Amazing 66 -- new in Chinatown
As the rest of the world anxiously watched the election returns, I investigated something even more important. A brand new restaurant has just opened right in the center of Chinatown, and tonight I ate there. Based on one visit, I'm not sure if Amazing 66 Restaurant is truly amazing or merely very good, but it's certainly worth a try.
The space that used to house the forgettable Eastern Villa has been totally redone. It's a spiffy beige decor accented with wood trim. There are two menus, both with English translations. All the usual suspects are there, along with some rarer dishes such as crabs steamed with rice in a bamboo rack, and several kinds of whole stuffed chickens that must be ordered a day in advance. I ordered a stewed beef casserole. Every place has a chicken version of this, but I've never seen it with beef. First came an egg drop soup, free. This is high on my list of what not to order, but if it's as good as this version I'll change my mind. Then the casserole. It had, not some tough stew beef, but a real steak (not a very good steak, not something that will have Mr. Peter Luger running to get the recipe, but nonetheless something tender enough that you could cut it with a spoon, cooked medium-rare), sliced, floating with onions and mushrooms in a rich garlicky broth. It was very very good.
Three different managers came over as I ate to ask if I liked the food. They seemed nervous. It is, after all, opening week. They needn't have worried. I liked it just fine. I'll be back.
Amazing 66 Restaurant
66 Mott St near Canal
(212) 334-0099
Brian S
Nov 08, 2006 02:52AM
I enjoy your Chinatown posts. Please keep them coming. Have you done a "Chinatown for Novices" post? I have a friend who wants to check out Chinatown, but is "confused." She's also a "finnicky" eater--read unadventurous in her case. My friend would benefit from a Chinatown for Novices type of introduction to the area. Mind you, she's lived in Metro NY all her life...
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Thank you for this! I put a lot of work into the posts and other people finding them useful is my only reward. I've thought of writing a post like that. The closest I have come is this post, which I'm sure she will find amusing if not useful. It's called "Secrets of Chinatown"
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/328296
Oh, and if you like reading about Chinatown, don't forget the Outer Boroughs board. There are four Chinatowns out there! I often go to Flushing, for places like this:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...
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Never mind a Chinatown for novices post..Brian should do a guidebook to good eats in C'town! We love you, Brian!
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Four Chinatown, hmmm, let's see. There's the one in lower Manh --Canal St area, there's Flushing, Qns... Where are the other 2??? I need to leave Manh more :)
I strongly encourage you to share the wealth of your knowledge in a "beginner" post. The "Secrets" post is far to advanced for my finnicky friend. I have to start her off with drinks (taro bubble and the like) and dumplings and rice and work our way up.
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Sunset Park in Bkln, and I can't think where the 4th is.
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Actually there are 5 or 6 Chinatowns. Besides the 3 alreay mentioned, there is a second one in Brooklyn, not sure of the neighborhood, one in Staten Island, and now Elmhurst in Queens is blossoming Chinatown.
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Sunset Park is where the Brooklyn Chinatown is. P.
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In Brooklyn, in addition to Sunset Park, there's a much smaller one along Ave U. between Coney Island Ave and E.17th St or so. Very convenient as the train station is right above it (2 stops past Ave J: Difara's).
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Thanks Brian, I knew you would go there. It doesn't look like a Fujianese place.
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Yeah, it was great. It's not Fujianese, it's straight-up Cantonese/Hong Kong.
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I'm going there for dinner tomorrow to try it out!
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sounds great. i'm intrigued by the whole stuffed chickens, having never tried this at a chinese resto before.
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Response to ORA, the response link to his/her post did not work:
The other two Chinatowns are in Brooklyn, the largest in Sunset Park (8th Ave.), the other in Bensonhurst (Ave U). While there are more CTs in Brooklyn, there is a higher concentration of good to excellent restaurants in the ones in Flushing and Manhattan. (As a Brooklynite, I am embarrassed to admit this)
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Don't forget Elmhurst, Queens. Some good Chinese restaurants there, cheek-to-jowl with Sumatran, Javanese, Malayan, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, you name it.
