Food in Mouth

Recent Posts

• Island of Taiwan restaurant

  

  Sometimes the dissonance between my blogging self and my real life self reverberates and echoes so loudly and far, that I feel very much like a poser. It's difficult to really express about food in real life the way one could if one has pictures and time to put thoughts together. I suppose that's the genius of someone like Anthony Bourdain, who can do it on TV, and consistently deliver week after week. Most of the time, the enjoyment occurs silently and the message conveyed to others is muted. Even though the world we occupy is more about the gradients than the black-n-whites, it's easier for me to divide the world in one big stroke for the sake of this blog. I think the world is divided into three camps of eaters. One is the Giadas. This is named after Giada from the food network. Each bite for her is a porno sound track fitting only if you orgasm anytime something touches your tongue. How her clit ended up in her mouth is a mystery to me. Those are the lucky ones. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have folks like me. We'll call this group The Creepy Pubescent Teenage boy group. For folks like me, eating for pleasure can be compared to reading a Playboy for the first time. Initially there's shock at how good it is, and then there's quiet enjoyment for the fear that there would be a knock-less intruder at your door, catching you at a very compromising (and embarrassing moment). The third group involves people somewhere in the middle. Maybe you're in that middle group, but I'm firmly in the quiet enjoyment group. My most recent food trip to Island of Taiwan probably was one of the most enjoyable meals in a while.

  Island of Taiwan restaurant is continued here...

  14 comments. Posted on January 20 2010 at 11:04 am

• Pandamonium at Panda Express

  

  Airport food probably could be a theme of a food blog. If there's some consultant out there reading this who wants to start a food blog, there you go. Usually airport food is uninspiring. Usually I'm not too impressed by anything inside of an airport. One exception is in Chicago where one of those airports has a Potbelly Sandwich Works. Mmm... sandwiches. Unfortunately, New York doesn't get that. This past weekend I was at JFK airport, completely disinterested at the prospect of eating lunch at the airport until I saw... Panda Express. It was a joyous moment because up until then, the only thing I had to eat was ginger ale.

  Pandamonium at Panda Express is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on November 30 2009 at 10:06 am

• 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.

  East Harbor dim sum and the taste of sameness is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on November 17 2009 at 10:23 am

• Grand Bo Ky

  

  "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, There's nothing you can't do, Now you're in New York!" These are the words of Alicia Keys from Jay-Z's recent hit, Empire State of Mind. As it applies to the restaurant world in New York City, the one thing that you can't do in the past was expand to your hearts content. In the past, rent was a prohibitive factor that limited the ambitions of restaurateurs. A couple of weeks ago, NYTimes did a feature on Michael Bao Huynh and his quest for a dining empire due to the lesser rent in these tough times. Well, you don't have to be a big shot to expand these days, even places in Chinatown are expanding. Bo Ky has been a steady presence on Bayard street for years. A couple of weeks ago, they opened a second location on Grand street. My best guess is that the current economy helped them make the expansion.

  Grand Bo Ky is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on November 2 2009 at 9:41 am

• Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles

  

  Warm weather has left New York, and that means it's soup season. It's also hand-pulled noodle season. While some people can appreciate a warm bowl of soup and sweating it out during the hotter months, I find greater comfort in soupy meals when it's colder outside. Last week I headed down to Tasty Hand-pulled Noodles for a nice bowl of noodles.

  Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on October 1 2009 at 11:54 am

• White Bear and the Flushing Mall

  

  After posting about Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao last week, I just kinda got lazy about posting the rest of the Flushing things. So here we go and run through the whole list of stuff. After eating the soup dumplings, Steph and I google mapped our way to White Bear. It actually went like this:
  
  "Do you know where you're going?"
  "Not really. I think that says 'White Bear' in Chinese though. Out of the five characters I could read, those two seem to say 'White' and 'Bear.'"
  "Really? It's not because it says White Bear in English?"
  "Oh would ya look at that. Let's just eat. I'm hungry."

  White Bear and the Flushing Mall is continued here...

  3 comments. Posted on September 29 2009 at 12:48 am

• Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao

  

  What happens when the craftsmanship of a food item gets too good, that it actually hinders your enjoyment of the food? At Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao in Flushing Queens, it's almost like they're too good at making xiao long baos aka soup dumplings. How could that be? How can you go beyond the perfection that is pork with soup contained in a wrapper? See, at Nan Xiang, they're so good at making the wrappers thin, that maybe it hurt the experience more than it helped.

  Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on September 22 2009 at 12:14 pm

• Congee Bowery and being a baller

  

  We set off to find some dinner. Eric and I had no idea where to go though, except that we wanted to eat in Chinatown. We settled on, "Let's go to that Congee place!" Of course I knew exactly what Eric was talking about. How could I not? I'm in Chinatown every other day and if he said Congee, then it must be the place called Congee. Right after we got out of the Grand St. subway station, he asked me, "Wait are you sure we're going the right way?" I reassured him. How silly of him to doubt me. We walked until we were maybe fifty away from Congee and Eric goes, "No man, I'm talking about the other place called congee. I think it's called Congee Bowery." Oh man, being wrong is fun.

