Tag Archives: Chinese

Grain House

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My Instagram posts are often brief takes on restaurants accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed right here, updated almost daily, by selecting the “Instagram” category from my home page – no signup required.) But folks sometimes ask for fuller reviews and more photos, so in response, here’s a more comprehensive report on one of my favorites.

Have you heard about Grain House? It’s a remarkable Sichuan restaurant with roots in Queens and Uniondale, Long Island; they’ve recently opened a branch near Columbia University at 929 Amsterdam Avenue and I can state from firsthand experience that their food is excellent. Could this be the Upper West Side’s best kept secret? Not if I can help it!

Here are a few of the extraordinary menu items I’ve tried and want you to try too; suffice it to say they’re all great. (Click any photo to view in glorious high resolution.)


Hand Pulled Oil Splashed Noodles. Outstanding. The greens are a perfect foil for the spicy, thick, chewy noodles – an ideal combination.


Cumin Lamb. Is there anybody who doesn’t like this? It’s even got its own Instagram hashtag, #cuminlamb. And, no surprise, there’s nothing sheepish about the way Grain House does it.


This is one of my favorite Sichuan dishes, Chinese Bacon with Garlic Sprout. I know it as Smoked Pork with Garlic Leaf and I’ve actually made it at home. (If I’m not mistaken, the greens are suan miao, 蒜苗, similar to leeks but definitely garlic.) Needless to say, Chef Bob’s version is considerably better than mine.


Hot Spicy Jumbo Shrimp with Red Pepper. People at our dinner couldn’t stop raving about it. None of these was killer spicy, by the way; every one was perfectly balanced.


Sweet and slightly spicy, this Eggplant in Garlic Sauce was delightful.


Spicy and Numbing Pork Wonton was one of the delicious appetizers we enjoyed…


…as was fuqi feipian (夫妻肺片), literally “husband and wife lung pieces”. Choice of specific ingredients varies among chefs (not to worry, it never includes actual pieces of lung) but here Chef Bob does it with Ox Tongue and Tripe and it’s top notch.


Yi Bin Burning Noodle. Pleasantly spicy but not overbearing, so don’t worry about the allusion to “burning” in the name. Mix well for maximum enjoyment.


A suave change of pace: Chiba Tofu with Pork Belly. Melt in your mouth, slippery tofu accented with fresh pork belly – elegant and delectable.

Some folks often insist on a straight ahead vegetable dish, and who am I to refuse? Here’s Grain House’s version of Fried Cauliflower and it did not disappoint. The structure of Chinese cauliflower is less compact than the dense Northern European version you might be accustomed to and that makes for a more tender texture after cooking and allows it to soak up more sauce.

Salted Egg Yolk with Shredded Potato. Sichuan style shredded potatoes are meant to be al dente and these were perfectly cooked and delicious. Simple, but such a happy addition to our table.

So there’s the roundup of the awesome dinner we enjoyed at Grain House, 929 Amsterdam Avenue – and if it hasn’t convinced you to try this unique, standout Manhattan restaurant, nothing will!
 

Sing Kee – Pan Fried Flounder

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Instagram Post 8/16/2018

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Our Cantonese banquet at Sing Kee Seafood Restaurant, 42 Bowery in Manhattan’s Chinatown, included a show! With surgical precision, our server performed a spinectomy on this appetizing Pan Fried Flounder:

No scalpels, just spoons for the incision…
…the procedure in progress…
…resection successful…
…and close!
 
 

Sing Kee – House Special Steamed Minced Pork

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Instagram Post 8/12/2018

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One more from our Cantonese banquet at Sing Kee, 42 Bowery in Manhattan’s Chinatown. I was intrigued by the menu item “Steamed Minced Pork with Salty Fish” listed in the Pork section of the menu; I believe what arrived was a dish called “House Special Steamed Minced Pork” from the Chef’s Recommendations section. It wasn’t bad, but not quite what I expected. Slices of salty fish and salty preserved pork over a dense, salty, ground pork loaf in a savory sauce. Did I mention salty? I still don’t quite know what to make of this dish, but I’m glad we gave it a try.
 
 

Hong Kong Taste

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When I write about restaurants on Instagram, they’re usually brief takes accompanied by a photo or two. (You can see my feed right here on ethnojunkie.com, updated almost daily, by selecting the “Instagram” category from my home page – no signup required.) But because of Instagram’s character count limitations, it’s often necessary to break up a review into several parts. This one originally appeared as four posts, published in June, July, and August, 2018 and January 2020.

Hong Kong Taste, 47-21 90th Street at the corner of Corona Ave in Elmhurst, Queens, brings a bright, airy, youthful feel to cha chaan teng (tea restaurant) dining. There are three things I particularly love about this place. First, the vast and incredibly well organized menu of delicious, authentic Hong Kong specialties featuring everything from congee to dumplings to fried popcorn chicken along with an abundance of soups and rice and noodle dishes, not to mention milk teas and the like.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Second, and perhaps their claim to fame, is their Cart Noodles 🍜. It’s a mix and match bonanza where you get to choose your noodle from among nine styles (thin, thick, wheat, rice, egg, etc.) and then top it off with your choice of 26 add-ons including curry fish ball, chicken wing, pork hock, fried wonton, radish, fried egg and lots more. Here’s a bowl loaded with Hong Kong style thick noodles plus beef tendon ball, beef brisket, radish, and beef omasum (aka book tripe).