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Nice post Brian. I agree with Ora's suggestion above. It would be nice if you took your "Forgotten Restaurants" post and beefed it up with your take on some of the better known places. Like RGR's post on the Lower East side, it would be something we could link to when people post generic Chinatown questions.
Thanks again for all the great information.
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IT IS DONE!!! I spent the morning doing what you and Ora suggested.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...
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Thanks Brian. A lot of people, including me, will find this really useful.
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I'm glad you like it. I did my best.
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Interesting that Mott St. continues to add decent Chinese restaurants. When I first visited New York over 20 years ago, the old core area of Chinatown, particularly Mott St. south of Canal, was a place to be avoided except by those looking for tourist food. Indeed to this day while trolling for restaurants to sample I generally avoid Mott St. on the suspicion that a restaurant might be one of these old time tourist joints. Of course as the old places phase out, perhaps they become places worth visiting prior to their demise. But thanks for pointing out Amazing 66 as this goes to the top of my list for my upcoming visit.
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In case you haven't seen it (you probably have), this post helps explain why Chinatown changed.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...
But a lot of those tourist places also do really good Taishan-style stuff for diners in the know.
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Yes, thanks, I had seen it before. A similar scene has played out in other Chinatowns, particularly in Los Angeles and San Francisco. But even to this day, both Grant Ave. in San Francisco and the New Chinatown Plaza in Los Angeles are largely tourist food enclaves.
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OK, I had dinner at this place and I ordered the
Lotus Root Pancakes
Frog steamed in Rice
Chicken with Pickled Cabbage
They took a shortcut on the Lotus Root Pancakes and you get more pork then Lotus Root. The pancake comes out to be more of a mini pork patty. Not true to the way it is suppose to be, but if you like a meat patty its not bad. This dish came from the area in Canton who made their living selling silk. So they had the money and time to eat well here. It takes more work to make the real dish.
Seems like there were many people going for the Frog steamed in Rice. They serve it out in a square steamer lined with lotus leaf. The frog was stirred fried and there was definitely wok "air". There were also lily bulbs mixed in (don't mistaken this for onions). I thought this dish was pretty good.
As for the last dish. The chicken was crisp on the outside and the cabbabe was not too salty. It was good but I wish the people I was eating with left more of it.
Definitely go back and try the other dishes. The chef seems to be pretty good and seems like he is bringing more new dishes from China to New York.
...Oh and the restaurant threw in a free slow cooked carrot and pork soup. I don't think you get it if you just order one dish or if they run out. The meal came out to be about a little over $40 without tip. Which was a great deal. Seems like it was packed that night already and it hasn't been open that long.
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The soup at the beginning & for the places that make em the dessert soups at the end are standard at most of the places in Chinatown. How it tastes really depends on luck but they should give it to you and it should be free.
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Yes it has been my experience that it comes standard. But I also have experienced that you sometimes don't get it if you order too little. More so the soup at the beginning. On a busy night they do run out at some restaurants.
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Thanks Brian! I must say, it's going to take me many more crawls to even scratch the surface of what you've hipped me to. Not a bad thing, mind you.
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Ate there again. And this time -- truly amazing. The place was packed. I ordered something from the regular menu, not the menu of specials. In my opinion, it deserves to be at the top of the specials, in big red type. It was "Braised duck with Eight Precious" A generous portion of boneless, skin-on strips of duck breast topped by a mountain of squid, shrimp, scallops, pork, chicken, pea pods, carrots and mushrooms. At the bottom was a rich ducky broth. I think it was indeed braised or steamed, everything was tender and succulent. They didn't give me free soup this time, but when I tasted the duck I didn't care.