  Congee Bowery and being a baller is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on July 30 2009 at 10:19 am

• Prosperity Dumplings

  

  There are a few things that as good as getting five dumplings for a dollar. Most of those things are NC-17 so we'll not go there. The king of these "dollar dumpling" places used to be Vanessa's. They get the most business, and the dumplings are always fresh. A year ago they expanded their operation and raised the price by a dumpling. Now it's four dumplings for a dollar there. Still a great deal, but if you just walk down Eldrige street for two blocks, you'll find that Prosperity Dumplings is still going strong as one of the better dollar dumpling places in Manhattan.

  Prosperity Dumplings is continued here...

  14 comments. Posted on July 13 2009 at 9:53 am

• Lan zhou hand pulled noodles and banh mi

  

  After years of playing pick-up basketball, you kind of settle into your role. Of course all of this is dependent upon the competition. If the competition is weak, you have to be aggressive and take charge. If the competition is strong, and you know you can only play a limited role, well then you accept your role and try to do it as best you can. For example, if you're not the best guy on your team, you should just strive to do a few things well. Maybe it's rebound the basketball or maybe it's to hit an open 3 pointer to stretch the defense. Whatever you do, you shouldn't try to do too much. Much of the same rules apply on the food scene. Here in New York City, the food scene is the big leagues. This ain't no NBDL. This is the NBA, son. And only the best should apply. What's strange is that even here you see restaurants that try to do too much. They try to do things that's not in their repertoire. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's that Middle Eastern place around the block that all of a sudden started doing sushi. Or that Hawaiian place on the corner that wants to do Thai food as well. And all those Chinese take-out places that serve french fries that need a little Cialis (seriously, have you ordered fries from a Chinese joint? goodness gracious, don't eat that shit. Go to McDonald's). This past weekend I saw one of my favorite hand-pulled noodle places at their (newish) second location. But here's the problem, they added banh mi's to their menu. I knew something was wrong when they put tomatoes in my sandwich...

  Lan zhou hand pulled noodles and banh mi is continued here...

  14 comments. Posted on June 22 2009 at 2:45 pm

• Double Crispy Bakery and average NBA shooting guards

  

  Sometimes when you have a blog that mostly attracts people with pictures, you run into a problem when the pictures are kinda dull. Today for instance, the pictures have this weird blue hue that I didn't have the energy to correct in photoshop. They also need more saturation, but whatever. What do you do when this happens? Um... I can not talk about the food and just blabber on about random things instead. Sounds good?! OK! Hi there! Ah.. dogs. Oh but before I get into randomness, let's talk about Double Crispy Bakery. Specifically let's talk about their Macau style egg tarts. I've only had that and their pork buns, so don't take this as a recommendation for all the baked goods here. We're only talking about egg tarts, and the Macau style ones.

  Double Crispy Bakery and average NBA shooting guards is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on June 19 2009 at 2:03 pm

• Wah Mei pork chops and grubby fingers

  

  These days I seem to crave foods that make me feel comfortable. Things like pizza are nice because they're portable and relatively inexpensive. For comfort, what I really want is Chinese food. A few weeks ago the NYC Cravings truck debuted. The initial fervor of a Taiwanese food truck made me wonder about the last time I had pork chop/fried chicken leg over rice. It had been too long. I made the trip down to Wah Mei Fast food because it's probably one of the best places for take-out if you want pork chop over rice.

  Wah Mei pork chops and grubby fingers is continued here...

  9 comments. Posted on June 3 2009 at 2:54 pm

• Three cup chicken and oyster omlette

  

  Taiwanese food is pretty difficult to come by in Manhattan. Out in Flushing, you can find it fairly easily. But in Manhattan's Chinatown, you mostly find Shanghainese (soup buns), Catonese (dim sum), or Fujianese (fuzhou fishballs). There is one place that has it though... and it's called Jobee's.

  Three cup chicken and oyster omlette is continued here...

  15 comments. Posted on March 31 2009 at 10:39 am

• Fried chicken wings and fried rice

  

  There's probably a fantastic, recession friendly meal just a few blocks from where you're sitting now. These type of places are usually generic Chinese take-out places. You know the ones, the first item on the menu is fried half chicken with french fries. When I first encountered these type of restaurants, I scoffed at their misrepresentation of real Chinese food. But during those first few post college years, surviving on cheap food was a necessity. So if you can find one of those generic Chinese take-out places, and you see 'Fried chicken wings and fried rice' on the menu, you should try it out. It's a super simple thing that's very delicious. It's fried chicken, how can it be bad?

  Fried chicken wings and fried rice is continued here...

  13 comments. Posted on March 29 2009 at 11:01 pm

• Fish ball update

  

  Last week I talked about the wonders of Fu zhou fish balls. Now time for a quick update. I mentioned last time that Super Taste offers up a decent bowl of fish ball soup, but I wanted to seek out another for comparison sake. With the weather warming up more and more, there's less of a desire to utilize noodle soup to warm up my body. Still, some fish ball soup is a good way to eat something delicious that won't be super filling.

