THE POPULAR OPINION of China 1, a restaurant, bar and club on Avenue B, is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Originally known as Number 1 Chinese, the eatery was once a hip party spot famous for pissing off its neighbors and infamous for playing host to dirty sex-fests and other unscrupulous activities.
Despite its reputation, the restaurant has never looked shabby.The décor—excellent mood lighting over antique Chinese everything, from paper lanterns to painted wood panels and complicated latticework—always suggested a classy venue.
The cavernous downstairs—previously ground zero for parties—is split into two brilliantly named chambers: the “Antique room” (where everyone drinks) and the “Opium room,” a darkened area with nooks and beds expressly for tonsil-hockey. Owner Andrew Krupp has recently attempted to re-work the image as a chilled-out lounge and hired a new staff and chef Chris Cheung (Nobu, Ruby Foo’s and Monkey Bar). Krupp’s plan seems, paradoxically, to downplay the high concept cuisine and promote the bar and lounge as destinations for private parties and birthdays.The food, now at lower prices, is a secondary incentive to hit up this former den of debauchery.
The restaurant’s identity crisis aside, the menu seduced me—even if everyone around me was more interested in lychee martinis ($10) and making out.The inexpensive dim sum (most at $2) was spot on. Cheung’s signature homemade bao (a doughy bun) filled with foie gras is the only “expensive” appetizer at $5 and was rich, delightful and worth the splurge.The perfectly flaky chicken spring roll, with its satisfying crunch and peppery undertones, was even better.The soup dumpling (a thin-skinned wonton filled with hot soup) was a fun novelty, but China 1´s dumplings are no Shanghai Joe’s. My favorite appetizer was the perfect crusty and flavorful short rib "gold coin," accompanied by a decadent truffle sauce (one of Cheung’s signature Western touches to mostly Cantonese cuisine).
My guest arrived over an hour late to dinner and missed the best main course, a sharing plate of a sweet, barbecued black cod with bok choy ($18). But she did help polish off an especially Cantonese salt-and-pepper shrimp ($18) and a decadently presented Chinese herb salad.The shrimp, although fresh, was not terribly exciting and seemed a bit pricey when compared with the rest of the menu; General Tso’s Chicken runs $12 and the hand-pulled noodles are priced between $10 and $14.The salad—fresh tofu topped with white bean sprouts and sculpturally arranged Chinese chives, all over a bed of zucchini and plum vinaigrette—was most unexpected and a fantastic value at $7.
Desserts like the fortune cookie sundae ($8), the most exciting item on the threepiece sweets menu, reminded me of Cheung’s former post at Ruby Foo’s and didn’t do anything to charm us into lingering.
Despite China 1’s foolish decision to downplay its existence as a high-cuisine restaurant, for the most part, the food was tasty, fresh and an excellent value. Cheung has lots of experience working in foodie destinations, and his goal at China 1 seems to be getting rid of the negative rep high-end Chinese food has in America. If he could do the same thing about tired nightlife trends, he’d have a real hit on his hands.
> China 1
50 Ave. B (betw. E. 3rd & E. 4th Sts.), 212-375-0665