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And I couldn't resist going again on Thursday, two days later. A good crowd even in pouring rain. I had the steamed chicken with ham and broccoli. Lovely chicken, like Hainan chicken taken to the next level, beautifully presented in slices mixed with slices of ham (very likely Smithfield ham) and mushrooms, and a velvety sauce intensely flavored with chicken stock. I've become lazy in most restaurants and stick to casseroles. But here the best stuff is outside the casserole section of the menu.
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And again tonight, my fourth visit. Monday, and the place was packed (mostly with Chinese families) I had steamed sliced salmon in black bean sauce. The "slices" were huge salmon steaks, two of them. Atop the steaks was a profusion of tiny black beans, chopped scallions etc and around it (it was served in a deep bowl) a dark savory broth. I've seen fish head served this way, but never fish and certainly never salmon. It was great. And the portion was huge. I just hope they don't decide to cut the portions down in a month or two.
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Was on Jury Duty today, and went to EXCELLENT DUMPLING HOUSE. It was no less, excellent. Had a sizzling pork noodle dish that was spectacular...fried noodles with onions, peppers, and pork, with what tasted like a very nice duck sauce. I was really pleased with everything, despite being somewhat skeptical when walking in. A good solid lunch for 7 bucks.
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Interesting. I gave up on them some time ago. Next door is a smaller, nondescript-looking place with a much more Chinese clientele (the name slips my mind), and if they have duck gizzards, order them on rice (it's not on the menu). I like to get some bak choy in oyster sauce on the rice as well, and the total comes to $6.50, I think.
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It's called Wing Huang, and it's at 111 Lafayette. I've never eaten there but they have a pretty large menu, even elaborate stuff like seafood in a "bird's nest" Last time I looked in, an older woman (the owner) was happily chatting with the customers.
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I get the impression that the portions on that side of town are bigger. There is a place between Lafayette and Broadway on Canal street. You can get a plate of rice with anything on it and they will cook it. I asked for lamb and watercrest on rice and they made it for me. I use to go there for lunch a lot and just made stuff up and they made it and it was pretty good and cheap. Portions were big too. I only recommend it for lunch. It wouldn't be my first choice for dinner, but its a good place to get a meal for a good price.
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Wing Huang (formerly New Wing Wong) is my favorite place in Chinatown for soup noodles. They open early and it fills up quite early, too.
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Wing Huang is great, they have great congee as well. The bbq meats arent bad either.
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Just had Thanksgiving Lunch at Amazing 66. I have to say the service was quite friendly there considering it was in Chinatown. We ordered an order of the juicy pork buns (xiao long bao), pork belly and squid, and Lobster over pan-fried noodles.
I would not order the xiao long bao again. The dough was incredibly heavy with hardly any soup inside. The dipping sauce lacked ginger slices and vinegar. I think the vinegar is necessary to offset the richness of the pork. I really didn't want to order it (especially after the waitress didn't look like she was enthusiastic about it), but my fiance insisted.
The pork belly and squid was good except that the pork belly was cut too thickly and in huge pieces. If it was smaller and thinner, it would have crisped up more, making it easier to eat. I think I chewed one wad of the pork belly for about two minutes before I was able to get it down, almost choking on it. But the squid and the vegetables were absolutely delicious.
The Lobster (i believe it was Cantonese style) was well prepared. When we told the waitress we wanted it with pan-fried noodles as opposed to the lo mein, she perked up quite a bit. I would definitely order it again, though I'm partial to the preparation of lobster with ginger and scallion (cleaner flavors, brings out the lobster flavor more).
Amazing 66 is definitely worth a try. Their menu is quite extensive. We really had a hard time narrowing down our selections. I would stick to the Cantonese dishes; it seems to be a Cantonese restaurant.
It seems that a couple of you received a free soup. Though our lunch bill came to $54 before tip, we didn't receive any freebies except some cut-up oranges with the check.
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I'm glad you tried it and glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it's Cantonese/Hong Kong... which is why they don't know how to do xiao long bao. I don't think Cantonese ever serve thin crisp pork belly, but if you have to chew for two minutes, something's wrong. And, except for once, it's always "No soup for me!", though I've been here often enough they know me by now.
