NY DINING DAY 1: AMANDINE AND EXCELLENT PORKCHOP

For me, there are two ways of dining in NY. Either super high end or hole in the wall excellence. On my most recent trip to NY, we engaged in the latter more than the former, and I was just fine with that. So I was in NY for work, attending the annual Fancy Food Show, the largest gourmet food show in the country. And it was also an opportunity to see my cousins and check out their awesome new pad in DUMBO. (I dream of having 12 foot ceilings, a subzero fridge, a wolf range and a great roof garden).

By the time we arrived at my cousin's place, it was post lunch. But the perfect time for a pre-dinner snack. We first checked out Jacque Torres' chocolate shop, I always want to see what new stuff he's got going on and then we went over to their neighborhood bakery, just across the street from J. Torres, Amandine. It seems to me that bakeries named Amandine tend to be excellent, since there's also one in LA that I've blogged about (but they are unrelated). And really, if we had a bakery like this in Boston, i would be driving to it all the time, even if it wasn't in my neighborhood.

The pastry case at Amandine is filled with all sorts of freshly made pastries. The also sell freshly made breads and sandwiches. Yeah, we don't have a place like this in Boston. Believe me, I've looked. Though Truly Jorg's comes close (of course his new location in Boston hasn't opened yet.) After perusing the case I decided to get this strawberry tart.
Doesn't it just look lovely? Of course, when you have something this simple, all the components need to be great. And in this case they were. The two things that people tend to screw up the most are the tart shell and the pastry cream (and I'll admit, good pastry cream is hard to make). But in this case, they were great.

My cousin, Jeany, got this mixed berry eclair. She says it's her favorite thing there.and I didn't photograph it, but my cousin's husband got a chocolate mousse cup. Post snack, we strolled around the park a bit, checked out the awesome views of Manhattan and made an attempt to get ice cream (but the place had run out of ice cream for the day!) Afterwards, we went home and watched a movie.

Then it was time for dinner. We thought about various places to go, but the final consensus was the Excellent Pork Chop House (yes, that is actually the name of the place) in Manhattan. Years ago, before I had lived in NY, one of my cousins (not the one I was visiting this time) had taken me there, but just for shaved ice. Then, when I finally moved to NY, I had to track it down for myself and was very please to introduce it to my cousin, Jeany, who had lived in NY for over 10 years. My only problem with the place is that it closes by 9pm, which is unheard of for NY.

So the Excellent Porkchop serves very authentic Taiwanese cuisine. It's located on Doyers street, which is this little alleyway between Mott and Bowery, right across from the Post Office . I've heard that it actually has a secret underground tunnel hidden below it, which had been used by various Chinatown gangs, but I've never been able to find it for myself. I will admit that this is not the greatest, most romantic setting in the world. But that's why it's a hole in the wall.

This place does have picture menus (just like Duk Bua) and the waitress did give it to one of my friends once. Luckily, we've been there so often that the waitresses still remember us (even if I don't live in NY anymore, I still go here 1-2 times a year). We started off ordering two appetizers. First, i always order these little cucumbers. (translated, the name is little yellow cucumbers). They are slightly pickled and are very garlickly. Kinda sweet and sour at the same time, but always delicious.Jeany ordered a plate of jellyfish. It's been marinated in sesame oil and garlic and along with the pickled daikon, cucumbers and carrots, it is cool, crunchy and also wonderful.Then it was onto the main event. As you all know, I don't eat pork. (I left that up to the rest of the table and they all enjoyed their porkchops) Meanwhile, I ordered my favorite fried chicken leg noodle soup, with an extra marinated egg on the side. It arrives with a huge bowl of noodles. At the top of the pic you'll see the pickled veggies that it's served with. Again, the crunchy, saltiness of the pickles just enhances the flavors of the soup.And of course, here's the fried chicken leg that they serve on a separate place.
It actually ends up being a massive amount of food. And of course, being in Chinatown, and not on Canal street, this entire dinner cost us around $8/person. I love NY Chinatown! So if you're ever wandering around Chinatown, looking for an excellent place to eat, try the Excellent Pork Chop House on Doyers, you won't be sorry.