Jing Fong - A Dim Sum Experience

I strayed from my usual weekend omelet brunch and ventured down to Chinatown a few Sundays ago for dim sum at Jing Fong.  I had never been to dim sum before, so I had no idea what to expect (except for some dumplings). 

banquet room

There was a huge crowd waiting, so we knew it was going to be good.  They give you a number and then call them out in no particular order (we think there was some favoritism going on).  When we finally got called, we rode the elevator up to the big banquet room, where there were hundreds of people seated at big round tables.  Yes, hundreds - the place is huge!

The waiters bring around carts of food and you select what you'd like, pretty much just based upon how things look, since the waiters don't speak any English.  We wound up getting a LOT of dumplings: pork, shrimp with peas, soup, etc.  I guess that was the "safe" move - there were many options more unfamiliar that we passed on.  We also indulged in some soft shell crab, shrimp in rice noodle and a broccoli rabe-type green vegetable, which I would HIGHLY recommend.  It was like pulling teeth to get some water at first - the place is very hectic, but it was pretty reasonably-priced - for 5 people it wound up being around $15-$20/person for a ton of food. 

shrimp in rice noodle

dumplings 

         

I would recommend Jing Fong if you're looking for a gateway dim sum experience.  I imagine there are delicious, authentic dishes there that we didn't get because we didn't know what they were - so I would do some research before going back.

shrimp tempura

Check it out: http://www.jingfongny.com/ 20 Elizabeth St (between Bayard St & Canal St)

Joe's Shanghai - Midtown West

We were very excited to try Joe Shanghai's famous soup dumplings! We went before seeing a Broadway show, so it was on the earlier side. The place was pretty much empty when we arrived but was filling up as we left.

We put in our order for soup dumplings right away - they come as a mix of crab and pork meat. We had read how you're supposed to eat them before coming, so we were somewhat prepared. We took our soup spoons, held the soup dumplings, took a bite so as to let out the soup liquid, sipped it up and then ate the rest of the dumpling. It was delicious! Our only complaint was that it was a little greasy. I'm not sure what type of broth was in the dumplings, but it was great - super flavorful - and just what you would want on a cold winter night!. For the rest of the dumpling, you are given a soy-based dipping sauce to dunk the dumpling in. Eric liked the sauce and thought it made the meat come to life, since you can't really taste the pork/crab. I wasn't as much of a fan so I ate the rest of the dumpling sans-sauce.. yummy!

The other food we ordered (chicken & broccoli/shrimp & scallops with garlic sauce/moo shoo vegetable) was just OK - standard Chinese food. The midtown west Joe's is supposedly a lot more spacious and "less authentic" than the Chinatown spot so I still wanna head down to Chinatown to check out the Pell Street restaurant.

You really should go here for the dumplings!