OK, so not the most pressing social issue. A diversion nonetheless. In any event, several readers — via email or the comments — have asked for recommendations for Chinese takeout/delivery. This question came up in the comments here ... and here ...
Seems like a lot of favorites have closed through the years. Like Mee's Noodle Shop and Grill on First Avenue. I liked Bamboo House on Second Avenue at Sixth Street. Until it closed about, what, five, six years ago?
China Town on Houston was OK the few times that I tried it... (Remember a few years ago when the 'N' fell off — China Tow?)
What about Happy Wok on Avenue C? The DOH recently paid them a visit. (Violations included "Duties of an officer of the Department interfered with or obstructed.") Let's just say that they're back open (only 4 violation points now!) ...
OK, we're ready for some Ma Po Tou Fu...
I've been anxiously waiting for your report on the new Chinese restaurant on 2nd Ave between 7th and 6th, a little more high end than normal.
ReplyDelete@nygrump
ReplyDeleteHot Kitchen!
I liked it! Went there a few days after they opened. They weren't delivering just yet. Ordered a sampling of stuff ... all solid. Will try them next for delivery.
Grand Sichuan on St. Marks.
ReplyDeleteXi'an Famous Foods on St. Marks is really good, but it's take out only.
New Saigon on 1st Ave btwn. 3rd and 4th is alright, too. Even though the name suggests a Vietnamese menu, most of the food served here is Chinese. General Tso's tofu is banging!
My God, I've been searching for over a year, ever since Happy Palace (or whatever it was called) on Third closed. I can emphatically say NOT Plump Grill or Dang Lai Palace.
ReplyDeleteGrand Sichuan on St. Marks is the best Chinese in the area. It's better eating in than taking out, when I do take out I usually ask for the sauce on the side.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to find a casual chinese place that's as good as Grand Sichuan St. Marks anywhere in the city.
Grand Sichuan and also Yummy House / Plump Dumpling / Plump House - though I HAVE had some spotty meals from there of late
ReplyDeleteFirst off thank you Grieve for starting this most excellent thread. Full disclosure - I don't eat meat. That being said,
ReplyDeleteI f*cking love China Wok on Ave D (formerly new golden). Seriously. Try their apple sticks - to die for.
Also the place on Avenue C near ten-eleven, forget what it's called.
The place on B and 3rd I do NOT like.
Thanks for the recommendations for the places on St. Marks!
Grand Sichuan for sure!
ReplyDeletetasty king by force. cheap and dirty. eeeek.
ReplyDeleteRiceton on 14th is a decent delivery option, though they recently changed their dumplings. A suprise given the ridiculous name. otherwise there's a serious lack of good American Chinese food around here - traditional chinese is fine, but sometimes you just need some general tso's chicken.
ReplyDeleteIck, Grand Sichuan is so overrated. I've scoured the area and have yet to find a better chinese take out place than the China Star on 1st Ave between St Marks and 9th St. Huge portions and their combination platters for lunch and dinner cannot be beat.
ReplyDelete"Xi'an Famous Foods on St. Marks is really good, but it's take out only. " - Anonymous
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I finally stopped by there this week. Super flavorful, fresh ingredients. The do have a small space for dining in, but if you're not into that or takeout, they also have a sign suggesting bars nearby where you can take it (including Holiday and WCOU Radio).
+1 Grand Sichuan
ReplyDeleteConsistent. Good.
Don't use a preposition to end a sentence with.
ReplyDeletethe decent chinese restaurants that were around here are gone and the ones close by used to be btter and now are not so hot (the cottage, charley mom's).
ReplyDeletethe dumpling house on st. marks has good dumplings but it is more of a fast-food place.
fat dumpling is awful and i think a health hazard.
unfortunately you have to go to chinatown for good chinese food - and a lot of the old-time good places there also have closed.
@anon 11:31
ReplyDeleteC'mon, live a little. Break the rules of grammar! The nuns also told me to never end a sentence with a Woo!
Fei Ma!
ReplyDeleteNot much in the EV. Order from Buddha Bodai in Chinatown. Vegan friendly, cheap lunch specials, not greasy, and tasty.
ReplyDeleteFei Ma on Ave A & 5th St is the best! Hands down.
ReplyDeleteAnyone ever order from Wacky Wok on 8th and D?
ReplyDeletemomofuku ko
ReplyDeletethe trilby
hop devil grill
chinatown brasserie
billy hurricane's
china 1
diablo royale
momofuku noodle bar
village pourhouse
momofuku ssäm bar
...
oh, wait...(just a satirical suggestions)
Original Yummy House griever here. So far I've tried Red House on 14th street--not terrible, but still kind of cheapy tasting. The Cottage, suggested by my GF, was considerably better and for the moment is my go-to delivery option. (Grand Sichuan is nice and all but good old fashioned American Chinese is not really their forte) What was great about the original Yummy House was that the ingredients were noticeably better quality and the dishes less greasy and gristly than your typical gringo Chinese take-out. More refined if you will. It is *sorely* missed. By the way, what the fuck really happened to the restaurant? Never got any more information than vague reports of plumbing issues. One of these days I ought to storm into the Plumpy Dumpling, climb up on the counter and demand some fucking answers once and for all.
