CHENNAI GARDEN

He says:

I’ve been given all sorts of advice about dining in New York City, but this one is probably the best: When eating Indian food, trust the Indians. My mother heard from an Indian friend (who heard from her Indian friends) that Chennai Garden has the best dosas in the city. You know what? They’re right.

I’ve often found the dosas in other Indian restaurants dry and tasteless. Not so at Chennai Garden. Their golden-brown dosas are crispy and delicate, like thin, oversized crepes. Folded inside is an excellent filling of potatoes, fried onions, and spices. My potato filling came mashed together with mushrooms and was utterly sublime. I haven’t had an Indian dish this remarkable in years. The curry soup on the side is terrific for dipping. Even better is the coconut chutney, which provides a sweet, creamy counterpoint to the potato filling’s spiciness.

She says:

It’s true, the dosas are delicious, and you really can’t go wrong with the filling. Mine had spinach and was great, but even better was Downtown Boy’s mother’s selection, the Mysore Dosa, which had an extra kick of spice. We finished off with an order of kulfi (excellent) and rasmalai (decent).

We say:

If you don’t believe us, believe the Indians: these dosas are dynamite.

Chennai Garden

129 E 27th St, New York 10016

(212) 689-1999

IPPUDO

He says:

I love ramen.

I love its simplicity. I love how it fills you up, makes you warm inside. I love slurping up the last bits of soggy noodle from the bottom of the bowl. I ate the instant kind several times a week growing up, and not the tepid Cup-O-Noodles that everyone else eats, but the good Japanese stuff, Sapporo Ichiban. Later on I found ramen houses where the udon and miso broth arrived fresh instead of inside a plastic wrapper. I was in heaven. For the past several years though, I’ve suffered a ramen drought. Part of the problem is living in places where ramen houses are scarce. The other part is finding the good ones because excellent ramen is hard to come by.

But now there is Ippudo, and I am a happy man.

Earlier this year the New York Times’ Frank Bruni declared it the best ramen house in the city and ever since it’s been at the top of my NYC hit list. Fortunately, it’s just as good as advertised.

The Shiromaru classic features a translucent white broth that is salty, creamy, rich, and clean. There are hints of miso, pork, and chicken stock in there, but I cannot tell for sure – it’s like culinary black magic. I do know the noodles are springy, neither too limp nor too chewy. Thin slices of pork belly, “elephant ear” mushrooms, soy-sauce flavored hard-boiled eggs, and scallions make up the rest of this mysterious concoction. The only certainty with this dish is that I slurped up the last remnants of noodle from the bottom of the bowl. It’s the best ramen I’ve ever had.

She says:

Being declared the best anything in NYC guarantees one thing: there will be an excruciatingly long wait to get in. On a Monday afternoon, we waited an hour for a table at lunch (granted, it was during the holidays). At least we received a warm welcome when we were finally seated. As each new guest enters the dining room, the entire staff yells out hello in Japanese.

Our waitress was very helpful. When I tried to order ramen without the pork (they all contain pork), she suggested I try the vegetarian ramen, an off-menu item. The veggie ramen noodles are slightly thicker than the classic ramen, and the broth is a clear, non-creamy broth filled with mushrooms, greens, scallions, and tofu. The complex flavors of Ippudo’s broth is what differentiates this soup from other Asian noodle soups. Like Downtown Boy said, it’s a bit of mystery what makes it so delicious, but delicious it is.

We say:

On cold winter afternoons, nothing can beat ramen at Ippudo.

Ippudo

65 Fourth Avenue, New York, NY 10003

http://www.ippudo.com/ny/

MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR

He says:
After reading the approbation heaped upon chef David Chang in the food pages of the New York Times and Esquire over the past year, Uptown Girl and I felt we had to see what all the fuss was about. In a few short years, Chang has opened three Momofuku restaurants in Manhattan, with each one serving modern twists on everyday Asian classics. Momofuku Ssam tackles primarily street food and is famous for its banh mi, a sandwich that can be found in food stalls all across Vietnam.

