The Grub Street article later that year was a bit more sinister about the new one telling fake tales about its connection to the original
I liked the dishes at the first spot. Also the big tray chicken was super.
But as always, the fun group was delightful.
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Hi all! I havenât eaten at any of these Manhattan bĂĄnh mĂŹ places in quite a while â how would you say these compare to Ba Xuyen in Brooklyn, if youâre familiar with that? The sense Iâve gotten over the years is that Ba Xuyen is pretty tough to beat.
@Saregama had suggested we get banh mi that might show off the skills of each kitchen, and Iâm glad we did. As Iâd mentioned before, Iâd make a meal just of those meatballs. Iâd noted at the shop that the listed ingredients, on the menu above the counter, are âpork & water chestnut.â I hadnât noted till today, however, that the Vietnamese name is bĂĄnh mĂŹ xiĂȘu máșĄi, that is, âshumai,â like a favorite cheung fun filling of ours on a subsequent crawl.
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How big is your files of physical menus? Do you still keep paper copies now that one can take a photo of the menu (or find them online)?
Indeed, it would be fun to create wallpaper out of menus
Is Num Pang still around?
Not large; perhaps three file drawersâ full. Theyâre handier and easier to read than digital copies. For certain restaurants, I keep successive dated copies, to help track the evolution of prices, dishes, menu categories, and even menu design.
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Youâre the man I always wished I was. Iâve some old menus tucked away here and there, but not systematically.
For those interested in such things:
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/the-buttolph-collection-of-menus#/?tab=navigation
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Doesnât look like it. Thereâs Thanh Da, but Iâve never been impressed with that.
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Iâd passed up Tao Hongâs egg tarts many times while skirting the line for roast meats outside Wah Fung, next door. Thanks to DinerEnBlanc, on the FoodNYC subreddit, for pointing the way.
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Iâve walked in there but was a little put off by the dingy, even by Chinatown standards, interior. The egg tart does look wonderful!
We had a Portuguese bakery in westchester that substituted cookie for pastry crust, donât think Iâll find it in Chinatown. I had a client in Newark and wandered around the ironbound a couple of afternoons to no avail. Starting to think Iâll have to make it myself.
What do you think of wah fung? Iâve found it uneven,
I do like the way their sauce and drippings run into the rice. I wonder if the unevenness has to do with the different types of meat they serve. Maybe their duck is better than the chicken for instance.
Cmon, you did not find your way to Texeiraâs Bakery on the main drag? Maybe I will go out there and snare some if we have a suitable meetup. If I remember correctly they have several varieties of the egg tarts. I dont personally see the cookie dough substitution working. Did it?
Linking our Bo Ky meal
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Iâm sad Saigon Deli has been showing as âtemporarily closedâ for a while now â really hope they are on vacation and coming back soon.
ETA: never mind. closed for reno till early may. PHEW!
Sorry Jen, just saw this, texieraâs was very good but no cookie crust, and yes, ithe cookie crust was very good. I recall it was a graham cracker crust, non-traditional but it always sold out first.
The bakery was run by two young pastry chefs who blended traditional and modern in delicious ways. Our whole community was sad when they closed. But now, in its place is a coffee shop with the best croissant weâve had outside of Paris!
Spicy Village. Big tray of chicken good as usual. Spicy hand pulled noodles with Brisket was good tho only now I realize it was supposed to be spicy. Maybe they tone it down for tourists.
But I forget how good their dumplings are, combined with their 7 spice Scallion sauce. Really excellent stuff.
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Stopped in at Deluxe Green Bo last night, first time in I donât know how many years. Crazy crowded ; amenities and portion size have slipped and prices increased, like everywhere, but food was still good, eel with bean sprouts, bean curd skin (texture a little rough) with salted veg and steamed pork soup dumplings
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