East Harbor dim sum and the taste of sameness
Why is it that Chinatowns in the United States are mostly a dingy and grimy affair? You see some pristine looking Little Tokyos in the U.S., but Chinatowns? There's always a special smell associated. Perhaps it's inescapable as most Chinatowns are filled with restaurants and at some point, you put out the trash, and that's never going to be too pleasant. I went to the Brooklyn Chinatown to get some dim sum this past weekend and you know, just because land is cheaper in Brooklyn doesn't mean folks will space it out more or anything like that. It's just as dirty and grimy in Brooklyn's Chinatown as any other Chinatown. And the dim sum? Delicious and cheap, although the separation line between Brooklyn and Manhattan dim sum parlors is a thin one.
Just as almost all Chinatowns are the same, I find lately that almost all dim sum places are the same for me. In the last couple of months, I've had dim sum in four different places in a matter of seven weeks or so. Three in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. The variance in taste and deliciousness is minimal. There's much joy to be found if you're into this level of dim sum. If you're seeking the revelatory types found in Hong Kong or the more upscale version at Chinatown Brasserie, you will be disappointed.
Village Voice visited East Harbor Seafood Palace and I was intrigued by the idea of a dim sum restaurant that excels. Normally my friends and I visit Jing Fong because it's accessible, affordable, and tasty (to us). I say tasty to us because it seems like the rest of the dining elite do not think its even edible. Yet months after months, we find ourselves there on a weekend morning just happily eating in the glow of the pink lights.
I'm happy to report that yes, the dim sum at East Harbor is good. It was dirty cheap. Six of us ate til we could eat no more, and it came out to $10 per head. Not a bad deal at all. That might be the most marketable aspect of this place though. It's hard for me to tell people to rush out there just because the chicken feet and tripe are stellar. How many people actually like chicken feet and tripe? And who wants to ride the N train to 8th ave in Brooklyn on a Sunday? See what I mean? You're just as well off staying in Manhattan...
One interesting thing during the lunch was that my friend J said he recognized some of the managers there as people who worked in Flushing before. Some thing about a dim sum place called East. This was interesting because here in New York, you have these titans of the restaurant industry. They build empires of restaurants. And they're mostly white. Chinese restaurant folks don't do that. They're too busy jumping from one place to another, dealing in a mostly all cash restaurant, trying to hide a buck or two from the IRS. There's never an empire. Maybe Chinese food in American languishes because of some weird culture that permeates Chinese that enter the business. Maybe it's the same reasons why Chinatowns are always so dirty and dingy. On one hand I like the down-to-earthness of it all. On the other hand, it's disappointing that my people can't pick up their own trash, pay their taxes, and raise Chinese food (and dim sum) to the next level. What's wrong with us?
East Harbor Seafood Palace
726 65th Street.
Brooklyn, NY 11220
718-765-0098
If you want good dim sum in Brooklyn, walk several blocks down to 55th St. and 8th Ave to Pacificana. Probably the best dim sum I've had in Brooklyn. Second to that would be the newly opened J. King Seafood Plaza on 62nd St and 6th Ave.
Lamchop
July 27, 2010 8:53 pm
Tony Hu in the Chicago Chinatown has a little empire going. He has like 3 restaurants with another on the way.
As far as the smell, I have this weird love for it. I think it's a little nostalgic - funky fish and trash = chinatown.
Jonathan
November 17, 2009 3:56 pm
Groups like the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation are working on cleaning up Chinatown and making it attractive for public and private investment. (I suppose some people might argue that they are helping gentrification but I disagree). Remember, Chinatown (at least in NYC) is not a resource-rich community.
Ang
November 17, 2009 9:46 pm
The dirty culture in China is passed onto here. It's so gross there. Spitting, trash, etc. If the police enforced littering here then it would be much nicer. But it's really in the people's manners.
hungry
November 17, 2009 12:39 pm
@frugal,
Yes I guess so...
@hungry,
yea the whole spitting and trash thing is gross. The other thing is the whole pushing onto the train thing. WTF? that's a good point about the enforcing littering, I wonder if the city thinks about that in terms of increasing revenue.
Danny
November 17, 2009 3:50 pm