My take on it? Delicious. I’ve never had banh mi before, but Ssam’s version is terrific any way you look at it. Situated between the firm halves of a Vietnamese baguette, a thin slice of ham, chicken terrine, cucumber, pickled carrots, and minced jalepeno peppers come together for a simple, yet satisfying meal. Slightly creamy, spicy, and salty, it packs a punch without weighing you down. And the price is right too.

She says:
I had a really hard time finding something non-mammalian on the menu to eat. I eventually settled on the Korean staple bibimbop, a huge bowl of rice topped with heaps of pickled mushrooms and cucumber, tofu, edamame, and a lightly fried (aka nearly raw) egg. It was incredibly filling, but nothing special aside from the vegetables. They weren’t overly pickled, just enough to tantalize the tongue with a slight sourness. The side of brussel sprouts that came with Downtown Boy’s dish, mixed with mint and scallions in a fish sauce vinagrette, was surprisingly delicious.

He says:
Anytime you find something new and cheap in NYC, it’s a cause for celebration.



She says:
Although Momofuku has a way with veggies, this is still not a friendly place for vegetarians.



Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003
www.momofuku.com

YIPIN CHINESE CUISINE

He says:
I had the fortune of trying many obscure and excellent foods while quite young, so it’s rare for me these days to come across a dish that is so radically new and startlingly good that I am blown away. But such a thing happened to me at Yipin Chinese Cuisine, a small, unassuming shop at the edge of Chinatown in Flushing, Queens.

By most accounts, the Chinese cuisine in Flushing is the most authentic in the city. Far from the tourist-choked streets of Mott & Canal in lower Manhattan, the restaurateurs of Flushing are Chinese folk cooking for Chinese folk. Here, Mandarin is the standard language, and with few signs or menus in English, navigating the food scene can be a daunting challenge. Fortunately the New York Times recently published an eater’s guide to Flushing, and armed with this knowledge Uptown Girl and I took the number 7 train into the heart of Queens.

She says:
Having never been to China, I imagine it's somewhat similar to Flushing – crowded. As soon as we exited the subway station, we were pushing our way through crowds and being jostled in turn as we tried to locate the food stalls the article had identified as worthy. Admittedly, this wasn’t a very original idea… we saw several other couples carrying the same newspaper article and looking completely lost. One of these couples even had the audacity to ask to see our article, as they had left theirs at home!

We made several stops, sampling delicious shrimp pancakes, fried wontons, and the best grilled chicken I’ve ever had. Our last stop was Yipin, a spare little restaurant with tile floors and four small tables where strangers sat together, huddled over large noodle bowls. The cold sesame noodles we requested took forever to make, but how could we be irritated at the old lady who kindly took our order or the single cook busily boiling and straining noodles behind the counter?

He says:
I regret never having cold sesame noodles before since I have no basis for comparing Yipin’s to other restaurants. It’s a moot point, though, since this dish is like nothing else I’ve ever had. The noodles are thick with the perfect blend of chewiness and give. They sit over a rich broth of ground sesame paste, chili paste, soy sauce, and peanut oil served at room temperature, with everything topped with shredded cucumber. The result is spectacular. The sesame paste gives the dish its distinctive flavor and creaminess; the chili paste provides a dose of heat strong enough to take you aback but not enough to keep you away; the shredded cucumber provides a cool, crisp contrast. Everything about this dish was completely new to me, but I also recognize genius when I see it.

She says:
Although it wasn’t love at first taste for me as it was for Downtown Boy, I do agree that the noodles were quite different than anything I’d had before. Personally, my mouth was burning uncomfortably after several bites, but I did enjoy the density of the noodles.

He says:
I agree with the New York Times – these are indeed “paradigm-changing noodles.”



She says:
As far as noodles go, these just aren’t my favorite.



Yipin Chinese Cuisine
40-04 Union Street, Queens, NY 11354
718-939-3489

SUGAR SWEET SUNSHINE

He says:
Let the cupcake wars begin! Magnolia threw down the gauntlet 12 years ago with its delicious $2 cupcakes, setting off a craze that has swept across the country and even infiltrated Atlanta in recent years. Few of Magnolia’s imitators have come close to the original, though. Too often their cupcakes are dry or airy, and the icing just not distinctive enough to justify their high prices.

