Last week, I went and saw one of my favorite bands growing up, Soul Asylum. I really didn’t know if I wanted to see them. I think it’s weird seeing your childhood favs as old people. But I went anyway. It was cool. Being drunk helped. And it’s weird. Most of the band members are different now. I don’t know if that made it better or worse, so I didn’t have to see so many old people on stage. They played my favorite song, Closer to the Stars. I got my money’s worth.
Then I went next door to Congee Bowery afterwards. I was so drunk and slurring so bad to the host. I’m surprised they sat me. I think it was almost time to close.
I think I tried to order the Turtle Soup, but they were out. Then I asked for Congee and the waiter said no. So ordered pan fried dumplings.
After the waiter left, I turned around and the guy I was rubbing shoulders with in a pretty empty restaurant was eating some awesome looking stuff. I asked the host what he was eating. I want that. It was Crab Porridge. Wait. That’s Congee! He let me order it. So I don’t know why the waiter was lying to me.
It was delicious and everything costs about the same as one beer at Bowery Ballroom. Free tea too!
Congee Bowery – 207 Bowery (btwn Rivington & Spring St) New York, NY 10002
I had extra time to kill until the next Chinatown bus to Boston (for my buddy John’s wedding). I sat down at Kien Tuong (also known as New Kim Tuong). The pick 3 items with rice and soup is still $3.50.
I ordered Congee with Pork, Pork Belly and Liver ($2.75) and a plate of Bitter Melon with Beef  ($3.75) from the menu. Super cheap. The food was alright. Just needed some salt and for the food to cool down.
The BBQ meats (Roast Pork, Baby Pig, Duck) looks really good. I’d go for that next time.
As far as the Chinatown bus, the line at Lucky Star had a ton of hot girls. None at Fung Wah. I don’t know why that is, but I guess you can imagine which bus I took.
Kien Tuong Restaurant -Â 83 Chrystie St (btw Canal & Hester St) New York, NY 10002
Met up with friends at Gamal Hennessy’s release party for his book “Seize the Night” at Happy Ending. I had a good time. I saw girls making out with each other in the sauna room …it was only 7:30pm. We then heading over to Congee Village House for some Chinese grub. Plenty of food here, but no one ever seems to be thrilled with my suggestion of steamed bread with the condensed milk dipping sauce. That and no one ever wants to try my Pork Liver Congee rice porridge. I gotta say, the tofu in the Tofu/Mixed Vegetables was silky smooth and melted in my mouth. We paid $12 each after tip amongst the five of us. One of these days I’m going to rent out one of the downstairs private dining/karaoke rooms -banquet style. Even if I have to eat all the pork liver congee and steamed buns myself.
Matt got the cravings for some Flushing Chinatown food late in the evening. So he picked me up in the rain and we headed over to Corner 28. The downstairs $1 Peking Duck Bun window was closed and so was the cheap pick and point prepared steam tray selections. They have an upstairs sit-down restaurant.
The menu was a big book with photos of the dishes (like Denny’s) mixed with photos of their bubble tea drinks. Sorta difficult to find what you want, but I love to see what the food looks like. So I’ll take that. A late night menu with a lot of selections at $6.99. We chose the Chinese Sausage & Smoked Pork (possibly belly?) with Vegetables and Shrimp w/ Lobster Sauce. Matt also ordered the Shrimp Dumpling Noodle Soup and I got the Pumpkin & Clam Congee (rice porridge) at $3.50 each.
I been hankering some Chinese Sausage and vegetables for a while. It did the job. The Pumpkin & Clam Congee was interesting. I don’t think it would appeal to someone who’s used to bland or salty rice porridge, but might work for an American taste who’s never had congee. The Shrimp w/ Lobster Sauce was a little chalky, probably from the flour to thicken up the sauce. The food overall was good and affordable. The selection and quality is comparable to Congee Village House in Manhattan, but a little cheaper. And they’re opened until 1am.
We could barely finish it all. Partly because it was a lot of food and also because I had just turned Matt onto Paul McKenna’s weight loss hypnosis system. I might have screwed him with that. Look how skinny he is.
