Underrated by whom?
The comments that I looked at “here and there” on this site have usually focused on the excellent xlb at Kung Fu. Here are some non xlb items I’ve enjoyed over several visits: soy milk and an accompanying cruller, turnip puffs (especially) and red bean puffs, duck buns, fish dumplings, sticky rice siu mai. Their hand-pulled noodles are decent, but not spectacular in my experience.
There has also been recent discussion of which of the three branches of Kung Fu are still related. This website suggests that the Hell’s Kitchen location (the only one I’m familiar with) and the one at Times Square are connected.
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To resurrect this thread, here are discussions of that HK gem, Cha Long:
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Continuing the resurrection I spotted this today on the West side of 9th Ave between 43rd and 44th:
The #2 against their name in the top pic refers (on looking up) to their being the second location of a place that’s on 8th between 30th and 31st.
I had just eaten a quarter of a Katz’s Pastrami sandwich for lunch swallowed down with a 1/4 knoblewurst chaser, so was in no position to eat any more, but I did take my customary bad pictures:
There were probably 40+ trays out. It all looked promising.
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Cha Long has become a family fave during the last two years. What we like:
Jeeb Pu – Crab, shrimp, and pork dumplings. Essentially Shumai on crack
Sator Goog – A fiery combination of ground pork, stinky beans that look like Fava Beans, shrimp and curry paste. Not quite “Ugly Baby” spicy but up there
Crab Curry
Massaman Duck Confit
Peek Gai Tod – Excellent chicken wings
Mee Pum Riang – Southern style Pad Thai. This is the only Thai where I order Pad Thai.
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I concur with what you say and especially with the above. It’s one of my top NYC dishes along with the shrimp and scallion pancake from Danji. I find myself in a tough spot, and I hope I will have the sympathy of everybody here. Should I go one block one way for the shrimp pancake at Danji or one block another way for the Sator Goong at Cha Long?
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I’d walk 10 blocks for the tofu in Danji. Pretty sure I did that at least once.
I don’t know what they do to it, but it’s amazing.
While I remain solidly partial to the shrimp&scallion thing, that tofu is very good. The tofu itself creamy, a cross between standard soft and medium-firm, and the very light, very thin, crisp coating is a marvel, as are the tiny, crisp shavings of something (could not identify) on top along with minced scallion and such like.
It’s been a while, but is it katsuobushi?
Didn’t taste like bonito. These are exceedingly fine shreds, almost a powder except with elongated grains.
ETA: Plus the dish is labeled “vegetarian” on their menu.
Daikon?
Possibly, if shreds of it were somehow deepfried. It’s reminiscent of a very fine, delicate version of the crunchy “sev” that tops some Indian chaats.
I wonder if it’s just some kind of weird panko.
I think its just crispy tempura flakes (tenkasu). The ginger/scallion dressing also helps big time
Ah, okay.
Thanks.
