Jing Fong
The classic Chinatown meal is dim sum brunch or lunch. For those who’ve never tried it, dim sum is a meal made up of many small dishes, primarily different sorts of dumplings and buns, a tradition that started in the tea houses that lined China’s Silk Road many centuries ago (scholars believe the custom began shortly after A.D. 300, when the long-held notion that tea should not be accompanied by food fell out of favor). And the top place for dim sum in Manhattan’s Chinatown today is this cacophonous, always-jammed restaurant. The clientele is often entirely Chinese, and the dishes range from the expected to the un: chicken feet, stinky durian pastries. Since many of the servers don’t speak English, you’ll have to point at what interests you. If you make a mistake (hard to do, as it’s all tasty), it’s no big deal—most dishes cost just a few bucks.
Note: Jing Fong now has an off-shoot on the Upper West Side.
The classic Chinatown meal is dim sum brunch or lunch. For those who’ve never tried it, dim sum is a meal made up of many small dishes, primarily different sorts of dumplings and buns, a tradition that started in the tea houses that lined China’s Silk Road many centuries ago (scholars believe the custom began shortly after A.D. 300, when the long-held notion that tea should not be accompanied by food fell out of favor). And the top place for dim sum in Manhattan’s Chinatown today is this cacophonous, always-jammed restaurant. The clientele is often entirely Chinese, and the dishes range from the expected to the un: chicken feet, stinky durian pastries. Since many of the servers don’t speak English, you’ll have to point at what interests you. If you make a mistake (hard to do, as it’s all tasty), it’s no big deal—most dishes cost just a few bucks.
Note: Jing Fong now has an off-shoot on the Upper West Side.
Details
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