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Somewhat distraught over not being able to make it to my Mom's for Thanksgiving dinner (she's moved out of state) and inspired by your post, I braved the rain to celebrate Thanksgiving at Amazing 66. The place was packed! After a short wait, a table opened up. I ordered the most turkeylike thing, braised duck with mushrooms. Half a duck, skin on, boneless, soooo tender, with heaps of those lovely brown dried mushrooms, each larger than a silver dollar, with a bit of tasty broth which was basically a reduction of the cooking liquid, plus five-spice. I miss the company but the food is almost as good as Mom's. (Hope she is not reading this!)
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You never know, however, when a dish that's not really from the region the restaurant represents will be a winner after all. Congee Village, which is Cantonese, has great scallion pancakes, which I think of as a Shanghai specialty. I also once had great scallion pancakes at a Cantonese place in Canton itself, South Sea Fishing Village. Xiaolongbao seems to have been introduced at many Cantonese dim sum places, and sometimes they're pretty good.
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Brian:
If you're interested, there are several of us who would love to do a couple of dinners (maybe we can at least start with one) in some of the more interesting places you've posted on in Manhattan C'town. My e-mail is posted on my home page here on CH: let me know if you want to do this. Thanks.
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How long before they get sued by JGV?
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Never. "Amazing 66" not "66".
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Hit this place tonight.
When I walked in, at around 6pm or thereabouts, the restaurant was half-full. By the time I left, around 40 minutes later, it was quickly filling up, people lined up at the register waiting for tables.
As is my tendency, I started with a soup: Bean Curd and Seafood. Good, viscous, just short of being overly salty. Creamy bits of BC, lots of sea stuff floating around. Good, but I've had its' equal at any number of places.
My main dish, steamed minced pork with beef and egg yolk (off the specials menu), took about a half hour to reach my table. Perhaps this is how long it should take, but I've gotten steamed dishes in less time. Admittedly, this is my first experience with this dish anywhere, so my comments should be taken with that in mind. The gentleman sitting across from me, who, as it turns out, hails from Canton, said about this dish, "My mother used to make that for me back home". One waitress seemed to be happily surprised that I ordered it. It was good, but my overall feeling was that the saltiness of the beef and egg and the relative sweetness of the pork didn't really gel - they seemed like separate dishes on the same plate. The beef was a little dry also, which led me to believe that my order might have been sitting around for a while before someone finally grabbed it and brought it to me. Then again, perhaps this is the way the dish should taste, and its' just not hitting me at this point.
The service was especially disorganized. The waiters often conferred in a huddle in the middle of the room, and took turns holding bowls and plates over hungry diners with tentative expressions on their faces, as if hoping that they got the table right. That said, they were nice, gracious and friendly, which, in my book, evened out the experience for me.
All that said, I do look forward to returning, given how tantalizing some of the menu items sounded, the previous posts on this thread, and how good everything looked. I'm especially curious about the big pumpkin dish - which is another item on the specials menu and seems to be meant for multiple diners - which, when broken apart, apparently yields a cascading pile of pork ribs.
Happy eating,
P.
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Took Brian S's advice and visited Amazing 66. The hostess and what I assume to be the maitre d' or captain/manager were both extremely nice and solicitous, even chatty, and both were very interested to learn that they are the subject of much chatter on the 'net, both here and elsewhere. (They apparently had no idea).
But after perusing and then ordering from the extensive and interesting menu, something weird happened. The maitre d' laughed in my face! He explained that it was because "Americans never order that stuff -- they're too afraid." I offered the explanation that I'm a chef blah blah blah, and that seemed to justify my eccentricity for them.(Granted, maybe my order was a bit willfully adventurous, but I figured "why go all the way to chinatown for Orange Beef?")
