I usually don't get Chinese food out of Chinatown or Queens but Aarti and I were in the New School/Union Square area and had just seen Ai Wei Wei speak, so we figured we'd keep with the Chinese theme going. We were scrolling what was nearby and this place got decent reviews and was in walking distance - how I haven't noticed it before is so beyond me. From the outside (and frankly inside), it's totally non-descript and it could fit in with any run of the mill Chinese place in Chinatown. It was complete with a bunch of Chinese waiters and waitress who ignored you and could care less about you (I say this with total love and affection).
Similar to a restaurant in Chinatown, the menu is about 10 pages long, has a bunch of pictures and has some questionable English translation. They apparently specialize in Northern Chinese food and dumplings but you can pretty much find anything and everything on this menu. Usually when Aarti and I come to a place like this we have our usual suspects: vegetarian mao pao tofu ($10.99), sauteed pea shoot tops (an offensively priced $19.99) and a cold noodle dish, usually dan dan noodles ($9.99). This is exactly what we got this time. It's really hard to go wrong with sauteed pea shoots - all you do is throw a bucket of veggies with garlic and olive oil and you're done. This is the first time I felt like this dish was missing something - this one actually needed more salt to it. The dan dan noodles were also just ok but I felt like the noodles could have been chewier and now that I'm thinking about it, we probably should have gotten something like the cold sesame noodle instead. As for the mao pao tofu, it's a classic comfort staple food and it hit the spot here. There's just something about soft tofu in a spicy mix with white rice that's so delicious. The menu had a bunch of other classic traditional Chinese dishes that I would have loved to try, but when food like this is served family style, it's really hard to go to crazy with two people.
The service was pretty non existent - the food does come out super fast, you just never see your waiter again, despite the fact there was only 1 other couple dining the restaurant. We had to flag our waiter down at every turn and they weren't the friendliest of the bunch, so I tried to whip out some Chinese every now and then. This was definitely not the worst Chinese I've had nor was it the best. Honestly, if I lived in the neighborhood, I could actually see myself coming here because it's a notch above those scary looking Chinese places on the street corner but it's not Mr. Chow fancy - it's comforting and hits the spot if you've got a take out craving - just don't expect your mind to be blown. Total bill: $26/pp with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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