Eating pork buns and DOH letter grades
Mmm... pork buns. I went back to Mei Li Wah recently to re-try their pork buns. Gotta say, I'm still more of a Sun Say Kai fan. I first heard about this place because they were known for their roast pork bun. You see some hardcore folks dining-in at Mei Li Wah, but there must be better options in the area. With such a reputation for buns, you'd figure that if they had good sit-down food, people would have discovered it already. Withouth being adventurous, I took a baked and a steamed pork bun.
The baked pork bun still wins points in my book for a great carb-to-meat ratio. If you did a cross section view of the bun, you would see that it's bun, empty space, meat, bun. So four levels... at Mei Li Wah, the first bun level is very thin compared to Sun Say Kai. But what I've learned in the past year is that almost all buns are infinitely better when you take it home and nuke it for a minute. They get warm and soft... that's when the extra thick level 1 bun at Sun Say Kay actually turns into an advantage... because you want more of that baby soft bun. The other thing about the filling at Sun Say Kai... it's leaner. Mei Li Wah adds fat pieces that are clearly distinguishable, and a little off putting if you stare at it too much. Best to close your eyes and bite with a vengence. It'll just seem like it's a juicy and fatty bun.
A steamed bun was also in play, but you're better off letting it ride the pine. When you order steamed roast pork buns at a dim sum restaurant, it almost always looks better than when you get it from a standalone bakery like Mei Li Wah. At a dim sum place, the steamed roast pork buns pulls apart easily and the bun is almost sweet. But at bakeries, you often see them use the same bun that they use for a steamed pork and vegetable bun. It's not the same thing. It makes the steamed roast pork bun almost not enjoyable.
The one thing to keep in mind going forward is what kind of Department of Health grades will be handed out to places like Mei Li Wah. Safe to bet that their kitchens aren't as spotless as a NYT four-star restaurant... I would guess that people attracted to $0.80 pork buns would just accept if the grade is not very high. Seriously, if you don't pay people to give a damn, they're going to either not give a damn or go do something else. Grub Street talks about how even Bodegas have gotten an A. I just want to see how this develops.
After watching the World Cup this year and reading about people's thoughts on how to change it... I've come to the realization that you need simple rules. Simple rules that are easy to follow and easy to regulate. If the rules every become useless or stupid, then change it for a different rule. The problem is I'm not sure the DOH is that flexible... but hey, I'll still eat a 80 cent bun no matter what kinda damn grades they get.
Mei Li Wah Bakery
64 Bayard St.
New York, NY 10013
212-925-5435
@Danny: Really?! And to echo Tia, WTF?!
If I told this to my dad (this was his piece of nostalgia passed on to me), he'll be devastated! :O Man, I hope they'll reopen.
Tina
July 31, 2010 9:09 pm
WTF! How did that happen! Damn, NOW WHAT!!!
bionicgrrrl
July 30, 2010 6:07 pm
The last time I had a roast pork bun from Mei Li Wah, the meat wasn't even red. It was brown and barely any there. I have to say though that their Dai Bao is pretty good
Lamchop
July 30, 2010 9:31 am
@Tina,
Ah.. the dai bao. I'm in Chinatown a lot and 9 Chatham Sq is closed. Saw the sign a couple of weeks ago... but I'll try the dai bao from Mei Li Wah to see what it's like!
@kim,
The egg crueller you say?! I get excited when people tell me it's unhealthy. haha
@Tia,
Ditto my response to Tina, Chatham Sq is a goner. Maybe they'll renegotiate their lease but they are no more...
@Nicholas,
Hmm.. I agree, health inspections would make certain things just suck like shaved ice. And I still wanna have shaved ice. The thing is, human beings are terrible at spotting what is there unless it's blatantly obviously. As a sports fan, you probably have seen how these new sabermetrics guys are using data and stats to 'see' things that scouts never could see. So I still feel like there's good uses. But like all rules, they could be rendered useless by the people who administer them.
@Lamchop,
You're right, the meat isn't red. The flavor is good though. The meat is generally red at a dim sum place... but try the steamed pork bun at Fay Da. The meat is nuclear red and kind of scary... haha
Danny
July 30, 2010 11:57 am
I agree with Tina, love the pork buns at 9 Chatham. As for the letter grades, they seem more relevant when dining at expensive restaurants. If I'm going to be spending the big bucks, I want my fork to be clean.
bionicgrrrl
July 29, 2010 11:31 pm
I'm not the biggest fan of the DOH (in the general sense of things). For the most part, I don't really feel the need for the city to step in and regulate this kind of crap. People are capable of being self selective in life, that's one of the great things about being a human (thumbs are a big plus too... vestigial tail, not so much). I'm pretty most people can see, to a certain extent, how much effort a restaurant puts forth in maintaining a certain standard of hygiene. If someone chooses to eat in a crappy looking restaurant, so be it, that's their choice. Anyway, that's my little rant on this whole grading shpeal.
This is probably fueled by the fact that almost every shaved ice place in existence would go out of business if Taiwan had 'standards' that they actually cared to 'enforce.'
Nicholas
July 30, 2010 5:25 am
I personally prefer the pork buns from 9 Chatham Square. An old school (sorta, my last visit a few months ago, they're hiring kids) dim sum place with no nonsense attitude. They're meaty and it's sweet-savory from the onions they use. Can't vouch for their steamed pork bun just because I liked their baked char siu bao.
I do highly recommend their steamed "big bun" (literally translated from Cantonese "dai bao"). A huge bun that's made of a sweet, fluffy, cake-like exterior of a bun meets a huge conglomerate of meats, Chinese sausage, hard boiled egg, and shiitake mushrooms. Very filling and it'll set you back $1.20 (from the last time I bought it).
Tina
July 28, 2010 8:40 pm
When I go to Mei Lai Wah, I always get the baked bun. On a sweeter note, try the 'egg crueller'. It's crispy and quite 'bad for you'. :)
The ladies are friendlier after the 'renovation' (but really closed due to DOH).
kim
July 29, 2010 10:57 am