I haven’t been to Ping in almost 20yrs. I was glad to see nothing has changed for the dim sum experience. Here’s a little Zooz bike “Ride & Review” video I put together:
If you like that bike, you can get $150 off with code JOHNNYPRIME at checkout, www.zoozbikes.com.
Also – here is a nasty little outtake from the video:
My favorite bite was the rice roll with crispy cruller inside.
Also worth getting: the pork wrapped in bean curd skin – top right on my plate here:
Tucked away in a Chinatown alley near the back of NYC’s Civic Center is a little hole-in-the-wall dumpling spot that’s simply called “Fried Dumpling.” I discovered this place while frequenting joints like Wo Hop and Peking Duck House during law school, in the very early 2000’s.
I’ve been coming here for over two decades now, and although my visits are infrequent, every time I go it hits the spot. They aren’t the best dumplings you’ll eat – the dough is a little thick, and the fried crust is inconsistent – but for $5 you get about a dozen, and they’re pretty damn tasty for the price. You can choose steamed or fried. I always go with fried, because they seem to have more flavor from the griddle/flat top. A squirt of sri racha and a shake of vinegar dumpling sauce and you’re all set.
Just a note: There’s no place to sit here. It’s really just for either standing at the small shelf along the side wall, or taking your plastic clamshell to go.
My wife and I used to buy the bags of frozen dumplings they offer, so we could cook them at home ourselves. This place is a gem.
My last visit was during a @NYCZoozClub food crawl. Check out the video below if you’re interested. And use code JOHNNYPRIME for $150 off your Zooz bike at www.zoozbikes.com.
FRIED DUMPLING
106 Mosco Street
New York, NY 10013
This little Vietnamese sandwich joint in Chinatown serves up some of the best I’ve had. The bread really sets this place apart from the rest.
At this point, I’ve tried about six different kinds, and my favorite is the #4, the traditional sandwich but with SMOKED Viet ham rather than regular. I also like to order with hot peppers and extra cilantro. They don’t charge!
I’m officially hooked on this place. A while back, my wife and I stopped in for a drink and an app – the fritto misto. We were already sort of full, but that pplate of mixed fried items like calamari, olives, lemon rinds, shrimp, and artichoke really made us want to go back.
Last night we finally did! We tried two more apps, meatballs and fried zucchini blossoms. Both were incredible. In fact, the meatballs are some of the best I’ve had outside of family.
The fried zucchini blossoms are stuffed with velvery smooth ricotta and served with an anchovy pesto oil. I liked swiping them in the meatball sauce though.
The pasta entrees are pretty large servings! Check out this massive bowl of gnocchi with peas and mushrooms.
The cavatelli with duck meat ragu was a massive serving too.
They had to be half a pound each. We couldn’t finish! I’ll definitely be back here to try more pastas, and perhaps one or two of the fish items from their entree menu.
How have I never reviewed this place in all my years living here, and all my times eating here – especially from way back when I went to Law School and lived/worked nearby for years after?
Wo Hop is a NYC institution. They’ve been serving up excellent and affordable Chinese food in their iconic downstairs location since 1938! I have to say, the fried wontons are some of the best I’ve ever had.
On this visit, my wife and I had the sliced chicken with baby corn. I was expecting this to be much spicier, being printed in RED on the menu and under the spicy Szechaun section, but it was still delicious.
We also had the 4D chow fun, which has 4 different proteins (shrimp, beef, chicken and roast pork). This was the better dish.
They’re still keeping prices very low here, which is great. Even the t-shirt prices haven’t changed since I purchased one back in 2000 – $10!
If you’ve never been, you definitely should go at least once, even if it’s just to say that you’ve been there.
My wife picked up a Pulsd deal for this place that got us a six course omakase with three glasses of sake each for $89.
We opted to share six different glasses, one to pair with each course.
Yes, they do serve rabbit, and the theme of the restaurant definitely involves rabbits.
Before the omakase began, we were served a delicious, warm wedge of country bread with olive oil and pepper.
Prior to eating rabbit, we ate rabbit food. The first course was miniature crudite with a blob of miso paste, and an oyster shooter with wine jelly.
Next up, beautiful and delicious tuna tartare with fried lotus root.
Then we had this trio of beef tartare, cheeses and pork spare ribs.
After that, a yellowtail preparation that included both cooked and raw styles.
Then came the star of the show – the “trapped rabbit.”
This was pretty nice, and similar to a porchetta of sorts (rolled whole muscle cuts that are cooked, then sliced). It came with a side of dressed greens, colorful carrots and mushrooms.
Last was the black sesame custard. This was a tasty but not overly sweet way to end the meal. I enjoyed.
Over all this was good but not great. The Pulsd deal is definitely worth it, though, if it’s still available.
This spot just took over the Char House location, which was an asian steakhouse (there’s another location by Washington Square Park too). The concept here is customizable bowls of pho with tableside boilers. You can even choose how rich your broth is, like some ramen joints offer; 8hrs, 16hrs, etc. My wife and I skipped that gimmicky stuff and went with some regular menu items instead.
For starters, we tried (1) the chili and tamarind sauce chicken wings; (2) the spicy chili oil pork knuckles; and (3) the spring rolls.
