NYC Tastes

There's nothing better than having a big feast at a restaurant in Chinatown.  There's the Lazy Susan that sits in the middle, spinning around all of the plates; the BYOB policy that always means lots of wine and of course all the wonderful food everyone gets to share. My most recent visit was to Sing Kee Seafood on Bowery for mounds of Cantonese Style Lobster with ginger scallion sauce, sauteed garlic pea shoots and crispy chicken with ginger.   Since we were celebrating a birthday an order of classic Longevity Noodles with ginger and mushrooms was a must order, but the real highlight of the meal were the insanely delicious Peking Pork Chops with sweet and sour sauce. The only thing better than the food is the final bill which is always such a bargain in Chinatown.  This is feasting at its finest. Sing Kee Seafood 42 Bowery between Canal and Bayard Street New York, NY 10013

There's nothing quite like starting the weekend with a crazy dim sum brunch in Chinatown.  It's loud and raucous with carts clamoring around the dining room and people shouting out orders.  It's a great way to kick off a Saturday morning and this time we enjoyed all the craziness at Joy Luck Palace on Mott Street. Here's a run down of our Saturday morning feast: Fried Tofu Skin Shrimp Rolls- always the first thing that comes to the table.  I love kicking off a meal with these delicious rolls. Spinach Dumpling- I was actually expecting these to be warm but they tasted like they were straight from the fridge. Delicious nonetheless. Crystal Shrimp Dumplings- one of Mr. T's favorite dim sum orders.  I actually don't enjoy the thick outer shell and just eat the inside.  Blasphemous, I know. Pork Sui Mai- these were actually not that great.  The dough stuck to the bottom of the steamer and the just didn't have much flavor...

Continuing to feed my never ending obsession with dumplings we stopped into Shanghai Asian Manor last week.  This no frills spot in the heart of Chinatown is always packed; which is good sign if your wandering around this area unsure of where to dine.  The menu has everything from Yang Chow Fried Rice to Lions Head Meatballs, but we were there strictly for some dumpling goodness in the form of Xiao Long Bao and Sichuan Style dumplings. Plump, super juicy soup dumplings filled with pork and crab, these had a thinner outer shell than many soup dumplings I've had and still managed to stay completely intact without sticking to the bottom and ripping.   The Sichuan dumplings were also excellent; loaded with sliced green onion, crushed peanuts and lots of spicy chili oil.  I could seriously eat this dish every single day of my life and never get tired of it. In addition to regular dumplings Shanghai had a special Black Truffle soup dumpling liste...

Mr. T and I are finally getting back into the swing of Chinatown after a hiatus of much much too long.  We used to spend our entire winter rolling through the streets in search of steaming hot dumplings, crispy sesame pancakes and white pillow buns stuffed with pork.  Well we're getting back into again with the first stop at Jing Fong for some incredible dim sum like Pan Fried Dumplings stuffed with of pork and chives. Steamed Dumplings (Har Gow) packed full of juicy shrimp meat. And because we have a soft spot in our heart for the Americanized dish of General Tso's Chicken we added one of those on too. Jing Fong is best known for brunch where patrons literally line up for a spot at one of the many tables scattered across the ginormous restaurant.  This is an incredibly fun way to spend a weekend morning but for those looking to just have a good meal without the fuss head there at dinner time. ...

We met up with some friends and hopped in a cab down to 88 Palace which is located in the mall directly under the Manhattan bridge. This is my favorite part of Chinatown. When you're more west, you see a lot of tourists and get some spillover from Little Italy. Down here there's none of that. This is the heart of Chinatown. In order to get to 88 Palace you take a huge escalator up to the top where the restaurant takes over the entire floor. In case you didn't know, for dim sum the food is wheeled around on a trolley by servers. As the servers pass they tell you what they have and then stamp your card once you take something. You're never quite sure what's coming next which makes it kind of an exciting way to eat! We walked in, got our card and were ready to go! As we sat down, our friend said "Okay, we gotta remember to pace ourselves". About three minutes later there were already five different plates in front of us. Pacing is not an option he...