The dumplings were the best. They were pork dumplings with a very soft dough. When you bit into them, they had an extremely juicy filling. It's just not a place to take a date. It's more of a regular place you can go to in order to get authentic Southern Chinese food. Just don't confuse this place with the Shanghai Dumpling House. They are not affiliated. I actually told my buddy to meet me at the Dumpling House, and then I went here. He had to come find me!

I've been to Shanghai Noodle House on multiple occasions and I keep coming back for their good prices and authentic food. FOOD: I keep coming back to Shanghai Noodle House for the food! It's very decently priced and have always satisfied me. If you come, definitely try the soup dumplings (though they don't have the chicken ones that they advertise on the menu) - only pork or pork and crab combo. They're also famous for their noodles and there are 5 different types of noodles to try when you order noodle soup. My go-to order is spicy beef with homemade noodles (I am a fan of thick noodles). I also have tried their scallion pancakes, chicken pan-fried dumplings, general tsao's chicken, curry beef, and sha cha noodles and they have always been a hit! SERVICE: The service can be a spotty. The waitresses that work there are nice and respectful and will try to come by often to refill your tea. If you ask for recommendations or try to start conversions, they don't really want to do that though. Best bet is to pick what you want out from the menu and have the name of the dish or number of the dish ready. AMBIANCE: The ambiance is what I like to call "growing-up-i-always-came-here-with-my-family." The interior design isn't fancy by any means and the tables and chairs and just the basic kind. However, there is nothing wrong with the cleanliness or horribly offensive looking. This just isn't the type of place I would bring a first date. There are groups of friends and families that always come here and they usually are speaking Chinese. OVERALL: Good place if you're just in it for the food!

I've been coming here for as long this place has been open. The food is decent but the service is really starting to go down hill. The last few times I've been here we left with bad experiences, making me question the next time I'll be back. I probably won't be suggesting this place to friends or family if we had to decide on a place for dinner. Why bring people to a bad experience. This place needs to get their wait staff trained better or hire new ones.