Monday, January 6, 2020

Jiang Diner opening a second East Village outpost



Jiang Diner, which has become a hit since opening last spring at 309 E. Fifth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is opening a second outpost that debuts tomorrow (Jan. 7).

The Diner, which offers Northwestern Chinese cuisine, including the popular Xinjiang big plate chicken, is moving around the corner to 104 Second Ave. The current location will become a quick-serve establishment. A note for patrons on Fifth Street offers an explanation...



In order to serve a more extensive variety of Northwestern Chinese food to our valued customers, Jiang Diner is moving to a new location in the East Village at 104 2nd Ave. with a better equipped kitchen on Jan. 7, 2020.

We will serve new fast-service Chinese inspired dishes such as wonton, noodles, and congees at this location. We kindly welcome you to stop by both of our locations to explore the electric taste of Chinese cuisine!

So, 104 Second Ave. between Sixth Street and Seventh Street was Hot Kitchen. As we've noted, the Sichuan specialists went from serving terrific food to a more pedestrian hotpot.

At the beginning of December, the restaurant started 0ffering Japanese cuisine under the name Sushi & Sake ... and by this past weekend, the place was closed...


[Photo Saturday by Steven]

According to the Times back in August, Tao An, the owner of Jiang Diner, was also behind Hot Kitchen:

He also owns the nearby Hot Kitchen, a Sichuan restaurant, but the proliferation of Sichuan spots in downtown Manhattan has meant tougher competition and difficulty retaining chefs, Mr. An said. Jiang Diner began as a way for him to serve the Xinjiang-style food he loved as a young man growing up in Beijing, and to offer the neighborhood a different option.

It's not known at the moment who was running the Japanese restaurant in the Hot Kitchen space these past few weeks.

In any event, as of yesterday, Jiang Diner signage is now outside No. 104 ...


[Photo by Steven]

... as is a variation of the sign from Fifth Street...



H/T to Eden and Steven!

2 comments:

Gojira said...

I am thrilled to know they will be offering congee, I love going to Congee Village but sometimes I don't want to make the schlep or wait on line.

eastvillagesiren said...

Happy that they're expanding and will hopefully have a beer/wine license at their new (old) space.