But with Sugar Sweet Sunshine, we have a contender.

Unlike Magnolia, there is no half-hour line that wraps around the block. We walked right into SSS on a Monday afternoon and ordered our cupcakes and coffee, which is a good thing. Also unlike Magnolia, there are more than three flavors of cupcake. Actually, there are more like ten, and they look amazing. What to choose? The Sunshine, a yellow cupcake with vanilla buttercream? Or the Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting? Perhaps the Lemon Yummy, a lemon cake with lemon buttercream? It’s hard to decide because they all look and smell delicious.

From the first bite, it’s clear that SSS’s frosting is lighter than Magnolia’s and the cake less dense. I actually prefer this to the “heaviness” that accompanies Magnolia’s cupcakes. However, the flavored cupcakes are where Sugar Sweet Sunshine really takes flight. The pistachio cupcake was wonderful, the cake simultaneously rich yet not too sweet, with a pistachio current running through every bite. The vanilla frosting was sprinkled with crushed pistachio nuts for enhanced texture and flavor. Awesome. The strawberry cupcake was nearly as good, with fresh strawberry slices baked right into the moist cake.

She says:
Ok, step back. I may be incredibly biased, but the only valid way to assess a cupcake shop is through its chocolate cupcakes, or – to be generous – at the very least its chocolate-frosted vanilla cupcakes. Because what is a cupcake if it does not contain chocolate?

And so I sampled the Ooey Gooey, a chocolate cupcake with chocolate-almond buttercream frosting. My first complaint – the cupcake itself. It was barely chocolate. I don’t even think something that subtle should be allowed to call itself chocolate. Not to mention that the cake was lighter and drier than cake should be. And then there was the frosting, which was way more almond-y than chocolaty, and for a buttercream, it was certainly lacking in richness. Overall, there was nothing ooey or gooey about this “cupcake.”

After the disappointment of my cupcake, I did try a bite of Downtown Boy’s strawberry and pistachio cupcakes to see what he was raving about. My impression? Muffins. That’s right, these imposter cupcakes taste exactly like what they should be – muffins. Last time I checked, a muffin is not a cupcake.

He says:
For their range and expertise in cupcake flavors, I’m going to give the nod to Sugar Sweet Sunshine in this latest round of the cupcake wars.




She says:
Magnolia may only have 3 flavors, but they do cupcakes right – rich, moist, and chocolaty. Unlike Sugar Sweet Sunshine, where any true cupcake essence has been lost in the quest to diversify.




Sugar Sweet Sunshine
126 Rivington Street, New York, NY 10002
http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/

NYONYA

He says:
On our latest jaunt to New York City, Uptown Girl and I had the pleasure of dining at Nyonya, which is arguably the best Malaysian restaurant in Manhattan and inarguably one of the best cheap eats you’ll ever find. Named after the famous Malay brides renowned for their beauty and cooking skills, Nyonya is a secret gem of a restaurant that most locals – including my parents – picked up on long ago. While their Brooklyn location is equally busy, the Grand Street restaurant is perpetually packed with old Chinatown shopkeepers, Asian teens with gelled hair, and food adventurers clutching their Zagat guides. Even though the scene on a Saturday night borders on mayhem, our party was seated within ten minutes, and five minutes later the first of our appetizers rolled out.

Roti Canai is a super-thin paratha served with a curry chicken dipping sauce. It’s a marvelous combination. The curry’s intense blend of turmeric and masala is balanced with a touch of coconut, and trying to wipe every last drop from the bowl with the paratha is half the fun!

Another of my favorites is Chow Kueh Teow, a noodle dish reminiscent of Pad Thai. But chili paste gives these rice noodles some needed heat, and the ensuing mix of stir-fried shrimp, chives, squid, fried egg, and soy sauce come together with a complexity that I’ve rarely seen in plain old Pad Thai.

