Midtown Lunch

Well, readers, it was a random Thursday and for whatever reason I was really in the mood for some soup dumplings. I hadn’t had them for about six months at Shanghai Tide in Flushing, the last time I did a appetizer crawl on the International Express (aka 7 line). The first time I ever tasted soup dumplings was at Joe’s Shanghai, the most famous place for these Shanghainese treats with restaurants around the city. I was interested in trying something besides Joe’s, so I googled “soup dumplings midtown” or something of that nature. John’s Shanghai (46th btw 6+7th) appeared high on the list. And, the place had just appeared in the our Lunch Links as having some great “fried tiny buns” according to the blog Food In Mouth. I thought perhaps dumplings might be their thing.

If you’ve never tried soup dumplings, or Xiaolongbao, it’s a very interesting experience. The pork (or I’ve also seen crab and pork) filled dumpling is also filled with a flavorful “soup.” You place the dumpling in a soup spoon, cover it with a vinegar-ginger sauce, bite into it, let the soup run from the dumpling into your spoon, and finally slurp and gobble. How in the world do they get the soup into the dumpling? At first I thought they must inject it, but I found out that they wrap aspic (kind of like meat jello) in with the pork and it melts during the steaming process. They’re always moist because of the soup and ground meat, and the sauce really gives them the extra yum factor. I couldn’t wait to get some in my belly. So, without further ado, I bravely marched toward Times Square; John’s is located in that general area.
Read more »

A little over a year ago we reported that Prince Grill (formerly known as Prince Deli) had moved to a new location (45th btw 2nd+3rd). We were pretty happy that we would still get the chance to eat their famous falafel, though somehow along the way they closed. But then recently as I was walking back to work after scoring some ramps at the Dag Hammarskjold farmers market on 47th and 2nd, I noticed that Super Dumpling has opened for business. Well, I’m always down for dumplings…

Read more »

Last time when I was at Oriental Noodle Shop waiting for my order of wonton noodle soup (which turned out to be quite horrible), I noticed a sign by the door displaying their lunch specials. At the very bottom of the board it said “oxtail with rice or noodles for $8.95.” After eating their wonton noodle soup I really had low low low expectations but I can’t say no to oxtail!

Read more »

A couple of nights ago, I was treated to a homemade wonton dinner that my friend did. She invited few people over and served a couple of variations on wontons (pork and fish). Lucky for us, she did most of the work so all I had to do was arrive, sit down and eat. Ever since then, I’ve been dreaming about good wontons. I know the stuff they serve in restaurants will rarely be as good as the ones my friend made. So I wasn’t hoping for much when I got a wonton noodle soup at Hop Won (45th btw Lex+3rd).

Read more »

Ever since Chris H. wrote about Main Noodle House in July I’ve been meaning to check it out. So when the hankering for mapo tofu hit the other day I figured I’d head over, but before I did I decided to check Chris’ post to see if any commenters had other suggestions- and I’m glad I did. Read more »

I can’t remember what Hunan Manor (on Lex btw. 39+40th) but the other day I noticed a Grand Opening sign hanging in their window. Turns out, the place replaced Red Curry Thai back in September, and according to Eating in Translation is a sister restaurant to Hunan House in Flushing. Aw yeah, Midtown East finally gets a taste of Flushing!

I’m not very familiar with Hunan cuisine so I was pretty excited to try it. They made choosing my first lunch item easy by placing double cooked pork as the first lunch special item on the menu (ever since my poor experience at Joe’s Shanghai, I’ve been on a mission to find good double cooked pork). So how did the Hunan Manor version do?

Read more »

As soon as I clicked on the Grub Street link about the newly opened Cafe China and spotted the wonton floating in spicy goodness, I knew I had to check the place out. Located on East 37th street (btw. Mad+5th) just a few blocks from Szechuan Gourmet and Lan Sheng, my go-to midtown Sichuan spot, Cafe China is entering a distinguished field, but in my book there’s always room in my heart for more good Chinese food. Read more »

I’ve had Shih Lee on my radar for a while now but can never seem to make it over to their pretty far out of bounds location on 45th btw 1+2nd.   But finally the other day I had to run some errands around 2nd Ave and decided to use it as an excuse to finally hit up this fast food Chinese steam table place. We know that their noodle soups are pretty damn good but I was more curious about their lunch combos.

Read more »

With lobster rolls all the rage these days, it shouldn’t surprise anybody to see Chinese food restaurants get it on the action. Oriental Noodle Shop (45th btw 3rd+Lex) is now offering a WHOLE lobster plus pork fried rice (not sure what the “any style” means) for just $13.95. It is still over the Midtown Lunch price limit but considering you get a whole lobster for few bucks less than the super popular lobster rolls, why not?! Admittedly I am a equal parts terrified and intrigued by this lobster deal. Has anybody tried it?

Amazingly we’ve never written about the food at Main Noodle House, located on 6th Ave (between 37th & 38th St.). We have no excuse for this – clearly they’re doing something right, as they do brisk business with both the tourist and business crowd, and even earned endorsement from Salon.com and Gilt Taste’s food luminary, Francis Lam via Twitter. Such feedback is entirely justified by their cheap lunch combo specials and humongous portions.

It’s a fairly small, cramped space, and during the weekday lunch rush, you’re definitely looking at a 20-30 minute wait for a table. Customers waiting for take-out orders and for a dine-in table are mashed into a corner near the counter and front entrance, where they must dodge waitresses hurtling by, and customers entering and exiting the restaurant. But a little discomfort and a wait is more than worth the lunch deals here.
Read more »