  Fish ball update is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on March 9 2009 at 12:51 am

• Grand Sichuan lunch special and I am myopic

  

  Usually when I'm jonesing for Sichuan food, I hit up Szechuan Gourmet for dinner or it's their take-out lunch specials like their pork belly with chili leeks. If you're feeling sluggish at work, this would definitely light a fire under your ass. Almost literally too... Last week I ventured to the east side of Midtown in search of something new. I already knew from Midtown Lunch that I wasn't supposed to order any bubble tea at Grand Sichuan but I figured that $6.75 for a lunch special was reasonable if it came with a can of coke (and you could substitute soup or an egg roll). I picked the most Chinese sounding thing on the lunch special menu: gui zhou spicy chicken.

  Grand Sichuan lunch special and I am myopic is continued here...

  9 comments. Posted on March 2 2009 at 2:28 pm

• Fu zhou fish balls and dreams of our fathers

  

  Fish balls probably won't become as popular in the U.S. as egg rolls and pork fried rice. One thing is that most of the time, fish balls don't even taste like fish as the name would suggest. They sort of taste like um... the solidified version of finely ground fish meat. I know what you're thinking that this couldn't possibly be delicious, but in fact this is one of the most popular type of street food throughout south east Asia. You often find it in soups or in skewers that's then served with some sort of dipping sauce. Sometimes you see them stewed or braised in curry broth to impart curry flavor to the fish ball. It's one of those very Asian things that'll probably stay very Asian for years to come. And amongst all these fish balls, there's one type that's different than the rest, one that stands out because it comes with a pork filling. Everything tastes better with a filling.

  Fu zhou fish balls and dreams of our fathers is continued here...

  9 comments. Posted on February 23 2009 at 11:29 am

• Buying frozen dumplings from Sheng Wang

  

  There's a website called, Doing it wrong. That's usually what I'd say whenever I make dumplings at home. See, I compare my homemade dumplings to frozen dumplings purchased from various restaurants in Chinatown. One main difference is that the little lovely dumps from the restaurants all look similar after you cook it. The outside looks like your brain. Really! It has the weird peaks and valleys that you expect from brain matter. I don't actually know what brain matter looks like, except what I see on TV. But dumplings constitute delicious brain matter. Mmm... These particular ones are from Sheng Wang.

  Buying frozen dumplings from Sheng Wang is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on February 5 2009 at 12:34 pm

• Yun Nan Flavour Snack

  

  There are people who blink when served with pork intestines as a topping and then there are people like me. This past weekend I was super excited to find that the noodles with crispy pork from Yun Nan Flavour Snack had crispy pork along with pork intestines as a topping. Normally I would say you can separate people into the ones who eat intestines and those who don't. But really, how many of you out there even like intestines? Seriously, it's not one of those things that's easy to like but when you've had good intestines... man you just love it. Yun Nan Flavour Snack has good ones in their noodles with crispy pork.

  Yun Nan Flavour Snack is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on February 1 2009 at 11:17 pm

• Chinatown ice cream factory is awesome during the winter

  

  Oh man, today is awesome. Today is like, Obama day or something. A couple of my hype-hater friends aren't so excited. But fuck 'em. There's enough joviality going around. Speaking of happy things, I had some ice cream this past weekend. It wasn't just any ordinary ice cream. No, this was Chinatown Ice Cream Factory ice cream. They serve flavors like lychee, taro, almond cookie, and black sesame. It's not really your typical neighborhood ice cream shop. The best part was that we ate it outside in 25 degree weather and the ice cream did not melt at all. See, winter is the best time to eat ice cream!

  Chinatown ice cream factory is awesome during the winter is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on January 20 2009 at 12:52 pm

• Green cake from Hon Cafe

  

  Most of my friends and family know me as the cheapest person alive. It's actually a title I hold dear. Being cheap, you hardly ever find me in a Starbucks drinking overpriced lattes. I do however, love Chinese bakeries. You could say that Chinese bakeries are my Starbucks. Except at one third of the cost. Oh and I don't spend money on drinks, I spend money on the baked goods, of course. Hon Cafe is one of the newer additions to the Chinese bakery landscape in Chinatown. They have a little cafe in the back where they serve hot food and a bakery in the front where you can get your typical Chinese bakery goodness, and bubble tea. A few days ago, I went to Hon Cafe to buy a mixed fruit cake.

  Green cake from Hon Cafe is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on January 14 2009 at 12:20 pm

• Dumplings dumplings everywhere and not a bite uneaten

  

  Today I read about someone drinking too much haterade against cupcakes. It's really weird how haterade develops. It seems that sometimes people just drink haterade against hype. At some point, it stops being about the product and it's just hate against the hype and the popularity. Take my friend Jeremy for example - he hates Shake Shack because it's a burger and no burger deserves an hour wait. But I maintain that if he could taste the Shake Shack burger in his favorite bar, and with minimal wait, he would declare it the best burger ever. So he doesn't actually hate the burger, he hates how much hype it gets, and that people are willing to line up for something like that. I think that kinda is the same thing with Magnolias cupcakes. Honestly, it's been a while since I've had one from there because it's out of the way and the line is not worth it. Since we're talking about fads and hype, I wonder if dumplings will catch on as a fad. Yesterday I noticed a new dumpling place open up in Chinatown.

