If you've been to China Cafe or China Blue, you'll recognize the owners and food at Birds of a Feather as they are one in the same, so you know at the very least you're going to be getting a solid, if not great sichuan meal. I had walked past this place right as it was opening and was instantly intrigued as there is a complete dearth of quality Chinese food in Williamsburg - I'm talking the nice sit down kind, not the greasy ass delivery kind. So it was thrilling to see a legit place open up that had no a trace of a poo poo platter or Beef and Broccoli.
The decor is sleek and modern with a giant communal table in the middle. I'm not a huge fan of communal tables but we were in a hurry to see a movie afterwards, so we didn't really have a choice of where to sit but I would ask for a regular table next time. There were two huge parties flanking either side of us, which was kind of annoying but I guess that's what happens at a communal table. The only good thing was that we could see what they were ordering first and tailor our decision. The menu is long and a bit overwhelming. I've always known this but it is usually better to come to places like this with a large group of people because everything sounds delicious and is served family style. So Aarti and I had our work cut out for us. There is a lot of authentic and non-Americanized Chinese food on here, so that was a real positive. Our waiter convinced us to get the thousand year old egg and tofu rolls ($8), which is really out of character for me since I've usually shied away from the thousand year old egg whenever my mom offered it to me. But since it was vegetarian and I was with Aarti, I was willing to give it a try. We also ordered the sichuan cold noodles ($7), pork dumplings in chili oil ($8) which was my one meat dish, snow pea shoot ($17), and the fried eggplant accordions ($12). We were considering ordering a fried rice dish as well but I'm so glad we didn't because there would have been no way we could have given come close to finishing all that food. If I were here with a larger party, I would have definitely gotten the steamed whole fish, ma po tofu, or spicy cumin lamb.
As a kid I was anti-thousand year old egg mostly because of the way it looked - it's a black preserved egg with a gelatinous outside, but after having this dish, it was actually ok. It really didn't taste like anything and mixed with the egg and tofu, it was actually a light dish. Next I tried the pork dumplings in chili oil and this was the biggest disappointment of the night. The pork dumplings weren't very plumb or stuffed fully and they were just drowning in chili oil with not a ton of flavor beyond it. I would recommend you skip it and save room for something else. And that something else could be a giant plate of pea shoots. It's nothing that you can't get in Chinatown and clearly nothing fancy but it's so damn good because it's dripping in garlic. There is really nothing like a plate of fresh pea shoots and garlic - the best. The sichuan cold noodle was a mix of chili oil, peppercorns, peanut paste and sesame and you could definitely feel the heat. Maybe I'm just getting better at spicy food but despite all the spicy elements to this dish, I didn't find it numbing or inedible as some really spicy sichuan dishes can be. I also really enjoyed the fried eggplant accordions - it was was huge dish that looked like it was possible made up of 2 huge eggplants. But it was crispy and lightly fried and smothered in a sweet and sour sauce. While it wasn't anything super innovative or crazy, I really enjoyed this dish when mixed with the noodles and a bit of pea shoot - sweet, salty and garlic-y.
Overall, this is a very welcomed addition to the neighborhood. While it's not like what you would find in Chinatown or Flushing (I mean it's still Williamsburg afterall, so the waitstaff is very hipster and trendy), it's a much needed option that I would be happy to return to - especially if you're going to the movies afterwards, as Williamsburg Cinema is literally right around the corner. Gratuity is included in the bill which is nice. Total bill: $27/pp with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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