She says:
After the Chow Kueh Teow, my favorite dish is the Satay Chicken. The skewers of dark marinated meat achieve that subtle balance of inner juiciness and outer firmness that only comes from the grill. The satay has a slight coconut flavor – possibly from the marinade – and is served with a delicious peanut sauce.

We also ordered the tofu version of this dish, but the tofu, which came in huge airy pieces, was bland in comparison.

We also had the deep fried tilapia in Belachan sauce. The fish, which came out whole (head included) was quite good… tender and fresh tasting. The sauce, on the other hand, was what I would call an acquired taste. It was pungently fishy and salty, and while Downtown Boy and I squeamishly scraped the sauce off the fish, Downtown Boy’s dad couldn’t get enough, slathering extra sauce on his rice. Downtown Boy managed to redeem his manliness, though, by eating the brains out of the fish’s head. For the nutrients, of course.

He says:
We finished our meal with cendol (aka ABC), a dessert of red beans, green rice noodles, and coconut milk covered with shaved ice and brown syrup made of palm sugar. It’s a cool and refreshing dessert, and you shouldn’t leave Nyonya without trying it.

We say:
Most every dish at Nyonya is excellent, and the majority of what we ordered cost less than $7. Ridiculously good food at cheap prices – no wonder this place is always crowded!




Nyonya
194 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013
http://www.penangusa.com/location_nyonya_main.html

99 MILES TO PHILLY

He says:
Finding 99 Miles to Philly was the most fortuitous of accidents. Uptown Girl and I were about to meet a good friend for buffalo-wings when we passed by an eatery specializing in Philly cheesesteaks. In case you don’t know my eating patterns by now, I adore Philly cheesesteaks. Shredded beef and melted cheese on a hoagie bun … what’s not to like? The problem is that it’s really hard to find a good cheesesteak in New York City; believe me, I’ve tried.

99 Miles to Philly consists of a takeout counter and about six tables in a clean, casual setting. The brick walls are adorned with several cut-outs from magazines like Time Out New York recommending the place for cheap eats – good sign #1. Good sign #2 were the others eating lunch around us, mostly guys sitting by themselves reading newspapers. I like the fact that 99 Miles to Philly is not a place to see and be seen; it’s a place where you go to get quality grub. Good sign #3 was the menu, which clearly indicated you can only order one thing: Philly cheesesteaks.

She says:
I still have fond memories of my first Philly cheesesteak, which I had in the sandwich’s hometown of Philadelphia, so I was definitely game for sampling a non-beef version. I ordered an American chicken cheesesteak “wit’” (translation: a cheesesteak with shredded chicken, American cheese, wit’ onions). It was an oozing, oily, delicious mess, and I nearly managed to eat the entire thing. And with all the cheesy goodness, it was hard to even miss the beef.

He says:
I ordered an American steak cheesesteak wit’. In a word, it was excellent. The gooey American cheese blended perfectly with the moist, shredded beef steak for a wonderfully fatty, and filling, combination. The bun could have been slightly firmer – it tends to droop as you eat it – but otherwise this was as good as a Philly cheesesteak as I’ve ever had.

We say:
It’s the next best thing to jumping on Amtrak and heading to Philadelphia.



99 Miles to Philly
94 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10003
http://www.99milestophilly.net/

PUNJAB

He says:
Uptown Girl can attest that whenever we try a new South Asian restaurant, whether we’re in Atlanta or Seattle or Washington D.C., at some point in the meal I will inevitably say, “It’s still not as good as Punjab!” I probably sound like a broken record, but you would too if you’ve ever eaten at this legendary hole-in-wall.

It is fairly well-known around Brooklyn that at lunchtime, 691 Coney Island Avenue is jam-packed with double-parked taxicabs, full of Pakistani drivers stopping for their lunch break. It certainly says something when cabbies, who can drive to eat wherever they want, will head deep into Flatbush for quality food. In fact, if I recall correctly, my father first heard about Punjab via a recommendation from a taxi driver.

