One of the most surprising things about the Bronx is the abundance of Chinese restaurants. In a primarily Hispanic/African-American community, there seem to be more Chinese joints per capita than there are pizza places which, for New York, is saying something.
There's about seven Chinese restaurants alone on my way to the gym. They all appear to have a similar color scheme and (mostly) have Chinese-sounding names. Unsurprisingly, their reputation among most people here who are not from the Bronx is not very good.
Chinese food isn't limited to a single borough of NYC, though. The cuisine has a sizable presence in the city as well as a decently long history, with restaurants in various areas seeming to cater to the residents nearby. In a city that boasts a Michelin star-rated dim sum place and a restaurant serving giant xiao long baos (soup dumplings), there's certainly a wide variety of Chinese food available.
Manhattan Lower East Side
Though most of the Chinese restaurants in Manhattan are located within Chinatown proper, more and more are establishing themselves outside of the district. The Bao Shoppe is one such joint. It's a hip, semi-Asian fusion type place offering seafood, Korean bbq, and fried chicken in soft, doughy baos, as well as meats wrapped in green onion pancakes. I had a Philly cheese steak wrap- beef and cheese wrapped in a fried green onion pancake.
To be honest, the meat and cheese of the Philly cheese steak worked together fine, but I would have been even more content to have the two separately to savor their flavors more.
Manhattan Chinatown
Chinese New Year lunch at Hop Lee
One of my family's favorites- for the taste and the price- is Shanghai Cafe on Mott St. They serve a variety of Shanghainese dishes with characteristically brusque yet efficient Chinese service. The biggest draw is the 8 for $5 soup dumplings (xiao long bao) which may not be the best soup dumplings in the city, but are certainly the best for your money!
The soup dumpling assembly line at Shanghai Cafe
My China-born grandma memorably proclaimed the next restaurant "the best Chinese food she's had in the US," but promptly forgot she had ever said such a thing the next time I asked her about it. Nevertheless, Spicy Village offers some of the best spicy hand-pulled noodles and pork pancakes I've had in the US. Many of the dishes are similar to those offered at the popular chain Xi'an Famous Foods, but for a lower cost.
The piece de la resistance is the "da pan ji" or "big tray chicken," a dish full of tender chicken, soft potatoes, and chewy homemade noodles all stewed in a rich red broth full of peppercorn, cumin, and other spices that make your lips tingle in the best possible way when you eat it.
Spicy Village's "big tray chicken"
Flushing
If Chinatown in Manhattan is analogous to Chinatown in LA, then Flushing in Queens (about 11 miles east of Manhattan) is like the San Gabriel Valley of New York. Both Flushing and the San Gabriel Valley (or "626") are the hipper, more modern counterparts to their respective Chinatowns, but still every bit as authentic.
$1 Peking duck baos in the back of market/food court Corner 28!
One third of the New World Mall food court
Co-interns Ann and Rajeev with their giant bowls of Sichuan barbecue at the giant New World Mall food court
My favorite spot in the food court is called "Zheng Zhou Lamb Noodle Soup," which in my opinion has the best potato noodle soup anywhere in the city. It's also part of a chain that Anthony Bourdain has visited, a fact they're eager to remind patrons as they loop a clip of him eating their food on a screen near the cash register.
Bronx
After enjoying the Chinese offerings of the other boroughs of NYC, one cold night I stopped by "Happy Dragon," one of the Chinese places down the street from me in the Bronx. I had heard stories of how awful the food was at these Chinese-Bronx places and how they only catered to the Bronx population. At the same time, I had observed that all the cooks at these restaurants were Chinese and that they would eat the food they made during their breaks.
I was taken aback when a friendly Cantonese-speaking man greeted me as I approached the register. Although there were all sorts of fried foods on the menu to appeal to a non-Chinese clientele, Happy Dragon also served such authentic Chinese fare as chow fun, lo mein, and duck noodle soup. I had a craving for chow fun so I gave it a go.
Next stop- the strangely ubiquitous mix of Tex-mex and Chinese food in the same restaurant =)
Yeah, I don't understand it either.
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