Empanada? Oh boy, that’s a world away and when done right…ie Argentinian baked, yummy, and in Spain, the original empanada is an actual pie made w/tuna and red pepper. I’ve also had a square pie empanada made w/cornmeal in Santiago that was great, but w/cod and raisins. Most empanadas sold in the states just plain suck.
I was not trying to start a discussion of origins and authenticity, etc. I was noting that “stuff wrapped in dough” is a pretty common way to serve food
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Sucker that I am, I was back there today. I thought the Hainan chicken (I opted for poached over roasted) quite good. The rice was flavored with chicken broth/drippings and the accompanying soup had flavor. Even without the orange “chili” sauce (heatless) I thought the dish tasty in a subtle way. It’s no culinary crime if flavors just tickle the tongue, not tangle with it.
A word on Lady Wong and the sardine puff: ask, even if you do not see it displayed under their warming lamp. I did, and they said they would get me two in 4 minutes. They seem to have them refrigerated (one can only hope – if I post no more, you’ll know they hadn’t) . These were much better than my first try (see above) which was even then quite good. The filling was juicy, not chewy (moistly fish-oniony), and the crust nicely crisp.
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Not as brown as that, but probably.
Yes, that fried bread was mantou.
They’re open on Sundays starting tomorrow. I was thinking of going after a show I’m attending at City Center. Sounds like there aren’t many raves here. Eater did an article about them and three dishes looked interesting to me, Chicken with peanut sauce and roti john at Ashes Burnnit, and the previously mentioned Stingray Fried Rice and Sardine Puffs. I wonder how busy it will be around 5pm since it’s their first Sunday?
12 Street Foods To Try at Urban Hawker in Midtown - Eater NY
Also marathon Sunday should be very crowded
Yeah, good point. 
Saw on Ig Hainan Jones won’t be open tmr
Plenty! Mashed potato as a stuffing isn’t exciting but I think its unfair to write off the whole stuffed pastry/dough genre.
One of the strongest food memories I have is from a high school trip to Venice. I was a hick from the south sitting at table looking at a menu I didn’t understand. Ordered a calzone. It came all golden brown. I cut into it and there was an egg inside that oozed the golden yolk all over the rest of the ingredients inside. My god that calzone has stayed with me all these decades on. Damn near Proustian for me.
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When you expand this category to technique-y stuff like egg-yolk-in-calzone (or raviolo, which was indeed very exciting at Rezdora), you’re no longer making valid comparisons. And when you further expand it to stuff-I-ate-for-the-first-time-as-a-teenager, well, obviously it made an impression on you. It was novel.
So, we walked through at around 1:15pm on Sunday and while it wasn’t empty, none of the stands had lines. So we actually could have eaten there if we wanted. But we had a show to go to and chose to go home afterwards. We’ll be back in the area next Sunday and will try to go then.
I noticed that several of the places do not have prices on their menus. I question the legality of that. I’ll bet that the DCA would, too.
Slightly off topic:
There used to be a business in Arlington Virginia that proudly announced that they were: “Indian Spices and Appliances” And that is exactly what they were. Want a food processor or a pressure cooker? They had several types in stock. Want the Ceylon version of the cinnamon sticks? They had them from two different sources.
But their claim to fame was their samosas. You ordered them and 5 minutes later you were walking out with a crisp brown paper bag filled with delicious samosas. And by the time you got home the brown paper bag was nearly translucent from the grease… Goodness inside.
And delicious? Oh my God! Like all good things, it ended.
They tore the building down years ago, the “Indian Spices and Appliances” went out of business and no one in Arlington makes one as good to this day.
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I saw this on another thread on Hungry Onion. A different take by the Fung Brothers on this.
They are a bit more positive.
Yes, you’re absolutely-and-totally off topic, but how brilliantly and how wonderfully!!!.
Who wouldn’t want spices and appliances in one place?
(Not nearly as great, but as a post-doc in Vancouver in the mid eighties (last century), I’d love to order tandoori chicken and pepperoni pizza delivered at 3 a.m. from one Indo-Italian joint just so I could.)
On the greatness of a good samosa, I totally agree – as opposed to the kill-joys up thread dumping on potato-in-pastry. Have they no tastebuds?
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Man, i dont have the formative knish background but Ive had plenty of samosas over the years mostly from indian groceries that do not read the heavy blandness of mashed potatoes or knish. They have crunch and plenty of seasoning from whole and ground spices and fresh green chili and the contrast of peas. I broke my tooth on a coriander seed in one many years ago!
I didnt see this when I made my post below. Exactly. They are making the samosas for desi clientele dont - know who the suppliers are but the quality at such places tend to be fresh and high.
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Not a huge fan of swai fish. I saw some plates of that going out when I was there, and it didn’t look that appetizing.
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