Which brings me to my third favorite aspect of Hong Kong Taste. Every table is provided with a sea of condiments, of course, but two are not to be missed: their homemade curry sauce and garlic sauce. These were truly remarkable. And sure enough, when I looked closely at their menu later that day, I saw that they sell them by the quart to take home.


Pan Fried Dried Shrimp Cheong Fun – I decided to try three of their rice roll varieties. These made the cut.


Cheong Fun with Peanut and Sweet Sauce – Just what it says, peanutty and sweet, perhaps a little too sweet, but to each their own.


This is Dai Pai Dong Style Cheong Fun, my favorite of the three, impossibly thick, chewy rolled rice noodles – a plateful of comforting satisfaction. (The egg makes all the difference.)


Fried Squid – Whole baby squid, a tiny bit spicy. One of my favorites here.


Another Cart Noodle Soup: The obligatory noodle lift shot. There are scores of combinations of noodles and add-ons. (And no, I haven’t done the math – too busy slurping. 😉)


The equally obligatory helicopter shot featuring their Taiwanese Style Popcorn Chicken (the spicy seasoning is sprinkled on the top, so mix ’em up a little) and curry fish balls – more chewy goodness.


Closer view of the popcorn chicken.


Tomato Fried Eggs with Pork Chop was on the specials board on another occasion. The pork chop was good, the tomato/eggs (a classic Chinese dish) even better. I kicked up the rice with a little of their amazing housemade curry and garlic sauces and rounded out the meal with their delicious Hong Kong style milk tea.
 
 

Little House Cafe – Savory Taro Cake

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Instagram Post 7/29/2018

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Unlike their sweet layered dessert taro cake that I’ve written about here, this kind of savory steamed taro cake is more akin to the variety you might request at Chinese dim sum. Grabbed from the grab-n-go prepared food area near the register at Little House Café, 90-19 Corona Ave in Elmhurst, Queens, having gone home, I fried it lightly to heat it through. So easy and so good. Little House Café is an Asian fusion counter service venue with a few tables and remarkably delicious food. I’ve said it before: these folks definitely have their own spin on Malaysian food (even if this one is relatively Chinese) – and I like it!
 
 

Sing Kee – Beef Short Ribs in a Pumpkin

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Instagram Post 7/19/2018

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It’s described as a “Top Pick” on the menu at Sing Kee, 42 Bowery in Manhattan’s Chinatown, so we obligingly picked it as one of our Cantonese banquet choices. Beef Short Ribs in a Pumpkin was a study in tenderness, both the meat and the squash, lounging in a mild curry gravy. The presentation was appealing as well: sliced into wedges, it fell open, looking like chunky flower petals encircling a beefy nucleus.

(🤔 “Short Ribs in a Pumpkin.” You could Sing it in the Key of “Three Coins in the Fountain.” 😉)
 
 

Sing Kee – House Special T-Bone Steak

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Instagram Post 7/12/2018

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Another scene from our Cantonese banquet at Sing Kee, 42 Bowery in Manhattan’s Chinatown. I had heard about their battered, fried, House Special T-Bone Steak from a reliable source so I was totally down with trying it. Insiders’ tip: In order to determine your preference for degree of doneness, they don’t use terms like rare, medium, or well done; rather it’s expressed in terms of percentage. I discovered this when our waiter asked how we wanted it done. As we looked at each other, stumped for a decision, he offered, “17%? 25%?” I think our final vote was, “Um, yeah.”
 
 

New Asian Cuisine – Halal Beef Onion Buns

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Instagram Post 7/11/2018

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The sign hanging just below the awning of New Asian Cuisine at 153D Centre Street, Manhattan, was what caught my eye: Halal Beef Onion Buns. I believe the Chinese text was literally “Halal Beef – Big Scallion (hence onion) Bun”. The text in French at the bottom (which I can read far better than I’ll ever be able to read Chinese) was “Recettes d’une Chinoise”, Recipes from a Chinese Woman. That was enough to persuade me to venture into what looked like an old school downtown NYC coffee shop that had seen better days.

(The second photo shows the inside scoop.)

I don’t know if this inexpensive but tasty snack was really Chinese. I don’t know why the subtitle was in French. And I know even less about that emoji-like face stuck to the sign. But I do know that this steamed bao hit the spot right before I descended into the subway station next door!
 
 

Sing Kee – Fresh Squid with Pepper and Spiced Salt

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Instagram Post 7/3/2018

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Perfectly tender, perfectly seasoned, perfectly fried Fresh Squid with Pepper and Spiced Salt was one of the best dishes we had at Sing Kee Seafood Restaurant, 42 Bowery – OG Cantonese in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Sometimes, less is more.

(Like the text of this post! 😉)

More dishes from Sing Kee to follow….