  Dumplings dumplings everywhere and not a bite uneaten is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on January 5 2009 at 4:53 pm

• Moms seafood dinner

  

  Foooooooood. I was looking through my desktop for pictures and found this folder of pictures from last month when I was home for Thanksgiving. This was the last dinner before coming back to New York. It was simple compared to the big turkey day feast, but this was still a very delicious dinner. It was a seafood theme with shrimp, whole fish, and some cuttlefish. The best part by far was the omelet with shrimp and chives. Salty and eggy and full of shrimp bits, the dish was one of those that disappeared a little too fast.

  Moms seafood dinner is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on December 21 2008 at 12:54 pm

• Mantou

  

  Guest Post - Time for another guest post! Man I love these things. Once again, the man who brought you reviews of Urban Belly and Hot Doug's is here again. Jonathan brings us another tasty tale from Chicago, and this time it's about mantous. If you don't know what they are, read on! Also keep reading if you do know what they are...
  
  I recently lost a bet. You see, I have always thought that mantou, the soft white steamed Chinese buns, referred only to the plain and not stuffed buns from northern China. And as I walked into Mantou, the new hipster noodle bar in Wicker Park, I questioned the appropriateness of the name because there are in fact no plain steamed buns on the menu. There are, on the other hand, filled buns, which I have always referred to as baozi. Then, my-ever-knowledgeable and clearly better half said that she remembered watching epics on TV (television being the ultimate source of all knowledge) back in Hong Kong, which referred to the filled buns as mantou. She hypothesized that mantou was an older term and that baozi must be a newer term for the steamed buns with filling. I, of course, scoffed at this assertion; and we made a bet.

  Mantou is continued here...

  3 comments. Posted on December 12 2008 at 10:59 am

• Shang is on the way up

  

  As a transplanted New Yorker, you hear things like how it takes seven years before you become a 'Real New Yorker', before you belong. Mostly that's crap though because you can feel at home here in New York in a much shorter period of time. When you finally settle in, you pick up the pace and your cadence becomes in sync with the pulse of the city. If you're lucky, and this is your type of town (and why wouldn't it be?), then you pick it up right away. Susur Lee, an internationally famous chef from Toronto, graced New York city with a new restaurant this past week. Shang is located in the Thompson LES Hotel, and it's hitting the ground running. Lee has his finger on the pulse that represents a fusion of cultures.

  Shang is on the way up is continued here...

  8 comments. Posted on December 10 2008 at 5:50 pm

• Taiwanese pastries and the wonders of the mung bean cake

  

  The other day I heard about this new book out that's supposed to help you order the special stuff when you go to an Asian restaurant. The 'special' stuff is generally the menu that's written without any English on it. I'm not sure if this kind of stuff goes on in Chinatown here in Manhattan, but I know this is the case at many Chinese restaurants in suburbia. If you're Asian, you know exactly the reasoning behind such a move. There are times when you eat something Asian-y and it's not that weird or crazy but you say to yourself, "White people won't eat this shit." If you're non-Asian and that offended you, oh wellz. If you're Asian, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For example, I think tripe is delicious, but I even know Chinese people who don't like tripe. And if you don't like tripe, wait til you try fallopian tubes! (Not kidding on that, although that was a long time ago and I only tried it once). Other things like mung bean is very popular in Taiwan but doesn't really get much play around here. Today I'll show you a couple of desserts that I think most people would try and love and it's no where near as crazy as fallopian tubes.

  Taiwanese pastries and the wonders of the mung bean cake is continued here...

  10 comments. Posted on December 4 2008 at 11:35 am

• Lan Zhou Handmade noodles and dumplings

  

  She saw through me right away. I had asked her what type of noodles they offered and she pointed to the menu on the wall. I stared at the all-Chinese menu and was stumped. It was all of two seconds before she said, "Can't read Chinese?" then pointed me to the English menu. Telling you, that moment would have made Mom proud. Thankfully, I had read about Robyn and Kathy's fooding adventures at Lan Zhou Handmade noodles. I knew to order the Lan Zhou Handmade speciality: hand-pulled noodles.

  Lan Zhou Handmade noodles and dumplings is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on November 16 2008 at 10:55 pm

• Curry Fish Head from Singapore

  

  Guest Post - Yessss, I get to be lazy and stuff my face with cookies. Jonathan is back again with a guest post. This was from his recent trip in Singapore. Mmmm... curry fish head...
  
  Three words: Curry Fish Head. It is a dish that is as flirtatious in name as it is seductive in taste. I think that its playful yet straightforward name is part of what makes the aforementioned dish both a local favorite as well as a tourist attraction.

  Curry Fish Head from Singapore is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on October 23 2008 at 11:46 am

• Szechuan Gourmet gets me wet

  

  I'm a chauvinistic, misogynistic pig. And I like steak, it's in my DNA as a man (I think...). After reading Frunk Bruni's article on gender differences, all I can say is, man, I'm glad wine ain't a big thing for me. The other thing is, whenenver dining with females, I live up to the stereotypical meek, quiet, geeky Asian boy. So succumbing the wine list is hardly ever an issue. But back to the issue at hand, which is food for men... if restaurants are separated into men and women leaning restaurants, than Szechuan Gourmet has to be a restaurant for the boys. It's one of my favorite places, and usually I hit it up with Eric the Teacher. This most recent trip was no different, and maybe we can figure out if it's a restaurant for men, women, or both.