Punjab is not much to look at, which isn’t surprising since Flatbush is the kind of neighborhood that has more collision shops than Starbucks. Back in the day the restaurant only had one Formica table (always greasy), and naan was cooked by throwing the dough against the walls of a brick oven coming out of the floor like a well. It would appear that Punjab is doing better these days because now they actually have multiple tables and chairs and tiles on the floor. It’s not much, but hey, you don’t go to Punjab for aesthetics.

She says:
I have to admit, I was a little doubtful about Punjab… and it wasn’t so much the spare setting, but the fact that we ordered our food at a counter by pointing at pots full of unidentifiable (and not completely appetizing) medleys of meat and sauce. But all doubts were laid to rest as soon as I took my first bite of vegetable samosa. The pastry shell that enveloped the spiced potatoes and veggies was substantial and crunchy, much like a very good pie crust. Delicious! They were easily the best samosas I have ever tasted. The one other vegetarian dish they had – a saucy chickpea dish – was also excellent.

The rest of the food followed suit. As expected from Pakastani food, all of the food was well-spiced, heavy on the meat, and rich (as well as cooked in an ungodly amount of oil, although it didn’t taste oily).

He says:
The lamb curry at Punjab is the standard by which all others are judged, and to this day I still have not found its equal. The thick curry swarms with oil, robust spices, and gigantic chunks of meat, which are still on the bone. Keeping the bones in the curry may very well be the secret to this dish because the resulting intensity and gaminess of the lamb is simply awesome.

Likewise the grilled chicken tikka and chicken kababs were spicy – hot, but not too hot – and surprisingly tender on the insides. We polished off the meal with Ras malai, which are balls of ricotta cheese soaked in sweet, thickened milk and cardamom. They were firm enough not to crumble in the bowl, yet retained their velvety mouth-feel. Even Punjab’s desserts can knock it out of the park!

She says:
In general, Pakistani food is too meat-heavy for my taste, but I’d say this is as good as it’s ever gonna get.



He says:
Can you tell that I love this place? For me, Punjab sets the standard for South Asian cuisine.



Punjab Restaurant
691 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218
(718) 856-6207

YAKITORI TAISHO

She says:
When I think of eating in New York City, I picture cramped hole-in-the-walls with a heavily-accented staff serving up authentic fare. Yakitori Taisho epitomizes this ideal, and for that reason I loved dining there. We stepped off the bustling sidewalks of St. Mark’s Place and ducked through a low doorway into the cozy Japanese grill house. The first thing we noticed is that it was packed with Asians… it’s always a good sign to see Asians in an Asian restaurant! As we waited, I marveled over the cook who worked furiously behind the grill… with his pointy goatee, wispy black mustache, bright red cap, and outdated, enormous glasses, he was absolutely fabulous.

Yakitori is a type of skewered meat (typically chicken) that is grilled over charcoal. Unlike sushi, it is an everyday Japanese food, something grabbed from an outdoor stall to accompany a post-work beer. We tried two types of chicken yakitori. The plain chicken was delicious in its grilled perfection, but the chicken with plum sauce was inedible until we scraped off the sauce. It was WAY too tart and salty, and nothing like the sweet hoisin taste that I was expecting.

He says:
It was a cold and windy evening that night in NYC, so I ordered a bowl of ramen with pork to warm me up. I’m glad I did because it was the best thing I had at Yakitori. The pork strips were very tender and the broth had a far richer consistency than those I’ve found at other noodle shops.

Uptown Girl and I also sampled the soft-shelled crab, which had been deep-fried in its entirety! Beside the awesome novelty of biting through the crispy shell of a crustacean – a first for me – I thought it was very good. I like my seafood to taste like the sea, and you can’t beat this dish’s intense brininess.

She says:
I really didn’t like the soft-shelled crab. Because we were eating the entire crab, we were exposed to the full flavor of the little critters, which was overwhelmingly fishy in the way that only a bottom-feeder can achieve.

Fortunately, my pan fried glass noodles were simple and satisfying, and reminded me of the delicious Chinese noodles my college roommate used to cook up late at night.

We say:
Stick with the yakitori and noodle bowls and you can’t go wrong.




