I've got to learn to stop coming to Chinatown and expecting great Chinese food - it's just so easy and trekking to Flushing is such a pain in my butt. It's not to say all the food in Chinatown is bad, it's really a crapshoot on what you'll get. Again, the decor here is typical of a place in Chinatown, which means there is none but at least it was slightly cleaner than Joy Luck Palace.
My mom and I came to Chinatown in search of whole steamed fish - I love it but it's hard to find friends who will eat it with me because the head kind of freaks people out and it's not something I would order on my own (although, let's be honest, I probably could eat the whole thing myself). When my mom is in town, she goes off menu and just asks the waiters in Chinese what's good. They told us the usual fish we like (tilapia) wasn't good here and instead recommended the steamed flounder. I haven't had this dish in years and it's usually pretty good but the only downside is that it's not as meaty as other fishes. What's nice about this fish is that the bones are very easily removed but again the meat isn't as tender. There's also no real meat around the head area which is disappointing because anyone who is a seasoned eater knows that the fish's head is the the best part. If you've seen this fish in the wild, it's essentially a very skinny flat fish and that's exactly what you get texture wise. But the meat that you do get is tasty, just don't expect to get full off of it.
We also ordered jellyfish with sliced pig knuckles and sautéed Chinese greens (I don't know what it is in English but it's one of my favorite greens that I rarely see anymore). The jelly fish was great - if you haven't had it before, if it's done right, it's cold, crunchy and tangy and I love it. It's usually paired with braised sliced pig knuckle which I used to have reservations about eating it as it reminds me of eating headcheese, but once you get over that, it's actually quite good.
Unfortunately, my favorite greens were the most disappointing part of the meal. They were clearly not in season and the best part are the leaves but instead they served it up with a ton of stem. The stem is much tougher and not as tasty and the whole thing was this sad light green color instead of a dark green. Even with a ton of garlic, the dish still couldn't really be salvaged.
Overall the meal was satisfying and very filling but the bad greens and not being able to get a whole steamed tilapia kind of bummed me out. The other bummer was that most of the restaurant was filled with tourists eating giant plates of pan fried noodles. Now don't get me wrong, I freaking love pan fried noodles and frankly they looked pretty good here but it was a bit unsettling to not see another Asian person there besides the waitstaff - it made me feel like I was in a tourist trap. Oh well, they can't all be winners, next time I'll come here and just eat a plate of freaking noodles instead. Total bill: $71 for 2 people with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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