You know a Chinese restaurant is good when you see a lot of Chinese folk eating there. Like many other Chinese restaurants in NYC, they try to overwhelm you with the extensive menu plopped down on your table as soon as you take a seat. There must have been at least 100 dishes to choose from, but my eyes immediately zoomed in on the congee and dim sum section. I never had a craving for congee while living at home with the parents, but once I had been weaned from the Chinese food I had been brought up on to journey forth into my first summer living alone in the city, I began to miss the traditional home comforts. Congee is usually served during the cold winter days, but there’s nothing wrong with some good congee in the summertime either.
The dim sum we ordered was quickly whisked out from the kitchen, and we snacked on xiao long bao and scallion pancakes as we waited for our congee.
Pork & preserved egg is a very traditional congee dish and definitely recommended, as is the crab. (Though for some reason we felt like they mixed the order up and put other seafood into the congee besides crab). Only qualm about our meal was that our waiter forgot to pick up the sad lonely glass of lychee martini that I had ordered. Oh yeah, try to eat here on the weekdays, because weekends generally mean a longer wait to endure before being seated.
Address:
100 Allen St
New York, NY 10002
I've been told that a certain smile breaks across my face whenever the subject of food is brought up, a smile that radiates the purest forms of delight and happiness. Food transcends beyond the smell and taste of what's presented in front of me; it's an experience to be enjoyed, indulged, shared with those I love. Working and living in NYC continually opens culinary doors, from hole-in-the-walls to upscale (even stuffy) dining. I never take any morsel of food for granted, and I'm often THAT girl at the table found licking her plate at the end of the meal.
