Move Over, Banh Mi

the asian sandwich craze has a new contender in these plump, round little numbers that arrive in waxed paper bags, served on wooden dumpling steamer trays. as with shake shack's burgers, which also come in wax paper, much of the goodness is in the bun, or man tao. these are made of the stark white, fluffy steamed bread that you'd find swaddled around a morsel of meat in a northern chinese pork bun, but they are slightly sweeter and the tops are studded with sesame seeds.

"so, i said, 'dude, you want to get some chinese sandwiches?'," said one suit to another in the line that quickly forms at mantao during lunchtime. it's a testament to our polyglot culture that "dude" and "chinese sandwiches" are now used in the same sentence. my braised pork was fatty and tender and came with sweet pickled cucumbers, cilantro and hoisin sauce ($3.95). but, dude, i'd recommend the more interesting shitake and portobello sandwich ($4.50) that comes with a schmear of seaweed paste and the requisite pickled cucumbers. a bargain $9.95 combo gets you two sandwiches, shrimp chips and a side of chinese slaw. pancake rolls, sesame noodles, dumplings and soup round out the menu.

-- mantao chinese sandwiches 235 e. 53rd st. (betw. second and third avenues) 212-888-2490

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