  Szechuan Gourmet gets me wet is continued here...

  12 comments. Posted on October 9 2008 at 4:58 pm

• Red Egg

  

  You know the way Cookie Monster loves cookies? Or the way Pooh loves honey? That's kind like me and and dim sum. I could eat it every week and never get tired of it. Really, every time is like a magic carpet ride. Last weekend I actually had dim sum both on Saturday AND Sunday. Chinatown Brasserie with Stephanie featured good food and an unanswerable culinary question. Red Egg with Eric featured lunch with the only person I know who's attended a Celine Dion Concert. Oh and the food was pretty good too.

  Red Egg is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on September 12 2008 at 3:45 pm

• Chinatown Brasserie

  

  If you google, "Food people together" you'll get over ten million results. This is scientific proof that food is supposed to bring people together. If you don't believe me, go ask a ninja about food. Much can be said about what kind of food is good enough to bring people together. Restaurants close all the time, and we can say their failing is the inability to bring people together (for their food). Conversely, if much can be said about the food, much can be said about the patrons as well. Those who visit hole-in-the-wall dumpling places like cheap, filling, and fast food. Those who sit down at Ko want creative, inspired, and delicious food. As a Chinese-American, I have only had non-PC opinions when I see supposedly good Chinese restaurant that is lacking in Chinese patrons. It just always bugs me.

  Chinatown Brasserie is continued here...

  16 comments. Posted on September 11 2008 at 10:35 am

• Dumplings and my so called rant

  

  "Is that what it's come to? We don't even need to have the TV on, or video games? We just play, 'Let's debate with Danny?'" My close friends and I were sitting in the living room. They tried to help me decipher why another friend (we'll call him UPenn because that's where he went to school), had crazy ideas. We talked about how change takes time and how impatient I am. This happens every four years because I'm one of those people that get really into the election. It's like how some people have regular refrigerators and they just open the door and stick their hand to pull in what they want. For me, presidential election is like my walk-in freezer. I gotta get all up in that shizzle and feel it. And I'm taking the long weekend as a chance to throw this post in case you want to skip it. There will be detractors who say this doesn't belong in a food blog. Well guess what, it's my blog. While it's mostly concentrated on food, sometimes I'll veer away to my liking. Opinions are welcome, but I do not pander to those who say this does not belong. Leave if you want.

  Dumplings and my so called rant is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on September 1 2008 at 11:03 am

• Chive box is Flushing trip part two

  

  What can I possibly tell you about a box that you do not already know? Huh? Exactly, EVERYTHING. I mean uh, NOTHING (because this is a food blog and because I'm more Steve Urkel than Wilt Chamberlain but who is like wilt anyway?). What I can tell you about are chive boxes. They are like a healthy Chinese version of the hot pocket. Who doesn't love that?

  Chive box is Flushing trip part two is continued here...

  10 comments. Posted on August 20 2008 at 5:00 pm

• Flushing field trip part one

  

  She had me at hello. Well, it was more like "Come here, do you want dumplings?" But that's how you say 'hello' to me if you want me to respond. She obviously saw right through me, and I had no chance. Actually, she probably knew she had me when she realized that my rudimentary Mandarin was not good enough to politely decline ordering right away. Within thirty seconds of the initial eye-contact, the woman was next to me showing me the menu. Thirty seconds after that, I ordered twelve pork dumplings with chives. It was reminiscent of being at my aunts home where she would say (regardless of how portly I was), "You look hungry. Here. Dumplings!"

  Flushing field trip part one is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on August 19 2008 at 12:12 pm

• Mei Lai Wah has a great roast pork bun

  

  I was overjoyed when Eater reported about Mei Lai Wah's reopening. Actually, I had only been there once, and it was late at night and they did not have any roast pork buns. That left me distraught, and soon after they got closed down by the DOH. With Sun Say Kai raising their prices on baked roast pork buns to 90 cents, and Mei Lai Wah gone, the world of baked roast pork buns just was not the same. I was a lost Chinese boy without any buns to make my belly bigger. Sadness all around yo. But this morning, my faith in the world of delicious was restored. I don't need Jesus, I found the perfect roast pork bun.

  Mei Lai Wah has a great roast pork bun is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on August 8 2008 at 10:28 am

• Etons

  

  This might be a signal of what kind of a guy I am, but I love "dollar dumplings". If you frequent Chinatown, you know what's up - five dumplings for a dollar. (Crazy right?) Lately prices have gone up on those things. Places like Dumpling House and Tasty Dumpling have increased the price to four dumplings for a dollar. (Inflation = major fail!). When you are hungry for a snack, nothing is better or cheaper. But the taste is often indistinguishable from one place to another. You have to pay more for robust tasting dumplings and you can find those at Eton's in Carroll Gardens.

  Etons is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on July 29 2008 at 12:26 pm

• Shanghai Mong

  

  There are many instances when you would want a "two for one" deal. When you buy cookies, cupcakes, and rain boots because what are you going to do with just one boot? Maybe you could use it as a flower pot. Very rarely do yo encounter a lunch special that lets you sample two dishes at once (think: General Tso and Beef and Broccoli, how awesome would that be?!) Lucky for me, Shanghai Mong offers their best noodle dishes into one item on the menu: Za Jiang Mein and seafood noodle soup.

