Midtown Lunch

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.

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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.
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The other day while sitting in the office typing away, I had a sudden craving for Chinese food. Now I just recently started a new job so I’m not too familiar with the area but I did know that Hop Won was just a few blocks away (on 45th btw. Lex+3rd). And since Hop Won is the sister restaurant of Hing Won (which I’ve been to and liked a lot), I knew I could get a quality lunch.  Though once I got there I couldn’t help but be drawn into Oriental Noodle Shop (yes the one with the guy eating a bowl of noodles while wearing a straw hat).

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Recently I had a hankering for some jjajangmyeon- noodles with a brown sauce made from fermented soybean paste. The Chinese version uses ground pork and is less saucey than the Korean counterpart, but both versions are quite excellent. Hyo Dong Gak a Chinese/Korean restaurant (on35th btw. 5+6th) has been the ML jjajangmyeon go to for awhile now, but while looking at the lunch specials (just to see if there was anything tasty looking) I spotted double cooked pork!

Ever since my mediocre experience at Joe’s Shanghai I’ve been on a mission to try all the double cooked pork dishes I can find in Midtown (going to save Szechuan Gourmet for last since it’s probably the best). Will this version come with pickled daikon? Maybe the spiciness is from kimchi? (It is a Korean/Chinese restaurant after all.) But mostly… will this be any good?

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Last time I wrote about Joe’s Shanghai, fellow Lunch’er Harry recommended I check Pearls (7th btw. 48+49th) out. I’m always skeptical about restaurants in and near Times Square. But I should have an open mind right? So I took a friend along so that we could try it out.

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We’ve seen a lot of DOH sign shenanigans.  Cover ups.  Camouflage. Comedic acceptence. But making up your own sign and hanging it in the window?  This is new even for us.  Luncher “Ambitious Delish” tweeted us this photo yesterday from S. Dynasty (on 48th btw. Lex+3rd).  “Is this allowed,”  she asked.  Honestly?  We have no idea, but utilizing our skills of judgement and basic common sense we’re going to go with…. no.

Anybody ever been to this place?  We couldn’t find it on the DOH restaurant inspection site (which can provide hours of fun, I assure you), but found A grades at three different restaurants in this building – including a Chinese one called Lo.  But nothing listed at all for S. Dynasty.  Then again, the 2 1/2 stars on Yelp worry us a bit more than the letter in the window.

How do you go about making a place that is already pretty awesome, thanks to baked goods and 5 items for $5, even better? By making some really damn good noodle soups. We got a tip from Lunch’er “William” that Lunch Box Buffet (on 34th btw 7+8th) had hired a well-known chef from Flushing to make some of the most popular Chinese noodle soups. If it’s from Flushing it must be good right? I hope so! See what’s on the new menu after the jump.

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Bian Dang, formerly known as NYC Cravings, has returned after a season of focusing on the brick and mortar world of Food Gallery 32. On Tuesday they hit my turf, the Flatiron District, in a brand new truck- but still serving up their usual menu (on 24th Street btw. Park+Mad). And yesterday they were in the Financial District.  Today?  They’re back in the fold, and planning to park on 53rd St. and Park Ave. (their old Thursday spot.)  But you’ll probably want to check their twitter account or the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out just to be safe.

Early today we reported that Food Gallery 32 in Koreatown would be opening in the next few weeks, an event that I have been closely following since back in April. It excited me so much I took some  time from my vacation (greetings from The Philippines, btw) to badger the nice lady at Food Gallery 32 for more information.  It worked! She tells me that they do indeed plan to open before the end of the month and sent along  a quick list of the vendors and some details about what they’ll be selling.

Check it out after the jump!

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