We’ve eaten in Wayan, and we enjoyed it.
That’s not good. Thanks for warning me.
Where did we eat? Well, we splurged twice at Shabu Shabu Mayumon and Kono. We liked both quite a lot, but I doubt we would go back to either if we can visit next year. During our previous visit in 2019, we ate at Shabu Shabu Macoron, which apparently is no longer a restaurant. That meal, as I recall, was more varied than the meal at Shabu Shabu Mayumon, which was about 90% wagyu beef. Good, always differently spiced, but still too much of the same. Kono was also very good with chicken skewers but I expected more variation and a greater emphasis on rarely eaten parts of the chicken. The cockscomb was offered as an extra after the fixed meal was finished, but by that time I couldn’t eat any more,
We ate twice at Great NY Noodletown, one of ny favorite places. We always order the soft-shelled crab there. A few days later we had soft-shelled crab ab Cha Kee, a new place for us, and I think I liked it even better.
We had a good meal at Shanghai Asian Cuisine. We had good food at Wo Hop, but I think I didn’t order well. And the waiter didn’t tell us that the dishes I ordered were quite similar and both huge. We had the enormous amount of leftovers packed up, and we gave them to a beggar sleeping on the street. He smiled.
We had a lobster roll at Coco Shack because I had read about it somewhere online. I think it was in the New York Times, but I can’t find the article any more. The lobster roll was good, but it paled beside the one we had eaten a week earlier at Fresco’s in Malden, MA.
We had some dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai. I liked the former location better. We went early and it was only one-third full, but still much too noisy for my taste. And we finally managed to get into Cervo’s, a place I had read about years ago on Chowhound. Well, the food was good, but most of the seating is without backrests and the noise was unbearable. Won’t be going back.
We had dim sum twice. First at Dim Sum Go Go. The dim sum were good, but the high point of the meal was that Grace Young came in with some friends to eat, and I got to say hello to her quickly. A few days later we had dim sum for lunch at Ping’s. I think I liked it better!
Hope I haven’t bored you to death.
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Joe’s Shanghai is the first place I had XLB, in 1997, and I probably returned 2 dozen times. A couple times to the midtown location around 2010-2015.
My friend, who lived in Taiwan and visited mainland China several times, prefers Old Shanghai/ Yeah Shanghai Deluxe at 50 Mott, so that’s where I had my last order in NYC. Realize XLB are a YMMV kinda thing. https://www.shanghai50mott.com/
Thanks for a great (and hunger-inducing) report!
I can’t wait to go back now that they’re open again. What else did you get?
Yeah, I don’t linger at Joe’s. It was always loud and bustling at the old location too. But, the dumplings.
Ok that’s a fun sighting! Though I don’t know if I would have recognized her. (Also kind of cool for DSGG that she eats there.)
My last visit to DSGG (this summer) I also thought it had declined in a few dim sum choices (other things were still good). But it’s great when with vegetarians. (I’ve also tried to be a bit loyal post-pandemic to favorites that declined, so I’ll keep going for a while and hope they return to past quality.)
(If you remember what you ate, pop over to the dim sum thread and drop a note on both places.)
Fat chance!
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The first time we had XLB was at Shanghai Cafe, 100 Mott Street. We went there each year until they closed, so we tried Shanghai Heping Restaurant, a few doors down. Nowhere near as good. Then we discovered Joe’s. I loved the food at Joe’s the first couple of times, but the new location turned me off.
There’s a new place at 100 Mott Street: Supreme Restaurant. I don’t know if it belongs to the same owners who ran Shanghai Cafe. We didn’t make it there this year.
We haven’t made to New Shanghai Deluxe yet, but it looks interesting when one walks by. Have to try it on our next trip.
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Hi @Saregama,
You asked what we ate at Noodletown. The first time, I think, we had duck rollls and a vegetable dish in additon to the soft-shelled crab. The second time we had a vegetable/noodle dish and a piece of baby pig. When we started going there years ago wtih friends and relatives, we were able to order a lot more.
Our dim sum orders were quite standard. Actually I think that it was at Dim Sum Go Go where we had the duck egg rolls. We ordered similar things at Ping’s. There was a Chinese couple at the table next to us. I glanced at what they were getting, and it was totally different from what we got.
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Any suggestions near Carnegie Hall that aren’t too expensive? We have tickets for Monday night and will probably be walking over from Grand Central. Was going to go to Urban Hawker, but a couple of the places are closed on Mondays., including Ashes Burnnit, plus I’m afraid that others might be sold out of stuff that my wife and I are interested in eating by dinner time.
Maybe Benoit or Molyvos? I haven’t been lately, but I’ve been to both several times.
My cousin’s convocation was at Carnegie Hall and we ate at Molyvos afterwards. It’s a couple blocks south of Carnegie Hall.
https://www.benoitny.com/ Benoit is a little further away, at 60 West 55th St between Fifth & Sixth Avenues
If it were me, Russian Vodka Room, or I’d just hit the Oyster Bar before walking over.
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What kind of food?
There’s a SugarFish nearby, also Yakitori totto (Totto ramen also not too far, neither is Ippudo).
Jams is on the other side, you can sit at the bar for a drink and snacks, or do the same at Aldo Sohm a few blocks further down.
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They’ve moved. They’re now at 402 West 43rd St, which used to be Esca and Curtains Up decades ago when Manhattan Plaza first opened. It was my mother’s favorite Manhattan restaurant, and I believe that it was the first place we ever had Little Pie Company’s apple pie (possibly before they had a shop down the block).
As for Benoit, was looking for something with entrees that are less than $40+ each.
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Thanks for the heads up re: Molyvos.
Didn’t realize the prices had gone up so much at Benoit. Last time I was there, in May 2018, I was there for cinq à sept/happy hour, so the food was appetizer-sized and less expensive. Of course, prices have gone up a lot everywhere over the past 4.5 years.
Good luck finding the right place!
Blue willow
La Bonne Soupe is on W. 55th. Prices are more moderate than Benoit’s.
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+1. Good cocktails too, though a bit on the sweet side.
Molyvos was a couple of blocks south of Carnegie Hall, but it’s since moved to 43rd St. west of Ninth Ave.
I’ve heard good things about Blue Willow but haven’t tried it myself.
Field trip!