  Shanghai Mong is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on July 15 2008 at 4:55 pm

• Big Bowl Noodles

  

  You know, I think if you just plop a Chinese restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, people will be there eating during lunch. Quality of the food does not seem to matter. The thing is, I do not think you need to be a Chinese food fiend (like myself) to be able to understand if it is good or not. You will know if you like it. Big Bowl Noodles is a decent place for lunch, but it does not come close to unseating Szechuan Gourmet as my favorite spot. As a quick and filling substitute, Big Bowl Noodles is a decent choice.

  Big Bowl Noodles is continued here...

  3 comments. Posted on May 7 2008 at 10:54 am

• Excellent Pork Chop House wins again

  

  When you tie your happiness around one thing, it really puts everything into perspective. When you cannot have it, it suck, when you can have it, it is great. When that one thing happens to be butter or in this case, pork, then you know you can always resuscitate yourself when need be. Such was the case a few weeks ago when I wanted to feel porky, err.. happy. Excellent Pork chop house was the obvious choice.

  Excellent Pork Chop House wins again is continued here...

  2 comments. Posted on April 28 2008 at 12:16 pm

• Joe's Ginger

  

  After the the posts earlier this week, I had to cool down a little and take a mini-break from the pseudo-flame war that occurred. Weee. This blog is not supposed to get that serious! Obviously I cannot go eat at a Momofuku Ko everyday, but that is mostly because it is super hard to get a reservation with only a twelve seat restaurant. Most of the time I just eat in Chinatown because it is super cheap and simple. Chill, relaxing, and no drama... just how I like my women. I mean uh, dinner and blog writeups. (But you are with me, right? Right??) Joe's Ginger provides a fairly relaxing atmosphere compared to its sister restaurant, Joe's Shanghai. Often over-looked, Joe's Ginger has the same tiny soup buns or Xiao long bao and they are mighty tasty.

  Joe's Ginger is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on April 25 2008 at 12:35 pm

• Chef yu is solid

  

  The other day my roommate told me about a Chinese restaurant near her office. I was skeptical because she works around 34th street area - the tundra of the midtown tundra that is the New York food landscape.
  
  "Yea my Chinese coworkers took me to Chef Yu's and it was really good."
  
  She told me. I had to see about that! I went twice last week, and came away a believer.

  Chef yu is solid is continued here...

  3 comments. Posted on April 4 2008 at 8:37 am

• New Chao Chow

  

  You know what I love? A good marriage. No seriously, what else is better than an excuse to drink and eat cake? At Food in Mouth, that is what we are about, alcohol and sweets. Wow, what kind of example am I setting here? The other day an invitation came in the mail for my friend Linda's wedding. On the response card there is a place to select beef, chicken, scallops, or vegetarian. We all know how I feel about vegetarians. Last year when Jonathan (you know, the guy who wrote about Andrzej Grill) got married, he did not give anyone a choice. I like that. Life is awesome when you can remove the paradox of choice. So I am deciding between beef and scallops. What say you, dear readers? Oh, speaking of marriages, let me talk about the marriage of duck and wontons, a match that will make you weep with tears of joy. (The kind of tears you shed when you realized what the internet is for...)

  New Chao Chow is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on March 18 2008 at 12:42 pm

• Noodle Village

  

  Last month there was a post on Grub Street where someone said Joe Ng from Chinatown Brasserie said [Noodle Village] has the best noodles in Chinatown. That got me intrigued and then Kathy from A Passion for Food went to noodle village. A few weeks ago I ducked into the noodle shop on a rainy day.

  Noodle Village is continued here...

  0 comments. Posted on March 10 2008 at 12:50 pm

• Great NY Noodletown

  

  My experiences with Great NY Noodle Town used to be restricted to late night dining. They are open until four, and the restaurant is packed if you walk in at 2am. If you go at that time, usually you are trying to uh, increase liquid in-take and noodle soups become the natural choice. During my latest visit, I remembered Ed Levine mention they had good BBQ. I decided to give the spare ribs and shot, and what a great move it was.

  Great NY Noodletown is continued here...

  3 comments. Posted on March 4 2008 at 11:38 am

• Sun yip or ho yip or fun hos

  

  Welcome to another installment of the most irrelevant food blog ever. I say that not because it is true, but because half of this blog has nothing to do with food at all. Sure, in the upcoming paragraphs there will be some details about Ho Yip or is it Sun Yip? I just love a good naming crisis, sometimes I have them too, but that is another story for another time. Just as a warning to those who get bored easily, the next paragraph will be non-food related, skip it if you want.

  Sun yip or ho yip or fun hos is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on January 28 2008 at 11:15 am

• Sun Say Kai roast pork bun

  

  Last week Grub St had a post on what you can eat for a dollar. At number one, they have "Char siu bao at Sun Say Kai." Mmmmm... good stuff. It is so good I am making an entire post on it because I am a lazy blogger and because my friends and I have been eating this bao for at least five years. It is great when across the street there is a bakery, and you can practically have a meal for less than two dollars. On ward we go, for a couple more pictures and some random meanderings.

