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Lychee House chinese restaurant
Posted: 4:40 pm, March 2nd, 2010 in Midtown Eating
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8 Comments
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Lychee House: Modern Chinese, opened two weeks ago in the space that had been occupied by Our Place Shanghai Tea Garden for the last 10 years. The meal I had there last week was very good, but I ordered dishes I enjoyed from the Shanghai Tea Garden menu, in particular the soup dumplings followed by Shanghainese Shredded Beef with Yellow Leeks and Dry Bean Curd.
How Lychee House describes itself:
"At a glance our name may bring to mind the familiar sweet and fragrant fruit served at the end of a Chinese meal. However, what is less well known is that the Lychee tree is indigenous to not only China but also most of Southeast Asia.
It is this fact that inspired our name, because here you will find dishes that reflect the tastes of the Community of Chinese cuisines—from Shanghai to Singapore, Guangzhou to Kuala Lampur, and Hong Kong to Flushing.
What do we mean by “Modern Chinese”? On the one hand, our menu is inclusive, ranging from the traditional to the novel, and on the other, our approach to preparation closely follows contemporary culinary practices. We will make every effort to use authentic ingredients while serving fresh and seasonal foods.
Our menu is designed to both accommodate and illuminate with dishes that range from Chinese comfort food like General Ching’s Chicken, to more exotic culinary experiences, such as authentic Malaysian curry dishes, and even a weekend fresh dim sum brunch menu that reflects the global range of Chinese tastes.
The restaurant’s menu, preparation and presentation is very similar to Shanghai Tea Garden’s. What I'm most excited about is the Weekend fresh Dim Sum brunch. I haven't tried it but have seen the menu and it looks very promising."
I understand that at present their website is under-construction.
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Ok, what's up with the above? More shilling? BOO! Well, not really unless you got paid to describe the place to everyone, Mr. Robert A.B. Sawyer. ;P
Nice description and so thorough. SNORE!!!And way to crawl out of the chowhound rock to come over here to talk about Lychee House/ Our Place Shanghai Tea Garden ...
http://www.chow.com/profile/173530 -
Reply to StreetMeasOnsumer3008.
First you'll noticed that my thoughts were written in answer to the first comment.
As for your inquiry: I read different blogs and I participate. Unless I'm mistaken, that's what distinguishes interactive media from more "authoritative" media.
I'm sorry I don't write in a fashion that excites your particular sensibility—upper case sarcasm, punctuated with multiple exclamation marks, but then I'm not a tweeting teenager.
It happens that I liked Shanghai Tea Garden and having eaten at Lychee House I liked it, too. What's more, I'm delighted it's going to carry on the tradition established by former. Toward that end, I'm going to support it. Quite simply, I'd like to see it succeed.
What confuses me, other than your misplaced aggression, is why you'd find it unusual that someone would visit different blogs. And, why someone wouldn't write the same review in both places? I write about my experience, experience that reflects my tastes and limitations. Why don't you go to Yelp and you'll see the same. Unless you have a quarrel with the accuracy of my review, amateur though it may be, I think your objection quite beside the point.
Oh, you might think I'm trying to fool people with different names, is that it?
Well, let me end your Holmesian speculations by explaining that I open accounts at different times and sometimes use this name and sometimes that, and invent this password or that. I really don't pay much attention to these things. If you do, let's agree to disagree on this point, as we do with the use of upper case letters and multiple exclamation points. -
No, too many shillers in Forums these days and you get awfully suspicious when a person signs up out of nowhere (especially so early in the morning) to respond to an entry. Just checking your credentials (You're an ad man - brand strategist, creative director and writer!) so who's to say you weren't getting multiple free meals for Lychee to promote for them. Just my own paranoia I guess when we run into so many others promoting a place or their own site.
You weren't really pawning off Lychee though. It was a long-winded description of the place (from god knows where since you seemed to be the only person writing it up like that)and how you personally enjoy it, which is cool.
