There's something about the chaos of Manhattan's Chinatown that I find both exhilarating and maddening. You have to fight your way through the Canal Street crowds, hold your breath past the fish stalls and side-step the knock-off vendors. For your troubles, you can reward yourself with a hot bowl of pho or a fresh banh mi, a heaping take-out container of bbq pork, a whole Peking duck or a plate full of hand-pulled noodles. Joe's Shanghai on narrow, curvy Pell Street is a restaurant worth the trip off Canal and the wait for a seat at a large, round communal table. It's bright, bustling and noisy - but you've staked out your space and it's time for a cheap, satisfying and tasty meal.
Does the intensity of the location add to the experience? I'm going to have to say yes. While I was excited to discover the Joe's Shanghai in midtown near my office, I just couldn't imagine that it would be as fun as the one in Chinatown. On my first visit, not only was the environment disappointing - it was dark, quiet and empty - but my soup dumplings arrived as sad, deflated sacks - the rich, salty broth had boiled out from overcooking. They were still tasty, but they were just steamed dumplings with dense pork.
I didn't write off the place for one bad batch, but it took me a while to go back. Chinese New Year rolled around, and I had dumplings on my mind. I asked around the office, but no one was up for it. I was especially surprised by my co-worker Ryan, who was definitely not interested in dumplings or Chinese food at all. This shocked me. I mean, who doesn't like dumplings?? Take some form of dough, stuff it with a savory filling and boil, bake, fry or steam it to perfection. What's not to love? So I got it into my head that I had to get Ryan over to Joe's and feed him soup dumplings and blow his mind, like mine was the first time I had them.
Well, that didn't happen. Let's just cut to the chase. I did eventually convince Ryan to come out to lunch with me and another co-worker, Jen. We did go to Joe's and we did order the famous crab soup dumplings. I usually get the pork-only version - a habit left over from a minor seafood allergy that doesn't seem to bother me much anymore. (Can allergies go away?) The dumplings arrived fat and still nice and juicy. Ryan was a good sport and followed my instructions on how to place one carefully on the back of his spoon and poke a hole in the bottom with his chopstick and slurp up the broth. The flavor just wasn't that good - it was overly fishy and not very rich. The filling was okay, but could have used some ginger or scallions or something to cut it's uniform flavor and texture.
The big hits at the table were the scallion pancakes and the Singapore Mei Fun. The pancakes were crisp and hot with just the right amount of scallions and a good dipping sauce on the side. The Mei Fun was a great surprise because it's not something I'd usually order. Ryan jumped all over it because it was the one dish he knew he'd had before and liked. The waiter was unable to communicate what made the Singapore version different except to say that it would be spicy - which we knew thanks to the little chili pepper icon next to it on the menu. Okay, bring it on. The noodle dish arrived with a distinct yellow color and a familiar smell that I don't associate with Chinese food - curry! I could specifically taste turmeric and cumin and I'm pretty sure there were Szechuan peppercorns, because I got a little bit of that tingly, numb feeling in my mouth. We also had Kung Pao Chicken, which is a classic Szechuan dish, although most people associate it with Westernized Chinese food like General Tso's. This was somewhere in the middle, with a bit of heat and lots of bell peppers. I prefer water chestnuts in mine, but I've found that I usually have to make a special request to get them.
The restaurant was busier and bustlier than my previous visit and the waiter was equally as brusque as those at the Chinatown outpost. Still, it felt a bit like an island off the coast of the mainland - isolated from the sights, sounds and smells of Chinatown it just didn't deliver the same experience. I don't know if it would have made a difference to Ryan to go out to eat in the heart of it all, but he was obviously not convinced about dumplings. Then again, these dumplings were sub-par. Unfortunately, that's two strikes against the midtown location's version.
Despite my dumpling failure, lunch was a success. Ryan and Jen both work in the marketing department. Ryan is engaged to a deaf woman and is fluent in ASL. Jen got married last year and spent several weeks in India traveling with her husband. She mentioned that they like checking out new food carts and ethnic restaurants around town and off the beaten track. We talked about the recent changes at work due to layoffs and the crappy economy. We tried, but couldn't finish everything, so we waved down the waiter to get the check. We took the rest of the Mei Fun and Kung Pao with us, but left the dumplings behind.
3 comments:
I gotta say, decent dumplings are one of the top ten things I miss about NYC. Seriously. And yeah, who doesn't like dumplings??
We will go on a dumpling tour when you get here!!
I had the worst experience in my life in this restaurant! I went there with my friends. Made a reservation online for 9.30 p.m When we came waiter was super mean, rude, didn't listen to us, yell at us, rush us, we didn't know what we order, what we eat. They made us pay before we finish eating. It was absolutely awful! I was in Chinatown restaurant but after this I will never ever coma back there and never ever tell anyone to go there.
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