By: Finance Foodie
To round out my weekend in NYC, I had brunch at Ping in Chinatown. Although I am liking Boston more since my big move, one complaint I do have is the lack of a sizable Chinatown. Maybe it’s because I have not discovered it yet, but I feel there is a terrible selection of dining options in Boston Chinatown. Boston readers, let me know if you think otherwise and please prove me wrong. Anyways, I was quiet excited to eat dim sum since I haven't had authentic Chinese food in 2 months.
Note: when I lived in NYC, I rarely visited Chinatown, as I am easily confused by areas that are not organized by a grid system. Being in Boston where there is virtually no Chinatown, I now totally regret that I did not take advantage of the NYC Chinatown.
Ping was quiet packed when we arrived at 11:30am. I would say 98% of the patrons were old school Asian (read: authentic Chinese food served), which made me trust the place even more. We had to share a table with 2 other parties (read: even more authentic Chinese food served). I was surprised to see the place was actually quiet clean (for Chinatown) and the servers were in actual uniforms of sparkly (albeit gaudy) silver vests and bowties.
The dim sum was good, although the selection was a bit lacking. My favorite dishes were the Chinese spinach saute with garlic and fried onions, the pan fried "lo bo gao" (turnip cakes), and shrimp in rice noodles. The rest of our party ordered chicken feet (I declined, the idea of eating any type of stinky feet grosses me out, plus I could see their nail beds...double gross). The items I was sad to have missed out on was the "fa gao" (traditional yellow slightly-sweet sponge cake) and the "do jian" (warm soybean milk) / "yo tiao" (fried dough sticks used for dipping in the "do jian". I was actually too full to eat anymore (still recovering from the previous night at Per Se) and I knew I had a long ride ahead back to Boston, so I decided to have willpower and not order these items.
This place was very good. The place was small, so the turnover was quick for each item, which meant that the dishes were all served warm and fresh. Also a $40 meal (we gave a generous tip) for 4 people is pretty freaking sweet for NYC. All and all, not the best dim sum I ever had, but definitely not bad either.
Ping
22 Mott St.New York, NY 10013
Mmm, I'd say I was a chinatown expert now but I have yet to try this place for dim sum. I shall go now! although next time you are here, you gotta try go go dim sum. Its amazing for dim sum!
ReplyDeleteNice blog girl! I shall be a frequent visitor
i'm loving the title for this entry!
ReplyDeleteI do have to agree with you. I spent a lot of time in chinatown during my visits to NYC, just wandering around Elizabeth, Mott, Canal, and unfortunately Boston's 2-3 blocks just doesn't cut it.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for the add :)
ReplyDeleteI agree. Ping's dimsum is just ok. I've heard that Golden Bridge on the Bowery is better though.
Have you tried Dimsum Gogo? It caters more to non-Chinese but I thought the selection was more unusual. They had a steamed duck dumpling that I just had to order one more of :)