Restaurant experiment: Mr. Chen’s Authentic Chinese Cooking

Mr. Chen’s Authentic Chinese Cooking

1917 Hoover Court, in the Hoover Court Town Center

Birmingham, AL 35226

205-824-8283

http://www.mrchenschinesecooking.com/

A reputable source suggested I check out Mr. Chen’s, and since I happened to be in Hoover anyway, I thought, why not?  Laura was also game for checking out Mr. Chen’s.  She too had been told of its virtues.  Plus, Laura had to go to Publix after, and Publix was in the next shopping center over.  It was a done deal.

Mr. Chen’s is located in a strip mall, next to Green Valley Drug Company.  It seems to get a steady stream of to-go orders.  The ladies working the tables are quite nice and attentive.  Laura and I had to decide for awhile what we wanted to eat, and eventually we elected to have an appetizer to start off the evening.  The steamed dumplings ($4.95) were quite pleasing.  I actually wanted soup dumplings but got confused and ordered the wrong thing but that was okay.

The menu actually surprised me.  For Birmingham, Mr. Chen’s offered some adventurous fare such as pork ears, pork intestines, and pork feet.  Bubble tea was also on the menu if you like tapioca balls in your milky tea.  The menu features dozens of items, so you’re very highly likely to find something you’ll enjoy.  And at reasonable prices too!

After much consideration, I went with the shrimp stir fry rice noodles ($7.95).  Good portion size, not stingy with the shrimp, not bland.  It gets my seal of approval!  It took me a while to eat it all up, but that was partially due to me yakking away to Laura, er, trying to savor every chopstick-full.

At the end of the meal, a grizzled older woman patron lit up a cigarette and started puffing away IN THE RESTAURANT.  WTF?  Thank goodness the management gave her a talking-to, began airing out the space, and we were soon leaving.  Disgusting.

This was probably my first Chinese food experience in Birmingham, and I’m glad I can safely recommend Mr. Chen’s to those who want a taste of China and Taiwan in ol’ Birmingham.

Restaurant experiment: Joe’s Shanghai

Joe’s Shanghai

9 Pell Street between Bowery and Doyers Street

New York, NY 10013

212-233-8888

http://www.joeshanghairestaurants.com

Since AmyL was in town for the weekend, we made plans to meet up at Joe’s Shanghai, her choice.  I readily agreed since Joe’s is pretty famous and is supposed to have scrumptious soup dumplings.

When I arrived at the Chinatown location, there were folks milling on the sidewalk outside.  AmyL showed up soon after I did, and she took a number (2), and we were told the wait would be only about 15 minutes.  Sweet.  I was expecting an hour. 

The pair of us were seated at tiny two-top by the entrance, and I was content that we didn’t have to share a table with strangers.  Usually the tablemates are fine, but you know, you’d rather not feel like other people are absorbing your every word.  A waiter immediately asked for our soup dumpling order, and AmyL and I went with two orders of the pork.

Both soup dumpling steamers came out at the same time.  The ideal situation would be that one would come out, and then the second order would be presented later on during the meal.  I’m sure Joe’s does this to be more efficient, but what happens is that the second order cools down by the time you’re done with the first order, and then they don’t taste as delicious.  AmyL declared that the pork needed more ginger but that the broth was on point.  I agreed, well, not about the ginger part since I don’t like ginger, but about the soup part.  Mmm, soup dumplings.

We also picked out the scallion pancake as a side, and the fried fat noodles with veggies too.  Thumbs up!  I personally prefer my scallion pancakes to be thinner, but at least they weren’t swimming in oil.  The noodles were great; the broccoli bites were standouts: prepared so well with the sauce, not mushy either.

You could tell the waitstaff were chomping at the bit to prep our table for the next diners.  They weren’t mean about it, but I wish the pressure to leave wasn’t there.  I get it; they want to turn over tables.  The atmosphere isn’t really suitable for lingering anyway.  Man, I wish I had some soup dumplings right now.  Low prices, short waits, food worth eating…go Joe!

