CHINATOWN
People are always
complaining that there’s no place to get really good Chinese food in Palm
Beach, except at outrageous prices and even then, it’s still not at the level
of New York Chinese restaurants.
But the solution isn’t
just to have some terrific Chinese food when you’re up in Manhattan. It’s to
go to where the Chinese food is really extraordinary – and fresh. Chinatown.
If you think that
it isn’t upscale enough for you, think again. Chinatown is changing.
Their 500 restaurants (representing 10 distinct Asian cuisines) may not have the
ambience of Echo-- or the prices of Coco-- but the food is in a whole different
league. And almost all of the restaurants are quiet, clean, attractive-- and the
food is far tastier and more authentic than anything you’ll find down here.
Furthermore, it isn’t just
the meals that are memorable in Chinatown. There’s the shopping and I
don’t mean Pearlmart either. Go someplace like Rose’s Gallery (119
Baxter Street) or Sinotique (19a Mott Street.) At the latter place, you’ll be amazed and charmed by the Chinese Antiques, home furnishings and
decorative accessories you won’t fine anyplace but in this small long store.
I rediscovered Chinatown
late last year after an extraordinary lunch at Peking Duck (28 Mott Street)
which reminded me again of what I was missing in Palm Beach. I never
really liked Peking Duck before (I had never had it in Chinatown before, either)
usually choosing instead to have the Dim Sum down here.
I’m a huge fan of those
Asian dumplings, and have enjoyed them for breakfast, lunch, and brunch,
grabbing the goodies as the carts passed by. My favorite was at the Luck
Yu (an easy name to remember) in Hong Kong, but it’s a lot easier to go to Dim
Sum Go Go (5 E Broadway), the Golden Unicorn (18 E Broadway), and the HSF
Restaurant (46 Bowery Street) which in the evenings has a sea food buffet so
fresh you can practically pick the fish you want out of the aquariums there.
Next time I’m down there I
want to try some of the other baked goodies, such as the Chinatown Hot Dog (cheung
zai bau) which are buns with a hot dog enveloped in sweet fluffy bread topped
with a honey glaze.
After their meal, many
people still go to the Nom Wah Tea Parlor (Remember them? Well, they’re
still there at 13 Doyers Street) for their traditional Oolong tea. And then the
Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor. But you can find their flavors anyplace.
Instead, I’d rather go again to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (65 Bayard
Street ) that has flavors I can’t find anyplace else, like their Almond
Cookie, Red Bean, Taro or Wasabi ice cream. And they can be topped with Lychee,
red bean, almond cookie crunch, or gummy bears. And it’s hard to top
that!
I mentioned that I loved the
Peking Duck at the Peking Duck restaurant but I’ve heard that there’s also a
wonderful place to have it when you’re in New York and not down in Chinatown.
It’s at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, at 44th Street between 1st
& 2nd Avenue.
Every Sunday from 12 to 2, they
have a sensational Champagne Sunday Brunch that’s an international buffet with
dishes from around the world. Included is a Peking Duck Station with Roast
Duck carved to order and served with Chinese Steamed Buns with Fresh Scallions
and Hoisin Sauce.
I haven’t tried this yet,
but I did go to one of their Singapore buffets last year and can report that
their Asian food is outstanding.