You're right. I had to pop in this morning for a taste. The scallion pancake is still great as well.

Excellent dim sum lunch at World Tong in Brooklyn (N train to 18th Ave, corner of 64th St.) today.

We had minced pork/shrimp wrapped in squid and seated on a slice of thousand-year egg; anise-spiked chicken feet; small seared dumplings stuffed with pork/shrimp and lettuce (I love the rare touch of veg in dim sum); bitter melon stuffed with pork/shrimp, black mushroom, and slivers of dried squid; cheesecake-like durian in friend green rice noodle; and a chewy purple bun with nut paste inside.

Ginger sauce served on request.

We went last weekend with some fellow MFers - we really enjoyed it. Tasty, lots of variety, freshly made...and a lot of fun too. I think we had 3 kinds of tripe...

World Tong also has cold vinegary chicken feet, a nice alternative to the spicy ones.

Today I tried a great hand-pulled-noodle shop in Manhattan, but it took a little daring. Twice before, during off hours, I'd been to basement-level Sheng Wang at 27 Eldridge, with its friendly family staff but shooting-gallery ambience. While I loved their pasta, I wasn't thrilled with the duck or beef-knuckle soups. They tasted heavily stewed, and came with distracting seaweed. I wanted lighter soups.

First today, I had delicious pho w/ tendon and tripe at Pho Bang on Mott, to give myself a broth baseline. Then I walked east to Eldridge, planning to try one or two of Sheng Wang's competitors. I stopped once at a store to buy some air-dried, pressed duck legs to cook on Thursday. (I don't know how yet, but I'll figure it out.)

But on Eldridge I found a roadblock on the path to soup: my own shyness. All the hand-pulled-noodle shops on that strip of Eldridge near the bridge, including Sheng Wang, were narrow spaces with little to zero English on their window or wall menus, and absolutely packed with a crowd I'd never found in the authentic Chinese restaurants I've tried these last few years. Whether Anglo-friendly or not, all my previous Asian restaurants have included mixes of families, blue- and white-collar workers, seniors, and both men and women. Today, Eldridge's lunch-hour noodle territory was a roaring world of people who were not just mostly Chinese, but also mostly younger, mostly working-class, and mostly male. I did not feel comfortable in my dorky college T-shirt and cutoff jeans and messenger bag and pink skin, and I felt like I'd be even more of an intruder than usual if I'd squeeze into the rare empty seat at a bench or table, at this hour on this street.

Finally I settled on Super Taste, across the street at 26 Eldridge. That's only one number off from Sheng Wang. But I picked it after several minutes of wandering up and down the street, after I saw a whole empty table for four, and an English menu in the window, and two punky couples softening the tough-worker vibe. No tea! But the "house special noodle" soup for $6 tasted fantastic, a savory broth piled with beef either in gelatinous slices or tenderly clinging to marrowy bones; soft tripe; cleansing and bright greens; all topped with a freshly fried egg. I'll be back there tomorrow for another bowl of something else to try.

Super Taste's noodles were just good, past al dente -- more fun to watch than eat. As I slurped at and plucked goodies from my soup, I looked past the the black-suited, black-hatted man who'd soon sat across from me. Maybe he glowered gangsta-style at everyone he met. Far behind him through a doorway and past a home-grade fridge, a cook in a bandanna kept swooping his arms high and low to stretch what must have been a five-pound loop of noodles, which grew longer and longer till after several pulls he tore them up and tossed them behind him into pots to boil. Then he'd start on a new big ball of dough. Only a couple of tables had this view. If you looked just at the noodles lengthening and then resisting his movements, it looked like he was stretching and slowing time itself.

Thanks for the report, Josh. Super Taste has been on my list for months. And now that the weather is decent, I need to give it a try.

Perhaps we should get a small MF group together for Sheng Wang.

I'd like that. How big are MF groups? If it's expedition size, it might outnumber the seats in such a tiny place. Instead I'd recommend takeout to be enjoyed on a warm day a neaby park, say Seward Park at the eastern terminus of Canal Street and E. Broadway.

If it's just three or four, I'd still recommend dining in on a rainy day, or relatively early or late.