Yakitori Taisho
5 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10003
http://www.yakitoritaisho.com

NYC DESSERT EXTRAVAGANZA

While in NYC, we sampled three of the trendiest dessert spots in town to see if the collective hype is warranted. And so we waited 30+ minutes for cupcakes, sampled a healthy ice-cream substitute, and paid top-dollar for rice pudding. Here is what we decided…

MAGNOLIA BAKERY

She says:
This was my second visit to Magnolia, the cupcake shop made famous by “Sex and the City” and the SNL rap skit “Lazy Sunday,” so I already knew it was worth the half-hour wait. The chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting ($2.00) are the best store-made cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. The chocolate cake is super moist and fluffy, and the chocolate frosting is densely rich and chocolaty. It’s what all chocolate cake should aspire to be.

He says:
As a native New Yorker and cupcake lover, I’ve been to Magnolia several times and I concur that it sells the best store-bought cupcakes around. I ordered the vanilla and the “special” red velvet cupcakes. Uptown Girl thought the vanilla cupcakes lacked the moist fluffiness of the chocolate ones, and I have to agree. We also agreed that the red velvet cupcakes are overly sweet and flavorless, and at the “special” price of $2.50 I strongly recommend passing on them.

I do wish that Magnolia would manage the crowds better, though. The line to get in always winds around the corner and moves at a snail’s pace, and once you’re in the tiny shop you have to press your way to the cupcake tray and then to the cash register.

Ah, the price we pay for great cupcakes!

We say:



Magnolia Bakery
401 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10014
http://www.magnoliacupcakes.com/

PINKBERRY

He says:
If you watch MTV’s “The Hills,” then you might remember a scene in Season 2 when Lauren and one of her fab friends go to Pinkberry and have the following conversation:

Lauren: Oh. My. God. This is so good!
Friend: So good!
Lauren: I know. So good!
Friend: So good!

This inanity goes on for another 20 seconds, but you get the point. Pinkberry is SO good. In fact, it’s so good that one of my best friends in LA told me that there are traffic jams and parking problems wherever Pinkberry shops are located.

What is Pinkberry, you may ask? It’s all-natural frozen yogurt made without preservatives or excess sugar, served with healthy toppings like fresh raspberries, pomegranate seeds, granola, shredded coconut, etc. At Pinkberry, fat is out; thin is in.

And the verdict? I like it. The frozen yogurt actually tastes like yogurt... that is, slightly tart and light, instead of those ultra-rich, ultra-sweet yogurts you find in cafeteria dispensers. The yogurt acts as a blank canvas to emphasize the quality of their toppings, in my case delicious pomegranate seeds and white chocolate chips. I still prefer high quality gelato to Pinkberry, but I’ll take this healthy yogurt over Ben & Jerry’s any day.

She says:
Not me. I found the cup of tart, barely sweet frozen yogurt piled high with raspberries seriously out of place. This was not the decadent (and fattening) dessert that I was hoping to end my evening with. In fact, even though I had chosen to add the least healthy topping, Oreo cookie crumbles, this “dessert” tasted like it was sucking calories OUT of me. I like the idea of it – the healthiness, the focus on fresh, organic ingredients – but where Pinkberry belongs is on the breakfast table, or maybe at an LA Fitness snack bar. To me it’s not a dessert. I apologize to all the Pinkberry fans out there, but the healthy dessert thing just isn't my style.

We say:



Pinkberry
41 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012 (and several other locations)
www.pinkberry.com

RICE TO RICHES

She says:
If you like rice pudding, Rice to Riches is the place for you. It may be a passing trend, but it’s certainly innovative. There are about 20 different flavors of rice pudding to choose from, and catchy flavors at that. How could you resist a bowl full of “Secret Life of Pumpkin,” “Sex, Drugs and Rocky Road,” or “Fluent in French Toast” rice pudding? On top of that (literally) comes a slew of toppings… toasted coconut, mixed nuts, even jelly! It’s all up to you.