  Sun Say Kai roast pork bun is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on January 14 2008 at 5:02 pm

• Dumpling House

  

  Eater uncovered the fact that Dumpling House re-opened earlier this week. I had stopped by just two weeks ago and the place was still closed for renovations, but they got everything up to speed as the new store looks much neater and cleaner. I have been coming to this joint for months, and it is nice to see them up again, serving up delicious dumplings. Usually here is where a random story or anecdote is clumsily weaved into the opening paragraph, but I am feeling much too squirrelly to write a proper entry.

  Dumpling House is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on January 10 2008 at 12:15 pm

• Jing Fong is packed

  

  Some foods bring familiarity and comfort, and for my friends and me, dim sum is such a thing. After a night of watching a horrible movie called Shoot 'em Up (really, it is so bad I do not want to give you the IMDB link), what we needed was comfort. And Clive Owen, you just cannot pull off pointless movies the way Jason Statham can. Please, stick to more poignant films like Children of Men. On Sunday we mozied on by to Jing Fong this past weekend and braved the crowds.

  Jing Fong is packed is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on January 9 2008 at 11:50 pm

• Grand sichuan

  

  The holiday atmosphere has dissipated and 2008 finally feels like it is really under way. The college football championship wrapped up yesterday and my beloved Buckeyes got crushed yet again. Oh SEC conference, how I loathe you... however, Eli Manning grew a pair and the Giants pulled off a win on Sunday. We spent the other half of Sunday chillaxing and watching LA Ink. TLC is really putting on some quality reality TV shows like LA Ink and Little People, Big World. I hope they never talk to Mark Burnett, otherwise we might end up new shows with concepts worse than what we already have. We might end up with stuff like "Can you tattoo better than a 5th grader" or maybe "Survivor: San Quentin". The latter of which might actually be slightly hilarious. Just a teeny bit. The one thing I can do better than a fifth grader though, is eat. Mmmm.. no fifth grader can out eat me. Sunday ended with a dinner at Grand Sichuan in Chinatown.

  Grand sichuan is continued here...

  7 comments. Posted on January 8 2008 at 12:04 pm

• Congee Village

  

  Happy New Year! I have some of the same resolutions as many other individuals: eat better, live healthier, lose weight, be a better person, blah blah blah. You know, stuff. Somehow that impetus morphs like a caterpillar by the time November rolls around. Instead of losing weight, you get new pants. Same idea, right? In 2008 my resolutions will be simple - eat more of everything. Of course I will do the other stuff, be meaner, be less polite, be more misogynistic, and be the best a-hole that I can be. In the spirit of eating better, maybe I will just talk about the food for now.

  Congee Village is continued here...

  3 comments. Posted on January 2 2008 at 11:49 pm

• Ying Du

  

  Let us play, things that I was supposed to do, versus things I actually did instead. Supposed to: read the library book that will be due in four days. Actually did: listened to songs on youtube that my friends sang in karaoke last weekend. Let me ask you, have you ever seen three guys sing the song, Put your record on by Corinne Bailey Rae? Neither have I, because I was singing it and there were no mirrors. Yea and that was after You're still the one by Shania Twain. Sight to see, lemme tell ya. Oh and Don't stop believin' by Journey is a great one for groups. You know, just FYI. And pointless trivia of the day is that in some parts of the world the word for karaoke is: ka-la-O-kay. I am for real. Oh right, fooooood blog. Well aside from karaoke, Asians also like cheap food. Some of you are thinking that is not true of all Asians. Well, I took a scientific survey of one, and that was the result. Sorry. Without further ado, to infinity and beyond! (And by infinity I mean 'lunch').

  Ying Du is continued here...

  10 comments. Posted on December 28 2007 at 10:50 am

• Food Shing

  

  Before I get started into Food Shing, which is what this post is supposed to be about. I will jump into a tangent. So in another episode of checking my manhood at the door, I will share with my four readers, a gchat interaction betwee my sister and I. (And oddly it is interesting when I say three readers, three respond. Let us go for four this time. For the glory folks). My gchat message was, "sign #979724 that i am not a man. i kind of want to watch ps i love you." Actually in reality I am very private and paranoid (why keep a blog then?) but it is fun to share those nuggets of information every now and then. And no one is going to believe me if the message becomes, "I am going to make like Bob Villa and make a hand crafted table." My sister saw the message and then she replied...

  Food Shing is continued here...

  9 comments. Posted on December 21 2007 at 12:36 pm

• Sheng wang noodles

  

  The never ending quest for spicy beef noodle soup takes you to weird places; this week the destination is Sheng Wang on Eldridge street. Across the street from Super Taste is another shady looking place for English-only speakers. The ordering process is pretty simple, and basically you say, "I want..." and then you point to what exactly it is you want. Then you hope they understand the broken exchange and that you do not have to cry yourself to sleep at night. Wait what? No one else does that? Never mind me then, let us get to the pictures.

  Sheng wang noodles is continued here...