Dinner last night at a Malaysian place called Happy Joy on Canal near Essex, with Ali and some other MFers...some of the food was good, some not so good - but enjoyable, casual little place, very nice staff with whom we had a lot of fun. I really liked the fish head soup, the roti canai, and one other soup with tofu skin and fish cakes. Cathy and porkway may remember more dishes...

edit: I remembered another one - dried beef curry (I think). I liked it a lot, although eatpie rightly pointed out that it needed more heat.

Hi from the Century Cafe bakery on the Bowery, via laptop. Better sweets than Lucky King, which I just came from, but no HDTV soap operas.

I'm happy to say that on this miserable rainy day, which I decided to dedicate to fish balls, Eldridge Street was a lot less crowded. The staffs were very friendly at Golden Dragon, Young City Fish Balls, and Super Taste, and the dining crowd was varied. Young City's soup was a disappointment with its mild broth and plain rice noodles, not hand-pulled ones. Still worthwhile at $3/bowl with good fish balls. Golden Dragon has lots of table space inside after all.

I don't whip out the laptop in restaurants, but this big bakery's crowded and I'm sharing this table with two others, so I'm applying my coffeehouse rules.

You can hear me slosh from soups and fresh-fruit drinks as I walk.

(Oops, accidental double posting; can this be deleted?)

I liked the beef curry very much, and the funky hot pepper condiment on the table made it better. There was also a cold roast duck; I pronounced it too greasy but couldn't stop eating it. And a light broth with chicken and bitter melon. We were brought a dessert of tiny lentil-like pulses in a sweetish broth. Not a hit with anyone.

Who knew Guinness was Malaysian?

... and the oyster omelet, which i thought was fabulous; also a soup bowl with some batter-fried seaweed, bitter melon, and seafood, which was "interesting".

they are serious into their broth there. loved the soup and would go back just for it.

i didn't like the beef curry much, but i don't like too much tumeric. more for the rest of you...

Anyone familiar with the Malaysian place (I think it's Malaysian, at least) called Nyonya on Grand St? If so, any thoughts?

Not recommended. Best item was something listed as homemade pancake, which was basically a crepe with a chicken curry dipping sauce. Beef satay was overcooked, of pour quality, and the spices were pasty. Nasi Lemak was chewy, the rice tasted of artificial coconut. Pass.

Did you eat there in the thirty five minute gap between your posts?

Yep. Well, I had it delivered.

Went to the banh mi place under the Manhattan Bridge for lunch today. HUGE sandwich, and the pork was good, but the mystery turkey meat didn't really add much. I also got a couple of egg tarts from the Egg Tart King Cafe on Mott just south of Canal. The almond one is nice, with a light touch on the almond. Crusts are flaky and not sweet at all. I passed on the strawberry and honeydew version, but I have a "white" tart in my fridge. (Does that mean it's only made with the whites?)

I thought that bahn mi place moved to Mott Street but I see that I'm wrong.

There is a place that moved (Saigon Banh Mi?) - an absolutely terrible experience, with the staff and shoppers screaming at each other and seemingly close to throwing punches. I didn't find the sandwich better than at Banh Mi So 1

Yeah that's the one I'm thinking of. Did this bad experience happen at the new location? I've had nothing but good sandwiches and no punches.

Hi from a Chinatown playground near Eldridge.

I just had Super Taste's "house special" beef/tendon/tripe/egg/baby-bok-choy hand-pulled noodle soup $6. It was just as delicious as before, despite the screaming argument that started from the kitchen soon after I sat down. Everyone was looking at the counter window more than at me, so I hope the fuss wasn't me being there.

Good assertiveness training, this soupy cultural immersion.

Manhattan nyonya is very uneven. Sometimes reasonably good, sometimes very lame.

Homemade pancake was probably roti canai. Nyonya makes my favorite roti canai in NY. I've tried six or seven places.

Nyonya in brooklyn (sunset park) is better and much more consistent than the one in manhattan.

I've always wanted to try making roti canai at home; even got the proper flour, a very finely ground semolina. The brand Kalustyan carries is Atta. Then I saw a few videos on youtube demonstrating the proper technique, which is a throwing/stretching thing, like pizza, only much, much thinner, resulting in quite a large sheet of dough, which is folded, sometimes filled, and fried. No space for this flinging motion in my kitchen. Many recipes call for simply rolling the dough out, which would in fact make it like a kind of crepe. I imagine that finding some good ones would be delicious.