ReplyDelete@Anon 12:58 -
ReplyDeleteI love Wacky Wok. You can customize your food and it's not greasy. My only complaint is some of their sauces aren't flavorful enough, but everything I've tried there has been excellent.
Vanessa's dumplings on 14th/2nd for OK dumplings. Wacky Wok's aggressive menu spamming, that's enough not to got there for me ;)
ReplyDeleteChina Star 4 Lyfe!!! Cheap and open 1/2 hour later than the others.
ReplyDeletei like Fei Ma. Great cold noodles!!
ReplyDeleteAnyone voting for Grand Sichuan have any recommendations on what to get there? For my first time, I decided to go simple with some General Tso's, thinking that'd be almost impossible to screw up. What I got was as dry and tough as beef jerky (had to use a steak knife to cut through it), and the broccoli was like rubber. Wondering what could be good there if something so much a staple of American Chinese was so bad. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGrieving Yummy House...
surprised nobody thought to mention Lucky Cheng's.... hah
ReplyDeleteThis isn't in the East Village, but I love Sammy's Noodle Shop on 6th and 11th. The chili pepper soup with dumplings is amazing.
ReplyDeletejust to be clear, before someone goes huffing and puffing about it, my comment was satirical
ReplyDeleteas per the topic on this thread, a lot of affordable chinese food takeouts have disappeared, only a very few remain, scattered throughout the ev, even a few commenters have gone out of the neighborhood such as chinatown and the west side. but the one that are sprouting up in the ev are high-end chinese food restos or bars, catering to the b&ters, tourists, and the riches
i mostly get my chinese food from chinatown, it's a few minutes walk but woth it, and when winter and rainy days come along and in need for delivery, i get it from the china star
I tried Jet East delivery for awhile. They're up on 3rd Avenue b/t 16th and 17th, I think. Closed briefly this past spring after a (cough) DOH visit. Would likely try them again.
ReplyDeleteI loved Bamboo Curtain on 1st Ave. Had my first sesame noodles there, in the spring of 1981.
ReplyDelete@Jeremy - If you like spicy stuff, the Gui Zhou chicken is great. Basically, anything not on the American Chinese side of the menu is pretty good, although there was a period about two years ago where everything seemed to be prepared with an extra cup of corn starch.
ReplyDeletegotta second sammy's on 6th ave. they have delivered to me all the way on A also. lo mein noodles are great, awesome veggies. a little pricier then closer spots tho.
ReplyDeleteFei Ma isn't terrible.
I agree with Marty--Sammy's Noodle is great--great chow fun and a ton of it..enough to share or for 2 meals. Haven't tried any Chinese food in the EV since Bamboo Village left.
ReplyDeleteBamboo House on 2nd Avenue and 6th Street....
ReplyDeleteNever mind...it was a momentary flashback.
A new place just opened on 2nd Avenue & 6th Street...Hot Kitchen or something similar...haven't tried it yet, but hope it's good. There is a surprising lack of Chinese restaurants in the East Village, considering the EV restaurant density in general....So many Thai, Indian, Italian, etc, places, but very few Chinese. The only option is that communist one on St Mark's, but I won't be supporting Maoists.
ReplyDelete- East Villager
Chang Wang Restaurant on Hester Street (the southeast corner of Hester Street and Allen Street). It's a worker restaurant. You can eat in for $4 or less which gets you an entree over rice, bowl of soup and cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteHere's a pic (I hope ... or else, copy and paste the URL address)of the classic Cantonese dish - Beef with Bitter Melon in Black Bean Sauce. Really delicious:
[IMG]http://priuschat.com/forums/members/boo-albums-prius-picture1331-3-75-gourmet-lunch-beef-bitter-melon-in-black-bean-sauce-over-rice-bowl-soup-cup-tea.jpg[/IMG]
Thanks anon 5:01! I'll give that a try.
ReplyDelete@12:27 PM
ReplyDeleteThe Hot Kitchen place on 6th & 2nd actually was quite good. Had mixed vegetables with beef - on the premises. Don't know if they deliver yet, but let's be optimistic. Definitely worth a shot.
I'm still mad at Krops and Bobbers for replacing my favorite place on Ludlow.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is Wa Lung Kitchen on Grand St. I'm on the border of the EV and LES, so they deliver to me. Not a great place to eat in though, but that's typical.
I don't even know where Mee is anymore, but they have delivered in recent months to my roast duck craving face on 10th and 1st.
ReplyDelete@ glamma WTH are apple sticks? ;)
ReplyDeleteHot Kitchen! Good cheap lunch specials there too. Grand Sichuan though it's gotten pricey. I used to go to Plump Dumpling purely out of convenience (and instantaneous delivery times) but the food is mediocre and the always overcharge. Even the prices on the giant posted menu are wrong ("old menu" they say if you notice that they charged more than the posted price...)
ReplyDelete