A Grand Old Time at Grand Sichuan

Chicken Dumplings, Sesame Chicken, & Pork Lo Mein

We were recovering from being sick this week, so decided to have a cozy Friday night in. We headed across the street to Grand Sichuan for some good ol' fashioned Chinese Take Out. We went with some classics: chicken dumplings, sesame chicken, and pork lo mein. It was exactly what the doctor ordered and we're excited to officially have our new chinese take-out/delivery go-to.

Crazy Food Tour

Stop 1

The Food

The Crush

The Legend

Lunch at the famous Katz's Deli. Even at an in-between meal time like 3pm on a Sunday this place was a madhouse. We finally managed to get our grub- a Pastrami Reuben for The Mr and half a Corned Beef with a bowl of Matzo Soup for me- and score a table. Of course the food was good, I don't think anyone is debating that. The real question is does it live up to the hype? For me, the answer was no. I would rather hit up Sarge's any day of the week then mess with the chaos, and in fact, I actually liked the food at Sarge's a bit better! I was also a little irritated by their lack of advertisement that it's cash only.

Stop 2

Spinach Knish

While at Katz's I saw Knish on the menu and remembered how The Mr still hasn't had a proper knish ever. I figured, why get one at Katz's with Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery mere blocks away? And off we went to pick up a couple to heat up at home later. We opted for the regular potato and a spinach. Mmmm...I'm a potato loving gal, so what's not to like here?

Stop 3

We've been meaning to take a trip to Vanessa's Dumpling House after trying some at a dinner party. We got a #1, #3, and a #6 to take home with us for dinner. 4 Fried Chive & Pork, 8 Boiled Chive & Pork, and 4 Fried Chicken & Basil. Sooooooooooo good. Sometimes you just need a dumpling and at 25 cents each, they can't be beat. Our only regret? Not getting one of their Sesame Pancake sandwiches, which also looked amazing.

Stop 4

Now before you get to judging, realize that most of the food so far was to-go, so I actually was in the mood for a snack. We randomly ducked into a bakery and got a Chocolate Rum Ball to share and picked up some Black Pean Paste and Shrimp Chimps for the road and continued on with our Chinatown shopping. Our random selection of Lung Moon turned out well!

Stop 5

Another random stop as we shopped around Chinatown. This time because we were tempted by a bag of red bean steam buns in their window. We ran a few more errands before calling it a day and heading home with our spoils. We decided this is our favorite new way of grocery shopping!

Darling Dumplings & Chewy Cookies

We went to a dinner party last night for an early Chinese New Year celebration. Most of the food was prepared by our friend's Mom and was absolutely delicious. Sadly, it is unlikely that I can convince her to come to your place and cook for you. So here are some honorable mentions brought by other guests that you can enjoy here in NYC:

Vanessa's Dumplings

This name always comes up whenever the subject of dumplings is being discussed and for good reason. Tasty, tasty dumplings at a great price. We will be swinging by to pick up a batch of our own soon!



Levain Bakery

HUGE cookies. Not only are we talking diameter, but height too! The result is a lot of crisp cookie outside balanced with gooey, melty, chocolately goodness on the inside. These redefined cookies for me (not exaggerating).

Chinese Mirch is Hot

Interestingly enough, our favorite Indian take-out place in Murray Hill is Chinese Mirch- which is actually Indian/Chinese fusion. With the weather being cold, we decided to let our food come to us, and here's what showed up at our door.

Before

After

Crispy Okra, Gobi Manchurian, Chicken Manchurian, and Singapore Rice Noodles. We're actually still a little confused about the stuff in the middle. We checked the SeamlessWeb box to add some hot sauce, but this was a big vat of warm liquid, like a soup? So we either got a free soup, or we ate the hot sauce as a soup. Either way it was delicious and SPICY! You can also tell The Mr is coming along well in his pursuit of becoming a foodie- look at how he plated his food!

Baohaus: Buns Runner Up

Momofuku's pork buns have launched The Mr. on a quest to find the best pork buns in NYC. The Food Network featured Baohaus on Ultimate Recipe Showdown so off we went. It's a small joint with limited seating, no frills, just buns. The Mr. ordered a Sidra apple drink and I went for a hot chrysanthemum tea and we grabbed some stools and waited for our buns. On our menu for the evening: The Haus Bao, The Chairman Bao, The Uncle Jesse (close-up) and Sweet Black Sesame Bao Fries. Our favorite was the Haus Bao which was hangar steak since the pork belly Chairman Bao was just a sad substitution for Momofuku's. The Bao fries sounded heavenly, but were basically bread with some sweet black sesame icing. Everything was good, but definitely not outstanding and not worth coming back for.

Pings & Caffe Palermo: Around the world in two blocks

Best Cannoli in the Universe?

Crossed off two items on our checklist this afternoon: Dim Sum in Chinatown and Cannolis in Little Italy.

We dragged our out of town guests to meet up with my high school friend, his wife, and his wife's family at Ping's in Chinatown for some Dim Sum. I for one was very happy that my friend's wife is from China, because she took care of the ordering and made sure there were always new delicious dishes on our table. I decided to be adventurous and tried chicken feet, but stopped while I was ahead and opted out of trying the tripe. Next time perhaps. The dishes kept coming until we were all fully and happy and then when we got the bill we were happier still. All that food and endless tea for $12 per person!

Next we headed over to Canal street and got some coffee and cannolis at Caffe Palermo. They claim not just to have the best cannolis in Little Italy, or New York, or even the US, but the ENTIRE PLANET. And while I can't speak to that, it was pretty darn good, if a little pricey for a few cannolis and some coffee.

Say Yes to the Jess Bakery

The name "Jess Bakery" doesn't exactly call to mind Chinese takeout, but that's exactly what it is. We ordered their Singapore noodles, steamed pork buns, and coconut bubble tea and discovered a hit that has since become a regular staple in our household. Honestly, the Mr would eat this every other night (with the other nights being Momofuku) if he could (and does when I go out of town).