Had lunch at Dim Sum Go Go yesterday and it's still good. Love the duck dumplings and the shrimp and chive ones. We had good shumai and crab dumplings, too. The steamed pork buns were light as clouds and irresistable.

Also their rice cakes

Sunday dim sum about a month ago, just as described by Daisy. Ate a ton and finally tried chicken feet (quite good).

Oriental Garden for any number of seafood preparations: flash-fried shrimp with hot oil and scallions, razor clams with black bean sauce, drunken prawns, salt-and-pepper shrimp, steamed bass/grouper with scallions and ginger, oysters in a clay pot and others.

The dim sum at OG is sort of ok, not quite up to par as DSGG.

Best Peking Duck - Peking Duck House

Golden Bridge (dimsum) is conveniently located above Pho Saigon. Nice to finish off Sunday dimsum brunch, go down the escalator and order a porky banh mi to go.

I spent some time walking around Chinatown yesterday, primarily around the Mott, Bayard, Bowery, Canal area, and was struck by the number of restaurants I've never visited. And in many cases, never noticed. Are there any worth going to that aren't already in my current rotation?

Big Wong
New Green Bo
Golden Bridge
Chanoodle
NY Noodletown
Dim Sum Go Go
New Chao Chow

Peking Duck House is on my list, but the duck lunch/dinners require a minimum of 4 diners. Any takers?

Oh, and I still haven't been to Cantoon Garden or Yummy Noodles.

based on our one dim sum meal at golden bridge i'd say it is certainly worth a visit. jampacked, however.

I like it, but it's already on my list. (see above.)

oh, i thought that list was of places you've noticed and were asking about.

Yes. When do you want to do it?

You name it. I'll PM you.

Just back from NY Noodletown. Out of baby pig but good roast pig, shredded duck with pea shoots, and decent roast pork. Packed at 11:00.

Edit to add... and a KILLER btl of '01 Coche Puligny Enseigneres.

I like the soup dumplings at Shanghai Cafe at 100 Mott, which seems to have become our go-to place lately. They also have a preserved vegetables w/bean curd skin dish that tastes much better than it sounds. They make a version of it with pork, too, but uncharacteristically I prefer it vegan.

Congee, on the Bowery just north of Canal.

Update time for the 2007 Best Mouthfuls. Please especially note any closings. New additions welcome, but a reminder that we're not trying to list anywhere which is just pretty good, only "best" places you would actually recommend to people. Casual, take-out, hole-in-the-wall, food and drink shopping and any related novelties - but NOT destination/reservation mid-to-upscale restaurants. Why? It would be a huge amount of work, and wouldn't much help anyone who already has a Time Out guide or a Zagat.

I will try to pick up suggestions already made on the thread.

The current 2006 text follows:

CHINATOWN

East side of Broadway is the western boundary. Top boundary is Canal Street heading east, and then make a right into Pike Street down to the river.The bottom boundary is roughly where Brooklyn Bridge crashes to earth, and the turn around the top of City Hall Park until you hit Broadway again.

Sitting down mouthfuls

Best all-round Cantonese may be Cantoon Garden. Best roast pork and duck: Big Wong. Best scallion pancakes and soup dumplings: New Green Bo. Best duck noodle soup: New Chao Chow (ask for won tons with it). Best cheap pork dumplings: Fried Dumpling on Mosco St (but consistency variable). Best dim sum: Golden Bridge.

Yeah Shanghai for cold diced bean curd skin with steamed, diced "leafy green vegetable" (listed as "Aster Indicus" on the menu). Dim Sum GoGo for beef with preserved ginger, duck dumplings and the pork "burgers". The Malaysia restaurant for duck blood dishes and good Hunan chicken. Yummy Noodle for anything pork. New York Noodletown for softshells, baby roast pig and shrimp won ton soup, oyster and pork casserole and noodle soups. Hong Kong Station also mentioned for soup.

Standing up mouthfuls

Very cheap roast duck in a bun from various street vendors under Manhattan Bridge. Every kind of hot bun you can imagine from the Chatham Restaurant on Chatham Square (look for the red awning). Li Hua for big, inexpensive Korean lunchboxes.