  8 comments. Posted on November 20 2007 at 11:49 am

• TKettle

  

  Along with ramen, one of the things I really love in cold weather is dumplings. Sometimes I like dumplings in my ramen, but life is not perfect. I cannot ask everyone to make food the way I like it. Supposedly there is some new fro-yo shop that will have coco puffs as a topping for the frozen yogurt. We will see about that. A few days ago I had coco puffs on caramel ice cream. Good stuff. The other day the Village Voice mentioned that TKettle started to offer steamed dumplings.

  TKettle is continued here...

  4 comments. Posted on November 8 2007 at 11:25 am

• Excellent Pork Chop House

  

  There is something to be said about authentic tasting food. On one hand, I am sure fresh tacos from a street stand in Mexico City is delicious, on the other hand, Tex-Mex tastes just fine (to me at least). Some people really prefer authentic, and then some people prefer SeĊor Froggy's. I do not remember what I like really... But back to the issue of food, Excellent Pork Chop House is the bomb. No wait, that is too old school. EPCH be the illest. (My dictionary does not have an entry for 'illest', booooo).

  Excellent Pork Chop House is continued here...

  9 comments. Posted on November 7 2007 at 10:17 am

• Wu Liang Ye

  

  I had been to Wu Liang Ye a few times for dinner and even tried their variation on pork belly with chili leeks, except they call it bacon and that kind of made it more delicious. The reason that I avoided their lunch special menu was because most of the things on there sounded like variations of most Chinese take-out places: General Tso, chicken with huana sauce, beef and broccoli, and so on. The had one thing on the menu that had the word "szechuan" in it, and that was the "Baby Shrimp with Szecuan Chili Sauce."

  Wu Liang Ye is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on October 31 2007 at 12:43 am

• Szechuan Gourmet

  

  I got up late this morning and did not have time to pack lunch, as a result, I paid a visit to one of the better Szechuan restaurants in Midtown. I had been to Szechuan Gourmet for dinner, but this was the first time for lunch. The menu boasted of over thirty different lunch specials, but L1 caught my eye - Double Cooked Sliced Pork Belly with chili leeks. It turned out to be a great decision.

  Szechuan Gourmet is continued here...

  6 comments. Posted on October 24 2007 at 12:25 am

• Shanghai Cafe

  

  Shanghai Cafe boasts of the most awesome decorative lights you can find in the English speaking portion of New York's Chinatown. There are many nooks and crannies to the area, but find me another where the patrons are bathed in pink neon lights. All that aside, they are actually one of the better places in the city to get Xiao Long Bao. It is one of my favorite spots to get these tiny treats.

  Shanghai Cafe is continued here...

  14 comments. Posted on October 19 2007 at 8:07 am

• Jing Fong is for chicken feet eaters

  

  If you follow stuff like Yelp or whatever (and I'm not even giving them a linkback), those haters would have you believe that no good dim sum is to be had on the island of Manhattan. Man, there's nothing more I dislike than haters. This blog is a no-hater zone. Please. Only happy people for this blog. If you eat chicken feet when you go to dim sum, how in the world can you not like Jing Fong? I know some people think it's 'expensive' on that discussion board, but unless you've been to a dim sum joint by yourself and spent over $20 dollars by yourself... how often do you spend more than $10 per head at dim sum when you go with a few friends? How is that expensive? Goodness people.

  Jing Fong is for chicken feet eaters is continued here...

  5 comments. Posted on October 15 2007 at 11:47 pm

• Mong Kok Cafe

  

  Note: I just want to welcome the first guest blogger here at foodinmouth. He's writing in from the Windy City, and will be a spot contributor whenever I am lazy. Normally he's saving lives at the children's hospital in Chicago, but today he's telling us about Chinese grub. Enjoy.
  
  At the door of the Mong Kok Café (aka Chi Café) stands a plump rosy cheeked statue. While the campy value of a pudgy Italian chef in front of a Hong Kong Style Café may be lost on me, the rest of the décor at Chi Café is surprising fresh. The room is decorated in a bamboo colored wood paneling mixed with tiling a cool bathhouse style tile. Brightly colored signs covered with happy smiling fruits and stars hang over a large glass partition leaving a clear view of the sparking kitchen. The restaurant like an old school diner is all booth seating. Perhaps coolest of all the tables are installed with utility drawers just below the table tops that hold the utensils and napkins- neato!

  Mong Kok Cafe is continued here...

  2 comments. Posted on October 9 2007 at 4:17 pm

• Super Taste is yummy

  

  One of my favorite things is a hot bowl of beef noodle soup. And in the english speaking parts of Chinatown, I've gone to a few of them. By far, the best is at the bare bones restaurant called Super Taste. It is some sort of weird translated chinglish, because those two words just do not make any sense to me. They must only know about 65% English, which is fine, because they know their noodles.

  Super Taste is yummy is continued here...

  0 comments. Posted on October 4 2007 at 10:23 pm

• Cute ducks taste good

  

  There doesn't seem to be a rush to show all that Chinatown has to offer, at least not on the serious new york foodie scene. That's where I come in because I am neither one of those things. Actually, I am a hunter. A couple of weeks ago my friend Jeremy told me it was a good idea to go hunt ducks in Central Park. You see that little bugger up there? We shot it. Roasted it. Ate it. He was too busy cleaning himself to see what came at him.

  Cute ducks taste good is continued here...

  2 comments. Posted on October 3 2007 at 12:39 am

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