P.S.  Thanks for treating me, AmyL!

Restaurant experiment: Oriental Garden

Oriental Garden

14 Elizabeth Street between Canal and Bayard Streets

New York, NY 10013

212-619-0085

http://www.orientalgardenny.com

I always get dim sum when the parentals are in town.  Last year we went to Ping’s, so this year I thought we’d try something new.  Oriental Garden was the winner.

The key to dim sum is going early.  As we walked down Elizabeth Street around 11:30, we passed Jing Fong first, and my mom spotted the mobs of people waiting out front, and she was concerned that we would have to wait hours.  To her relief, I steered her to the smaller Oriental Garden nearby.  Oriental Garden is just one main room, unlike the Bloomingdale’s that is Jing Fong.  No one’s ever recommended Jing Fong to me, just in case you were wondering.

The suited host seated us at a circular table across from a group of three women: two younger women flanking an older woman.  I didn’t realize we had to share soy sauce (and a menu), and I kept putting the soy sauce closer to our side.  I hate sharing tables.  Observing those women, the older lady never said a word, and the two younger gals talked across her.  Weird.

We ordered steamed veggies with oyster sauce off the menu.  The picture below even captures the steam, wow!  Slippery but cooked well.  The shumai and tripe were excellent.  They’re my personal favorites.  I was charmed by the bonus shrimp on top of the shumai.

I was stoked when steamed pork buns and shrimp noodle made an appearance.  Lots of other diners shared in my enthusiasm for the shrimp noodle.  The females across the table might have ordered some, and then the guy holding the tray with them quickly found himself holding an empty tray.  So I wish a greater diversity of dishes would come out more often.  But at least you could order whatever wasn’t making appearances.  In case you were wondering, the jasmine tea was fantastic.

When I picked up a business card at the front desk, the card’s appearance immediately seemed familiar.  Now I believe this is where Leslie and I ate before I became a New York City resident.  It’s just too freakishly familiar, and I know my business cards.  I believe it was tasty then, so that means that Oriental Garden’s still got it!  My mom says Ping’s isn’t as good as Oriental Garden.  I thought they were both stomach pleasers.

Restaurant experiment: Ping’s Restaurant

Ping’s Restaurant

22 Mott Street between Chatham Square and Mosco Street

New York, NY 10013

212-602-9988

Many months ago, I asked AmyC for dim sum places that she would recommend, and Ping’s was at the tip of her tongue.  I stored that important bit of knowledge in the back of my brain and waited for the appropriate time to whip that out.

The time came, as I insisted the parentals have dim sum with myself.  It was around 11:30 and already Ping’s was filling up.  By noon, there was nary a seat in the smallish house.  What I wasn’t too fond of was sharing a nine-seater circular table with complete strangers.  Awkward.

Pressing on, the dim sum was perfectly tasty so that compensated.  Since space is a premium, the servers at Ping’s mostly carry around the small plates on trays.  What was handy is the hardcover menu which has glorious pictures of dim sum foods along with the names in English and in Chinese.  Wish I could have swiped a copy since I am terrible with the names.  So you can get the big names from the trays or request the lesser wanted things from your waiter or waitress.  Nice!  This was how I got steamed pork buns.  They were smaller than I was used to and a little sweet almost.  Oh well.  And this was how I obtained my favorite slippery rice noodle with shrimp.  I didn’t get how you had to order this since every since party at our shared table ordered this.

As for the food that came out, shrimp shumai and veggie shumai were great.  Greens with garlic, yum.   That was the bulk of the food.  And then to exit, we had to do battle with the masses waiting to be seated, usually a reassuring sign.