Sweet mouthfuls

Best ice cream: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Best bakery: Fay Da. Deli Manjoo is a stall on the corner of Lafayette and Canal: fresh made lemon-custard-filled sponges.

Thirsty mouthfuls

Best dive: Winnie's (beware late evening college crowd karaoke). Best ginger cider: a grocery on Pell Street a few storefronts west of Joe's Shanghai - great for colds.

Best honeydew smoothies: Kong Wah Cake Company aka KW Cafe. Best coffee shop: Mei Lai Wah (also for roast pork buns)

Shopping mouthfuls

Deluxe Food market or Hong Kong supermarket for general food shopping. Bayard Meat Market for partridge, black silky chickens, quail, offal, Chinese sausages and wind-dried meats.

Best $1 sesame pancake with pork, carrot and cilantro - prosperity dumplings on Eldridge

Seconded. One of the best values in NYC.

Anyone up for weekday lunch in chinatown ping me -- I am working nearby.

I'm partial to the supermarket under the Manhattan Bridge, on the east side of East Broadway (name =? New York Supermarket?). But I still like Hong Kong, too.

Hong Kong Station (2 locations now, new one on Bayard around the corner from NY Noodletown) still thumbs up for noodle soup, as is NY Noodletown.

And DSGG still, too.

Had a nice, wandering lunch in Chinatown today. Started at Super Taste on Eldridge. A really good bowl of hand-pulled noodles, broth, bits of oxtail, and green vegetables. My first visit and I will be back. Tried ordering the noodles with beef stew, but it wasn't ready yet. And they were out of both water spinach and pea shoots. Best noodles I've had in Chinatown. Total: $4.50.

Somewhere on E Broadway near Forsythe, a braised beef sandwich on sesame bread for a buck. Simple but good. Nice texture.

And then a stop at 103 E. Broadway Restaurant Inc. for an order of chicken, roast pork, and a fried egg over rice. Includes some vegetables and a bit of that ginger/scallion sauce that's often served with white chicken. Not bad at all. Total: $4.75.

I shared lunch with a friend who's very familiar with Chinatown and has had the Peking duck at Dim Sum Go Go. Verdict--not bad, though likely not a traditional version. Served with steamed buns.

I've seen it with steamed buns at one other place in Chinatown -- Fortune Garden, maybe?

That's also how they're served at Yank Sing.

Another very nice lunch at Super Taste today. Highlight was the hand-pulled noodles with beef in hot and spicy soup. Great flavor, nicely spiced. Also good were the dumplings. Perhaps 10 or 12 steamed dumplings filled with what appeared to be beef and/or pork and vegetables. Great wrappers. The noodles were $4 or $4.50 and the dumplings $3. Also tried the hand-pulled noodles with beef stew in soup, which was good but lacked the spark of the spicy version.

Also grabbed a menu from Sheng Wang, which looks very similar to the one at Super Taste. I'll have to drop in soon.

Yeah, I loved that spicy beef soup and as I said at lunch, I would have been very happy with the other beef stew soup if the other one hadn't been there for me to compare. The dumplings were a happy discovery and there are lots of other things on the menu that I'd like to try. As Steven pointed out, it's nice that they serve half portions of the pea shoots.

Has anyone ever seen the shaved noodles in NY C-town? Cook holds a football-size lump of dough and whacks at it with a razor, the shards falling directly into the boiling water. We had those in Boston a couple of years ago (I mentioned it either on MF or eG) but have not seen them here.

Yeah, a half portion of pea shoots for $3 seems like a deal.

And does anyone know what peanut butter noodles are? $1.50, so I'm guessing they might be something like sesame noodles but with peanut butter instead? I dunno. Apparently at least a couple places on Eldridge offer 'em.

Suzanne, I've never seen shaved noodles in NY.

I had shaved noodles at a restaurant in Flushing called Gou-Bou-Li (I think it's closed now). I remember the texture being really al dente.

The dumplings we had looked pretty much like these so I'm guessing they were pork and chive.

I'm ready for another plate of 'em.

Not sure if someone posted this yet, but it's Sietsema on peel noodles, which we noticed on Sheng Wang's menu yesterday.