Those look fantastic. I don’t recall seeing them in Manhattan Chinatown. I must expand my horizons soon LOL
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Damn, just found this thread and my mouth is watering. These walkabouts looks good enough to tolerate my Flushing-based ex-MIL (think Fran Fine) again for.
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We won’t tell her if you just eat and don’t visit…
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If you’re in town on 4/30, there will likely be some dapanji on the table
Thanks. Not in town, unfortunately. Sorry to miss it.
‘Want to’ or ‘have no trips to NYC planned before June’?
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@Saregama and I went to maxi’s noodle today where I was looking forward to comparing their wonton soup to Sifu, noodle village and the ten or so renditions I had in Hong Kong.
As is my wont, I didn’t look at the menu, hoping saregama would do all the ordering but she was annoyingly considerate and kept pointing to different sides of the menu asking if we should have dumplings or wantons and then there was some sort of noodle choice. Part of me didn’t want to think about the choice because I’d always prefer to try something someone else likes as opposed to staying in my comfort zone but there was also something nagging about that choice between wantons and dumplings.
After saregema ordered dumplings in broth, I took a real look at the menu and figured it out: I never knew there was a difference between wantons and dumplings! I mean, sure, we alternate between dumplings and flatter wantons at our favorite uws Szechuan restaurant, but I figured the naming convention was just a convenience for the restaurant.
Anyhow, our dumpling soup arrived and wow, the dumplings were big! And delicious! An Americanized, supersized version of a dumpling, made with top quality ingredients in a flavorful broth.
When we were done, saregama asked me how it compared to sifu. After trying so many renditions, I’ve come to believe there’s a zen art to making great wonton soup: simple ingredients working together to create a perfect balance of flavor and texture. While delicious, maxi’s huge dumplings didn’t offer that perfect composition I’ve come to look for in great wonton soup.
But when I got home it hit me, we didn’t have wonton soup 
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Realized belatedly that we should have gotten a mix of the two. I don’t like fish balls, but @Dean and @KayZ enjoyed them on their visit.
Agree the dumplings are jumbo, but very flavorful. (The frozen ones turn out as good at home, whether in broth or in a bowl with chilli oil & sauces.) Their broth was very seafood forward.
And the incredibly nice staff bears special mention.
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More eats: Some revisits, some new, all generally good eats.
(We saved the new Uyghur place for a return trip with a larger group.)
(Jumbo!) Wonton soup
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Fried skewers — lamb, squid, ribs,
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Stuffed flaky pancake with 3 veg and meat.
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Uyghur samsa (ordered beef but tasted like lamb so I dunno)
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Fuzhou style Pork and chive dumplings
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Hey those fuzhou dumplings looks like wontons
Whoa! You’re right
I loved the skewers, and the last round of dumplings / wontons was tasty & quite delicate.
I messed up the choice of stuffed pancake – I’m not a huge fan of chinese leeks (slimy) or chives, and the one we got was full of them. The black fungus / mushroom & meat one would probably have been more up my alley.
Oh, I forgot the pic I took specially for @small_h – a snail specialist in one of the little food courts!
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I believe I was the one who chose the wrong pancake! Also, the Korean stall serving popcorn chicken with fresh grapes looked interesting…I guess the sweetness of the grape balances the saltiness of the chicken.
there were $3 peanut noodles everywhere, they all taste the same to me though the places making their own noodles are more interesting.
@Saregama discovered several hidden food courts, turns out a lot of storefronts on Roosevelt open into food courts of 4-6 stalls.
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All of this makes me so jealous that I can’t be there!
When’s your next trip stateside?
Probably October.
Come earlier. It’s too cold for crawls in October.
Perfect fall weather. Message us or start a thread and we’ll do something!
Whatcha talkin bout Willis — fall is perfect nyc weather! Better than now for sure!