And the SNORE is because I'm always tired, not because I was bored of what you wrote so no real misplaced aggression at all. No tweeting for me either.
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Saucy!
Let's all take a chill pill before this gets any more personal.
@RWordplay, do you have a misplaced quote mark somewhere in your first response? i'm not being nitpicky, just clarifying. the following is your personal thought on the restaurant, not part of how Lychee House describes itself, correct?
The restaurant’s menu, preparation and presentation is very similar to Shanghai Tea Garden’s. What I'm most excited about is the Weekend fresh Dim Sum brunch. I haven't tried it but have seen the menu and it looks very promising."
Asian flavors, French technique -- it sounds like another typical midtown pan-asian/fusion restaurant. wish i could see this menu
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The menu for Our Place Shanghai Tea Garden:
http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/our-place/menu -
Reply to StreetMeasOnsumer3008
First, thank you for your response, no offense taken. Second to clarify, "early in the morning." As I couldn't sleep or concentrate particularly well, I thought it good quiet time to wander around the web. I googled Lychee House because I thought I might go there for Dim Sum this weekend (guests in the City, staying midtown). This site came up and so I thought I comment. That led me to comment at other sites including yelp.
Third, regarding "shilling." As I wrote, I "frequented Shanghai Tea Garden and had lunch at Lychee House last week. I always liked the place, I liked the new owners, I liked the food and, to be honest, I want them to succeed.
(In the interest of full disclosure: I also knew some of the original partners of Our Place Cuisines of China and Shanghai Tea Garden, years before either place opened, when they were waiters at the original Hunan restaurant on 2nd Avenue. And, so while I have helped them in the past with various issues, from dealing with city agencies to unhappy customers, I do pay for my meals, and have many AmEX receipts to show for it. )
As for my "long winded" description, I had hoped by setting it off with the subhead: "How Lychee House describes itself," I was making clear what followed were the restaurants words. I thought that would be the best way to answer mk206's question.
As for my comments on typography, well that's the adman in me. Also as a writer, the last response I want, even for something scribbled in haste; early in the morning, is someone to say anything I write, or simply quote, is boring. So, I'm delighted we cleared that up.
Rely to deanio:
You're absolutely right. I left out an end quote after the end of the 5th paragraph. My own thoughts begin return with the line that begins "The restaurant’s menu..."
I think what differentiates the menu from typical fusion restaurants is the number of Northern Chinese/New York Chinese Style dishes—left over from the old menu to keep regular customers like me.
As for the new dishes, they reflect the experience of the new Chef, who I believe is of Malaysian Chinese descent. The former Chef, came from Shun Lee and excelled at Shanghainese dishes. For what it's worth, after Wu Liang Ye, Shun Lee remains my favorite Chinese restaurant in the City. (It's just too expensive to frequent.)
In closing, as for shilling, my last words are: "I'm not particularly fond of pan-asian food, I'm also not a fan of curries and I only eat fish when the people I'm with order it. What's more, I literally can't stomach coriander, cilantro, lemon grass and other herbs/spices that seem to characterize those cuisines. So, if in the future you see me praising or even mentioning dishes of this nature, please feel free to accuse me of shilling."
Finally, StreetMeasOnsumer3008 and deano, I'm glad people read these things, which means they take them seriously, which means I can expect to learn about new restaurants and dishes from them.
Well, I enjoyed these exchanges but now, have to meet a friend for lunch, City Winery. Never been and wish we were going to Bar Pitti.
Have a good weekend.
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The ABOVE has to be the LONGEST dual responsing I've seen anyone do in ML so RWordplay means business.
Cool! Welcome to Midtown Lunch Forums!!!
My apologies for any earlier skepticism.
SNORE!Have a wonderful weekend!
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One of my coworkers ordered the food from them in midtown. I googled but no further info. The food was pretty good and the portion was HUGE!!! Any idea?