(photo from www.liketocook.com)

He says:
We shared the “Stubborn Banana,” which came accented with a bit of coconut. Very “banana-ey” and very rich. What I don’t like about this place is the lack of recycling. Rice to Riches serves its rice pudding on funky plastic dishes that look like colored flying saucers, but they don’t offer a bin to recycle them. In fact, I don’t think the plastic is even recyclable. I can imagine with the number of customers coming every minute that the shop generates hundreds of pounds of unnecessary garbage a day. Definitely not cool.

We say:



Rice to Riches
37 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.ricetoriches.com

JING FONG

We say:
On Sunday mornings in Atlanta, everyone goes to church. In New York, everyone goes to Jing Fong.

Jing Fong is the undisputed dim sum king of New York City, a bustling 900-seat banquet hall situated in the heart of Chinatown. The morning we went there with Downtown Boy’s parents, there were easily 80 people in line ahead of us. But not ten minutes later we were riding that famous two-story escalator up to dim sum paradise. It’s quite a rush to see such an ethnically diverse crowd happily chowing down, the thunderous din of a hundred simultaneous conversations bounding off the chandeliers and gold-painted dragon wall decorations.

This restaurant boasts an armada of tiny ladies who circle the floor in carts and offer the greatest selection of dim sum you’ll ever see. There are the usual suspects, like pork dumplings, shrimp balls, pot stickers, rice noodles with BBQ pork, sesame balls with black bean paste, and egg custards. And then there are the more unusual offerings, like crunchy taro balls that look like flash-fried electrons, durian pudding tarts shaped like green caterpillars, and chicken feet. Uptown Girl’s favorites were the shrimp and vegetable dumplings, both of which were extraordinarily fresh. Downtown Boy immediately went for the “triangle” pastries, barbecued snippets of pork in a golden, flaky crust. And the best part of all? It’s crazy cheap: you can stuff yourself silly and still pay less than a lunch at Chipotle.

Fast service, low prices, terrific selection, and best-of-breed dim sum … what more could you ask for?




Jing Fong
20 Elizabeth St., New York, NY 10013

PEKING DUCK HOUSE

He says:
When I first began eating at the Peking Duck House, it was a dinghy Mott Street haunt with squeaky wooden chairs and tiny tables crammed so close together the waiters would unapologetically knock into your back as they weaved through non-existent aisles. Back then it was packed every night with Chinatown locals who knew it had the best duck in the entire city … perhaps in the entire country. It’s true; I’ve had Peking duck in Beijing, and the Duck House’s version was nearly as good as the real thing. To this day the raucous crowds, completely Chinese menu (not one word of English!), and spectacular food remain seared in my memory.

But times have drastically changed at the Peking Duck House. Around 2004 the owners completely renovated the restaurant. Out went the sticky wood walls, in came the sleek marble tile. Out went the rickety chairs, in came the black leather padded seats. It looks nicer these days, I suppose, but what it has gained in opulence it has more than lost in character. The clientele has evolved along with the décor. When Uptown Girl and I arrived for lunch on a recent trip to NYC, the place was surprisingly empty at first. But that was just before a busload of French tourists laid siege upon the main dining room. Tourists? In the Peking Duck House? Reading from an all-English menu?

What hasn’t completely changed is the Peking duck, which is, as far as I know, still the best in the city. As always the chef comes out of the kitchen to show you the whole duck, carves it tableside, and then serves it alongside trays of sweet noodle sauce, green onion and cucumber slivers, and thin pancakes for rolling. The generous cuts of duck are marvelous, the crispy skin, fat, and rich dark meat all coming together to deliver a near-perfect combination of flavors, at once chewy and crunchy, primal and decadent. The noodle sauce’s sweet and salty notes sharpen the intensity of the duck while the cucumber and onion simultaneously provide a clean contrast from it.

We didn’t sample any other items because no one goes to the Peking Duck House for anything other than the namesake dish. This restaurant is essentially a one trick pony … but man, what a trick!

We say:
Not quite what it used to be, but still the best duck around.



Peking Duck House
28 Mott St., New York, NY 10013
http://www.pekingduckhousenyc.com