Category: Chinese

5 Mott Street at Worth, New York City
212/566-8388
about $60 for two, without drinks, without tip
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I never thought I’d say this but I love vegetarian food! That is, if it’s from Buddha Bodai. They specialize in both kosher and Buddhist vegetarian meals, so during a busy day, the restaurant is abuzz. Sundays are a scene when the Jews and the Chinese are in one room eating dim-sum. Service is efficient and fast, but don’t expect all of them to warm up to you; it’s nothing personal.

Most people get turned off with gluten because the fake meat does not sound appealing to them. I’m an omnivore, so I tend to agree, but Buddha Bodai does vegetarian really well. The lettuce song is crispy rice, fried noodles and pine nuts. You put some plum sauce on a piece of lettuce, scoop some of the filling and wrap it and eat it like a roll. I love the texture of this dish and it’s one of their best appetizers. The barbecue is a must-have. It’s actually the dish that changed my mind about vegetarian food. It’s so tasty, I could even be convinced that it’s not gluten but real meat.

I love the mushroom with black bean sauce. The mushroom flavor is so intense even the thick brown sauce can’t cover it. The crispy duck is really paper-thin tofu skins that taste even better when dipped in duck sauce. At Buddha Bodai, you’ll also have the best broccoli of your life. They’re bright green and perfectly tender flash-fried in garlic sauce. I wish parents would introduce their children to their version of broccoli as I’m sure any one, no matter what age, will love them.

Don’t skip the ginger pine nut fried rice or the house special congee especially if you go with a big group of people. The servings are more than enough and everything is so much better to share with your friends, dim-sum style.

20 Elizabeth Street between Canal and Bayard
212/964.5256
about $60 for two, without drinks, without tip
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You can’t miss Jing Fong with its shopping mall-style escalators. Sunday is the best day to go for dim sum to experience just one Chinese tradition in the middle of Elizabeth Street. There’s a lady at the bottom of the escalators who screams into a microphone to call out people’s parties. Upstairs is like a madhouse bingo hall. A true red and gold banquet awaits guests and round tables are shared with strangers. Waiters push rolling food carts around so you can stop them and peek at the small dim sum dishes. A lot of them don’t speak English; they just tell you the Chinese word for a dish over and over, hoping you’d back down and stop asking.

My only advice is to try whatever looks interesting and skip the mixed fried rice you usually end up getting from a Chinese takeout. I never know the names of my favorite dishes but I go for a lot of shumais and dumplings when I’m with friends who just want the familiar, or else I go for chicken feet and snails when I’m with dim sum regulars. There is also a long table up front so you can pick other hot dishes not available in the rolling carts. If you feel more comfortable ordering from an English menu, they have it available for dishes served in larger portions.

113 Mott Street on Hester
212/966.6613
about $60 for two, with two drinks, without tip
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Updated, 2006: Joe’s Ginger has move to 25 Pell Street off Mott, 212/285.0333

There is now an alternative to Joe’s Shanghai. I come to Joe’s Ginger now to avoid the long wait for a table at Joe’s Shanghai. It’s a lot smaller and less noisy, plus the waiters have time to talk to you about their suggestions like the kamote tops, a vegetable more familiar to the Filipinos than the Chinese, or the deep-fried whole quail. Some of my other favorites are the fish with yellow chives and the string beans with minced pork. Seasonal vegetables include peashoot leaves, swamp cabbage (or kang-kong) and baby bok choy flash-fried in garlic. Start with the mandatory xiao long bao, or soupy buns, and taste what made Joe’s Shanghai open up Joe’s Ginger in the first place.

28 1/2 Bowery corner of Bayard
212/349.0923
about $10 for two, without drinks, with tip
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Noodletown is not only a restaurant, it’s an institution. When Chinatown becomes a ghost town, Noodletown, or Great N.Y. Noodletown, as their sign suggests, is still open and stays open until four in the morning. Asian kids who come from a long night of dancing and drinking usually end up in Noodletown. Customers sit with strangers in round tables with only one thing in mind: the congee to cure the hangover that’s to come in the morning. I’ve made many inebriated visits to Noodletown as well. I usually order the congee with slivers of roasted duck and dot it with spicy hot oil. Visit during the day for a saner experience and order the roast duck or roast pork hanging by the window. For less than $5, it’s a great deal for lunch. The soft-shell crabs, lightly battered and flash-fried, are delicious when they are in season. If you can manage to get one of the abrupt waiters to tell you what vegetable is fresh, order the peashoot leaves or the swamp cabbage sauteed in garlic or stir-fried in oyster sauce.