My parents asked me to find some DVDs for them. 1) China’s 60th Anniversary Parade my dad says he read in the news that they are selling for $2 in Chinatown. 2) 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony in Chinese language. I walked around Chinatown for an hour with no luck finding a DVD store or an old lady selling bootlegs on the street. I texted my friend Marcellus since he knows the area better than me. He was only a couple of blocks away in the non-touristy section, so we met up. Right across the street was a DVD store. Bingo. I walked in looking lost. I asked the girl, hoping she spoke English, if she had this so-called $2 parade DVD. She instantly pulls it out from right under her elbow –a homemade copy in a flimsy sleeve. She directs me to the store across the street that might have the Olympics. The next store didn’t have the opening ceremony, but they had everything else including the Special Olympics that they were really pushing on me. Somehow I bought five DVDs from them. They directed me to the next store that had the Opening and after that we happened to pass several more DVD stores, all when I wasn’t looking for any.
In between, we stopped by the lower level Chinese restaurant in the 88 East Broadway mall (under the Manhattan Bridge) at the B54 booth. Everything was written in Chinese and no one spoke any English. They did have one English paper menu they brought out to us, although I’m not sure if it’s the same stuff on the Chinese menus on the wall looking at the prices. We got the Small Steamed Pork buns (8 for $4), Vegetable Mai Fun Noodles (around $4) and Salty Congee (rice porridge; small for $2). I was hoping the steamed buns were soup dumplings, as I found some places call them that on the menu, but they were basically small steamed bready BBQ pork buns which are still great. I couldn’t believe how huge the small congee was. It was a lot different than any congee I’ve ever had. Cold and like thick Chop Suey sauce with rice mixed in. There was about a half of a small crab in there. After a while, it grew on me. I still think it would have been better hot.
It was a nice adventure in Chinatown. DVD hunting and eating at a small restaurant that’s for locals only in a weird Chinese mall. To my surprise, the Special Olympics (which is actually the Paralympics) DVD they were pushing on me is awesome. It’s so much better than the regular Olympics. I put together some clips below from the DVD and sports highlights from Youtube. …Also if you’re talking to someone that has a kid in the Paralympics, make sure you don’t call it the Special Olympics.
Highlights from the Opening Ceremony
Torch Lighting …this is frickin awesome
(Blind) Goal Ball @ 1:35 and a hot chick serving in Sitting Volleyball @ 3:01
I don’t know if I’m turning into a wuss or my stomach’s taken its toll, but I’m having a harder time trying sketchy hole in the walls. So after an hour of walking around Chinatown, I settled on Yogee Restaurant that looked nice and clean. Is that fancy for me? I got the Hong Kong style congee (juk: rice porridge). I think there was pork liver, tripe and maybe some squid? Pretty filling. Coated my stomach like paper mache –so I can jump back on the horse for sketchier restaurants and more questionable food.
Yogee Restaurant – 85 Chrystie St (btw Grand & Hester St) New York 10002
So I’ve read that the Big Wong of the old days had moved to Hsin Wong around the corner a few years back. It’s interesting how you can learn what is relatively trivial info on the Internet and it will be there for years to come. Like how people 20 years from now can learn that I thought I had Tourrettes when I thirteen because I had a winking facial tick and I swore a lot. I got beef, squid and pork congee with a fried cruller. I enjoyed it. It wasn’t as crowded as Big Wong which I like too. When I was eating, they carted a huge roasted carcass of pork from the back to the front window. It was pretty awesome. I eventually got a pound of roast pork to take to Heather & Jeff’s potluck baby shower.
I had a plan to hit three Wong Restaurants in Chinatown in one day. Big Wong, Big Wing Wong and New Wing Wong. Unfortunately New Wing Wong doesn’t exist anymore and that’s a good thing. I was so stuffed. (update: does New Wing Wong still exist? I heard it might.)
At Big Wong, I got the salted pork & thousand year old egg congee (juk) with a fried cruller. The pork and the egg nicely flavored what is usually really bland rice porridge. That fried cruller was frickin big and good. I was seated at the communal table where I made a new Facebook friend.
I was pretty full and ended up force-feeding myself a plate of roast duck, pork and fried egg on rice (Three Precious Ingredients) at Big Wing Wong. Maybe my stomach wasn’t having it and my mouth just wasn’t into it, but I think I’ve had better roast meats on rice. Wong day, wong time?
Big Wong – 67 Mott St (btw Bayard & Canal St) New York 10013 Big Wing Wong -102 Mott St (btw Canal & Hester St) New York 10013
Another karaoke song by popular demand –Snoop Dogg’s Gin & Juice
. I might have screwed him with that. Look how skinny he is.
