The scene outside Good Good Taste Chinese Kitchen located under the Manhattan Bridge. Photo by Daniel S. Burnstein
Like China itself, the country’s cooking is highly varied; it pushes the extremes of human sensation and follows few clear rules.Yet it is, above all, outrageously delicious. After six months in Beijing, I was hooked. Upon returning to New York, I made it my mission to find real Chinese food in the city.To my surprise and delight, it exists—mostly hidden away in modest eateries.With Chinese New Year— this being the Year of the Ox—on Jan. 26, here are the most authentic spots in town to plan your celebratory dinner.
Eastern Authentic Noodle House
28 Forsyth St. (betw. Canal & Division Sts.), 212-941-7678 Those concerned with ambiance shouldn’t bother with this noodle shop; the only wall art here is a Sharpie-scrawled menu and posters explaining how to save a choking victim. But to avoid such a gem would be a crying shame. Finding this aptly named, florescent-lit noodle shop has significantly changed my day-to-day eating patterns.
While blind experimentation with the menu here is reserved only for the cunning, it does contain one of the must-eat dishes in New York Chinese: the restaurant’s specialty, “beef hand pull noodle” ($4.50).
After ordering, customers can watch the noodle chef stretch hunks of dough into fresh noodles, which are cooked in the dish’s hearty broth, then served.To get the full experience, it is essential to stir a spoonful of pepper sauce (served from plastic tubs) into the noodle bowl.Watch out, this place generates addicts.
Little Pepper
133-43 Roosevelt Ave. (betw. Prince & Lawrence Sts.), Queens, 718-938-7788 If the absurdly sappy Chinese music videos playing at (thankfully) low volume at Little Pepper don’t scream authentic, just wait for the food. Don’t let this basement eatery’s name mislead; there is nothing diminutive about the flavor here. Upon entering, New Yorkers are held to Sichuan standards of heat. The menu’s options can overwhelm, so start with the succulent double-cooked pork ($9.95), one of Mainland China’s most obsessedover dishes. A side of dry sautéed string beans ($7.95), bristling with garlic and ginger, does not disappoint. After being dizzied by liberal portions of Sichuan pepper and Qing Dao beer, the dining room’s Technicolor landscape panoramas can make for a somewhat surreal dining experience. In addition to its Flushing Chinese clientele, this restaurant lays claim to several Sichuan-hooked Manhattan foodies, who happily make the 30-minute train ride for a bold and artful use of spices.
Good Good Taste Chinese Kitchen
13-A Market St. (betw. E. Broadway & Henry St.), 212-964-4888 Wedged into a chaotic strip under the Manhattan Bridge, Good Good Taste Chinese Kitchen is perfect for those seeking an exotic yet palatable dining foray.
Make sure to start with the sautéed snow pea shoots ($10.95), a dish found at many eateries but perfected here, then experiment with the plates of vermicelli rice noodles laden with juicy chunks of seafood—you’ll never look at lo mein the same.To steer clear of big surprises, stick to names that sound basic and straightforward; order nothing that includes fish balls. Do not, however, shy away from this Fujianese eatery’s “sizzling frog” dish, which is reminiscent of sea bass.Well, sort of. In any case, it’s delicious.
The back-room dining area is ideal for groups of friends, who will appreciate the restaurant’s remarkably cheap beer ($1.50 for a Qing Dao). English is not spoken here, so come ready to point and charade—unless you’ve been practicing.
Grand Sichuan
125 Canal St. (betw. Bowery & Chrystie St.), 212-625-9212 On winter nights, Grand Sichuan’s fogged windows reveal only a blur of the tumult inside. It may seem intimidating, and perhaps it should. After all, there is but one thing that cloaks the glass with condensation: Sichuan-style “hot pot.” The premise of this dish is simple yet startlingly idiosyncratic: cook your own main course with a boiling caldron of spicy broth situated in the center of your table.The ingredients come in raw, bitesized portions. Pig blood, duck gizzard and squid balls may repulse the less adventurous eater, but the a la carte hot pot menu here contains plenty of more conventional options.
If your mouth begins to tingle, relax. It’s just the Sichuan peppercorns, a spice integral to hot pot broth and little-known in America.The spice is not pungently hot like usual peppers, but carries citric undertones and can harmlessly desensitize areas of the mouth and throat.
While the menu here overflows with delectability, hot pot virgins should go straight for the restaurant’s specialty.
Mei Li Wah Bakery
62-64 Bayard St. (betw. Mott & Eldridge Sts.), 212-966-7866 Don’t mind the new stylized lamps and the servers’ bright orange uniforms, this is no generic Americanized Chinese eatery. Although some regulars were confused by the restaurant’s complete makeover last summer, its menu underwent no such alteration. What was once a dingy hole-in-the-wall is now a bright and inviting Bayard Street destination, but the main attraction here remains the steamed stuffed pork buns. Recognized as one of the cheapest staple foods in Mainland China, these 80-cent buns do not disappoint deal-seekers. Like much of Chinese cuisine, the bun’ s appeal lies in their use of extremes—the mild-flavored, fluffy roll gives way to an explosion of the center’s intense medley of meat and sauce. Little wonder that Mei Li Wah has been steaming buns in Chinatown since 1968.