Restaurant experiment: Great NY Noodletown

Great NY Noodletown

28 1/2 Bowery at Bayard Street

New York, NY 10013

212-349-0923

AmyL and I were intending to hit up Chinatown for some dim sum, but as we passed Great NY Noodletown, I told her how popular it is and how AmyC’s gang loves it, and we ended up having our lunch there instead.

Since it was a little later than the the usual lunch time, we lucked out and were seated promptly at a table by the door; I had a full view of the people who came in and waited for a table.  Since Great NY Noodletown has been written up numerous times, there were a lot of tourists there.  You could tell.

I ordered the noodle soup with beef muscles and AmyL had the noodle soup with duck.  $4?  Score!  And filling too, or at least I thought so.  I spied jellyfish and thousand year old egg on the menu and brought it up to AmyL who agreed to split the platter with me.  That cost more than the noodles, but that was all right.  Thousand year old eggs actually gross me out just by looking at them, but they do taste very eggy and nice.  It’s fascinating how the egg whites turn translucent and dark brown.  Nifty.

 

Then the old man waiter made me irate.  Miscommunication issues aside, telling customers to give a specified money tip is TACKY and RUDE.  We went to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory after, and I felt better.  Black sesame ice cream is a proper calmer.

Restaurant experiment: Nan Xiang

Nan Xiang

38-12 Prince Street at 38th Street

Flushing, NY 11354

718-321-3838

AmyL and The Geneticist had been to Nan Xiang before so it had Amy’s stamp of approval.  We’re mad about soup dumplings, and apparently this is the place for ‘em.

We survived the 7 train and found the restaurant without any problems.  It was easy to find since it was the one with the line out front.  You know a place is popular if its sign isn’t even in English.  The wait wasn’t too long, but prepare yourself for a small dining area and your new family: good old communal seating.  Unless you’re a party of six or so.  I spent a lot of time checking out what the couple next to us was chowing down on.

Amy never steers me wrong.  We started with hot sweet soymilk.  Of course we had to order the soup dumplings which Nan Xiang is famous for.  These are special dumplings popular in Shanghai, which, as the name suggests, have piping hot broth encased within the skin, along with the meat.  Amy had a handy trick for cleanly eating these guys.  I secretly snickered at the man and woman who let all the yummy broth leak all over the plate.

And we simply had to order the scallion pancakes.  These have to be the best I’ve ever eaten!  Love love love the crunchy exterior.  Those flabby soft ones are ick.  These sure were not ick.

However, I’m lukewarm on the shumai filled with rice (wha?) and gyoza (not crispy enough).  I guess it’s pretty obvious that I like my skins/wrappers crunchy, huh?

Cash only.  And then I got Pinkberry later.  What an Asian way to spend the Fourth of July!

Restaurant experiment: Momofuku Noodle Bar

Momofuku Noodle Bar

171 First Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets

New York, NY 10003

212-475-7899

www.momofuku.com/noodle/default.asp

The Momofuku restaurants are popular in NYC, with the crown jewel of the empire Momofuku Ko having some crazy reservation process which I won’t go into detail here but heard about secondhand. It’s like a Black Friday for 16 seats apparently?

But yeah, let me set the scene. It’s Halloween, so costumed kids are running around the East Village, invading stores for free pieces of candy. AmyC suggested that she, Lily, and I grab a bite here at Momofuku Noodle Bar since we had attempted to a million years ago and were denied (the wait was nuts) and instead went and waited for a table at the just-as-packed Yakitori Taisho (yum).

Surprisingly we didn’t have to stand around at all. It was still a bit on the early side, close to 6:30pm. All the tables were snapped up but there were slots open at the bar. We squished around a small end table, next to a dweeby pair. I had to overhear their bland talk without choice; I’m not about communal-type seating.

Our sever was a sweetheart: friendly and willing to answer questions. That always helps a dining experience. If you are not into noodles, never fear, as the menu features alternatives, mostly of a Korean nature. Our trio shared an appetizer of the steamed pork buns. These pork buns were not like the buns you would find in Chinatown. They were very artsy, avant garde, as the bun part resembled a silver dollar pancake and was folded over to protect the pork and slices of cucumber (!). The pork was fatty and tender and delicious. No dim sum prices however.

