Ying Du, especially without roast duck, gets old after a while so when work load permits, I change it up with some Chinatown steam table action at Lunch Box Buffet. The first time I went a few years ago, I went after work and it was godawful. Everything tasted old, and the free soup tasted exactly what you imagine free soup to taste like: tepid water with salt. Lunch, however, is a different story; complete night and day. Two weeks ago, I actually went two days in a row. I would have made it three days had something not happened on the second. MORE »
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I don’t do it enough, but I love dim sum on the weekends. Even if the dim sum offerings in New York aren’t too imaginative, it’s still a nice change of pace from the typical brunch. (I mean really, how many eggs can you eat every single weekend?) In Manhattan, as of now, 88 Palace is my favorite, but I’ve recently started liking Golden Unicorn. It’s one of the more well-known spots and for good reason. The food is good (albeit greasy), the restaurant is cleaner than other dim sum joints (if you’re into that kind of thing), and you don’t have to share a table (sharing is not caring). Usually I don’t mind sharing a table at Chinese restaurants, but some days, especially in the mornings, I don’t want to get up close and personal with my fellow New Yorkers. That’s what New York subways are for. MORE »
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Whenever my family comes to visit me in Manhattan, we usually go to Joe’s Shanghai because we’re all addicted to their soup dumplings. Yes, I know everyone likes to hate on Joe’s Shanghai these days, but we still love their xialongbao. Sure, it’s not as delicate as the crabmeat buns at Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong, or as cheap as a million other places in Taiwan, but I have room in my heart and stomach for all kinds of xialongbao. Fill it with soup, and I will eat it. Last month, however, I told my family I wanted to go somewhere else, somewhere completely different… the place across the street from Joe’s Shanghai, Famous Sichuan! They didn’t seem very excited, but I promised them if it was bad we could always go to Joe’s, and they begrudgingly relented. I don’t believe in democracy when it comes to food. MORE »
I’m leaving Seoul for Beijing in a few hours, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go online safely to write a post, so until then, content yourself with “Raising the Bar: Finding Venice in Chinatown at Bacaro – NYC” on Serious Eats: NY. I get romantic with some cuttlefish in Chinatown.
In the summer I get antsy. It’s hard to sit in a restaurant for too long when it’s gorgeous out, especially this year in New York when the number of sunny days are eclipsed by rainy ones. I want to be outside and feel the sun on my face. As a result, I find myself grabbing quick eats best enjoyed sitting on a park bench or lounging in the grass; a bagel here, some Mexican corn there, and when the carnivore in me demands it, jerky from Malaysia Beef Jerky. MORE »
1) Delicious? Check.
2) Cheap? Check.
3) Abdominal Distress? Check.
Some things sound too good to be true. Like magic berries that make you lose weight without exercise, girl… you know it’s not going to happen. So when I first read about the $2.25 Roast Pork over Rice at Wah Fung on Serious Eats, I knew there had to be a catch. But I went anyway, and ordered the roast pork over rice, which by the way is now $2.50. If roast pork is not your thing, you can get chicken instead, but as you all know, pork is definitely my thing. Your protein of choice also comes with vegetables or noodles. Vegetables is either cabbage, broccoli, or yardlong beans, or some variation of whatever is available at the moment. When I ordered, a tray of broccoli was just brought out from the back, so I got broccoli and cabbage. MORE »
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With the weather so nice these days, David and I have been eating a lot of hand pulled noodles after work at Sheng Wang. It’s filling and delicious, but most importantly, it’s quick, so we still have enough time to enjoy the daylight when we’re done. Even corporate zombies need sunlight. MORE »