All three were great. The spring rolls were pretty standard in style and format (wrap them in lettuce with herbs and veg, then dip into fish sauce). The wings were delicious and crisp, with fried shallots on top. The pig knuckles were the stars of the starters though. Fork tender, jiggly, juicy, flavorful and spicy. I loved them. They reminded me of oxtail or braised chuck stew meat.
I had the surf and turf pho, which is beef broth with a half lobster and a nice big short rib on the bone. This is hefty at $25 for a bowl, but it really satisfies. Great broth and both the lobster and the short rib were perfect.
My wife had the bun bo hue, a spicy lemongrass pork and beef soup. It was delicious, and contained a ton of different meats within.
All in, this was $85 including tax and tip. High, but very tasty.
I went to Le Turtle with a group of Instagram food lunatic friends to try some of their iconic dishes. This ended up being one of the best meals I’ve had in a while. Let me get right down to it.
We started with the following:
Dry aged beef carpaccio with Hokkaido uni and pickled ramp bottoms. Just the right amount of surf with your turf. Great pop from the pickled ramps.
Sliced avocado and radish with avocado mousse, mango curd and mixed grains. Beautiful, light, refreshing and satisfying.
Fresh cheese and beets with apricot kernel oil, toasted sunflower seeds and a maple emulsion. This was fucking fantastic. Get it.
Tagliatelle carbonara with guanciale, pecorino and egg yolk emulsion. Really nice take on the classic pasta dish.
Halibut and tomato with brussels sprouts, calabrian chili and arugula. Perfectly cooked, light and flakey.
Fried octopus with crisped rice, ramp chimichurri sauce and togarashi and arbol chili peppers. One of the very best octopus dishes I’ve ever had. It gets braised for hours before a light batter fry. And the ramp chimichurri is incredible.
Sasso Poulet. This is the best whole chicken dish I’ve eaten. The birds are brined for days and then hung, to allow the skin to cook more crispy. The bird comes out on a plate of burning hay for display purposes, filling the dining room with an amazing aroma.
Then it comes back disarticulated and ready to eat. I particularly liked munching on the feet.
This comes with crispy fingerlings, chicken liver mousse and pickled shishito peppers. At $69 this is a steal, and can easily feed two people.
90 day dry aged Pat LaFrieda cote de boeuf. This comes out to the table for viewing uncut like this, before resting:
And then after resting it comes back ready to serve for two (or more) looking like this:
This would be a 10/10 if there was a bit more char and crisp on the outside. It’s a bit more like a roast. But the flavor is perfect. Not too funky that it fucks up your taste buds. Perfectly cooked. And the fat and trim is diced up and fried, which is a brilliant way to reduce waste and make everyone smile with more tasty bits to eat. 9/10. You can pass on using the molasses sauce that comes with it though.
There was also and Japanese yam dish that came out at this time. I wasn’t a big fan, but it was absolutely stunning.
There was also a simple but tasty salad of greens citrus and blue cheese. Good way to cut the richness of the steak.
Dessert was equally as impressive as the savory courses, and they were all unique, which is rare these days.
Hazelnut financier with blood orange creme anglaise and cranberry dust.
Chocolate sorbet with milk crumbs, sea salt and olive oil.
Forbidden rice pudding with vanilla chai ice cream, rye sand and coconut snow.
I highly recommend this place. Go while ramps are still in season though, because this is one place that actually made me respect that produce. Until now I didn’t get the infatuation with ramps. I’ll be back again very soon. In fact, I’m going tomorrow with my wife.
A food friend of ours organized a massive 18-person, multi-course Chinese Thanksgiving meal on the weekend before turkey day as a way to celebrate our love of food.
We started with a house soup that contained dry winter melon and shredded pork.
These clams were served in a bean sauce that really popped. Super flavorful and clams were cooked perfectly.
These fried pork chops were incredibly tender and juicy. Definitely one of my favorite courses.
I’m not usually into full veggie dishes, but this mushroom platter was really incredible and satisfying. Those things at the bottom are little tofu skin crepes that are filled with a variety of mushrooms.
This whole fish (flounder, I believe) was another top dish of the day.
The meat was succulent and tender, and the veggies were a nice vehicle to deliver the sauce that they sponged up.
Fried and chopped lobster with some sort of Cheetos-like cheese coating. Incredibly unique for a Chinese joint. These were gobbled up almost instantly.
Beef! Yes! This was likely either flank or strip, but it came out on a sizzling skillet and was served in a really delicious brown sauce. Very tender.
Also a winning dish, this chicken was basically deconstructed and then re-assembled with the meat having been replaced by mixed-protein sticky rice. That rice was then coated and blanketed with extremely crisp chicken skin. So awesome, and so labor intensive.
Another hit dish was this dungeoness crab on a bef of flat, wide noodles (think chow fun style).
This was a very photogenic dish, and the crab meat was delicious.
The noodles could have used a bit more of a flavorful sauce, but otherwise this was really good.
On the side we enjoyed some stir fried and garlicky pea shoots.
And for dessert was a warm bowl of sweet bean porridge, of which I did not get a good shot.
All in, this meal only cost $45pp with tax and tip included. I definitely recommend giving this place a try. Especially for the chicken/sticky rice, fried pork chops and whole fish.