AmyC opted for the more deluxe Momofuku ramen with pork and a poached egg, while Lily and I went for the more basic ramen option with chicken; you could opt for shredded pork. Now, ramen broth is usually a bit salty, but this soup was off-the-hook salty. We like to slurp down all the liquid but had to refrain because otherwise we’d be nursing bottles of water the whole rest of All Hallow’s Eve. I was disappointed. The chicken pieces were salty too. To make up for this gaffe, I did wholeheartedly approve of the actual noodles. We’re too used to the dried stuff so when we eat actual, real noodles, it’s jarring, though in the best way possible.

Photo by AmyC

Restaurant experiment: Pacificana

Pacificana

813 55th Street at 8th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11230

718-871-2880

www.sunset-park.com/mall/PACIFICANA/

I heart dim sum but don’t eat it all that much unfortunately. Plus I always feel as though I should go with someone who speaks the language, and I sure don’t. Alas. So when AmyL came to visit, we knew a dim sum experience was in order. I don’t know the names of the dishes and can only visually ID them. AmyL tried to teach me some names but I’m hopeless. I’ll use Wikipedia to try and name what I ate.

Even though we arrived at the Sunset Park restaurant past 2pm and the place itself occupies a massive second story space which was still bustling, we were seated promptly. It took a while for come carts to reach our table though. Luckily Pacificana rolls the carts until 4pm so we were safe. I tried one of Amy’s favorites, char siu sou which contains sweet meat enveloped in layers of shiny flaky pastry. I approved. There were my personal picks: rice noodle rolls with shrimp (the pork version just doesn’t compare) and shaomai (steamed pork dumplings).  Yummy.

The only letdown was the scallion pancake. I normally love scallion pancakes, but this one was lame: too chewy thick, cold. We only ate half.

Dessert of sorts was jin deui/matuan, those deep fried sesame balls with doughy centers and a core of sweet bean paste. Yum. Thumbs up for the jasmine tea too. The damage was reasonable (~$20 for the two of us), and we waddled out onto the street, in dire need of some strolling around to ease the stuffed feeling. Dim sum expert AmyL gave Pacificana her seal of approval.  Man, typing out this review makes me want dim sum for lunch right now!

Restaurant experiment: A Yummy Noodle/Yummy Noodles

A Yummy Noodle/Yummy Noodles

48 Bowery between Bayard and Canal

New York, NY 10013

212-374-1327

The post-partying gang wanted to eat at Noodle Town but hungry noodle fiends sat at all of its tables. Denied. Plan B was A Yummy Noodle/Yummy Noodles which was much bigger than the former establishment and was much emptier. Our waiter made himself scarce after eight of us plopped ourselves down at a circular table in the back. Was I the only one who thought a large diamond on the server’s Yummy Noodles shirt was very random? Because noodles and diamonds go hand in hand. Anyway, I like to call Yummy Noodles basically a Chinese diner with a huge menu and late hours. I don’t think it’s open 24 hours, but it was late enough for me to be deemed a diner.

I ordered pig’s feet noodle soup for $3.95. It comes in a dark heavy broth that doesn’t quite do the dish justice. I know I might have been talking nonsense since I’ve never eaten pig’s feet noodle soup before, but William agreed with me, so I wasn’t talking nonsense. Pig’s feet are too knuckley for my tastes though. Next foot to try: duck!  Some of the fellows were disappointed with their rice casserole; they expected a certain soy sauce sauce to be provided to add in, and when they asked the indifferent waiter, he pointed to the soy sauce.  Minus some points for that.

If you need to pinch pennies and have a hankering for acceptable Chinese and it’s past midnight and Noodle Town is packed, Yummy Noodles might fit your bill. Use your noodles!