So. First up was frog porridge. An enormous bowl with a pleasantly farina-like consistency and almost no flavor. The House provided soy and a wickedly hot chili paste (like Sriracha on steroids) which improved matters considerably, but it was still a difficult dish to eat, as the frog was at least 70% bones and required quite a bit of manual and oral dexterity, to put it as delicately as I can manage. Slippery and bony don't match well with a westerner's relatively troglodytic chopstick skills, I found. What meat I could wrest from its cage I found to be silky and succulent with a melt-in-your-mouth-no teeth-required quality. And almost no flavor at all. Still, for some reason I rather liked the dish. I almost felt that I had somehow earned its limited pleasures.
Next up was "Crispy Duck Tongues in Garlic Flavor". More cartilaginous than I would have expected, and undersalted for something deep-fried in a cornstarch batter, but a dip in the soy righted all wrongs and rounded out the fattiness. The fact that the dish was spiked with jalapenos and bird chilies didn't hurt either, but rhetorically, is this "authentic"? No matter, they were welcome additions.
Last up was "Crispy Intestine". The menu didn't say and I didn't care, but it was definitely pork. Delicious. Unctuous. Underscored by a carefully considered yet minimalist bed of julienned carrots and batoneed daikon marinated in rice wine vinegar, the perfect foil. This one, to my taste, was improved with a brief visit to the chili paste ( if not for the provided condiments, I may not have enjoyed my meal at all, but they did what condiments rarely do --- they brought everything on the plate into sharper focus rather than laying exraneous flavors on top of the main event.)
Either way, for gracious service, interesting food and a trip away from the quotidian, I highly recommend Amazing 66.
By the way, this whole thing cost $28 and I didn't even come close to finishing it. Bring a friend.
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Regarding the hostesses, yeah, this was my experience as well. They were very solicitous and curious as to how I found out about the place, et al, and - as I mentioned - they were also very friendly. I agree with your credo - why come to Chinatown, especially to a new and highly recommended place - and order something you already know? I, too, want to make a return visit to Amazing 66. That said, I don't think I will be ordering the pork dish I had again. My taste buds are just not there yet. P.
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I'm curious, what pork dish did you order that you didn't like? and what did you not like about it? Maybe we can help you order and make it more of a positive experience.
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If you read my post from 12/3 on this thread, I go more into
detail about it. As I mentioned, this was my first time trying
this dish: Steamed minced pork with beef and egg. The beef seemed
dried out after I got my order, and the flavors of the different
elements didn't coalesce for me - so it was a combination of
things: my particular experience on that night, my lack of
experience with this dish, and the distinct possibility that this
dish is just not for me. Not now anyway. I welcome your feedback.
P.
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I have to take a look at that dish next time I go there. If it was a steamed pork patty it is suppose to be really moist and smooth. I never heard of a steamed pork patty with beef and egg? I'll check out that dish next time I'm there.
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It's on the smaller specials menu. P.
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Made my sixth visit last night. The hostesses remembered me, remembered my name, remembered I'd be leaving town soon for a few months -- remembered it, not because I am especially distinguished, but because they are making an effort to remember EVERYBODY. Based on those visits, my favorite dishes are -- unlike in most restaurants, where I prefer casseroles -- all braised or steamed. They come on huge white porcelain platters, carefully arranged, and succulent and juicy. They are:
Braised duck with 8 things. Two of the 8 things are big shrimps and scallops.
Braised duck with mushrooms. Wonderful duck, great mushrooms.
Braised duck with Buddha's delight. Tried this yesterday. Also mustly duck with mushrooms, but different presentation, looked like one big delicious mound held together by clear, slightly viscous sauce. Wonderful.
Steamed chicken with ham and mushrooms. A famous cantonese dish (golden chicken) I've never had before. Another winner.
Steamed salmon slices with black bean sauce. Also good, with huge salmon steaks. I prefer the fowl, though.
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Maybe I caught this place on an off night. Had the deep fried salt and pepper fish app and it was great. The sauteed veggies were good too. The main courses I found to be underwelming. I had 8 precious duck and all it tasted of was the duck. The pork and seafood had no flavour of their own.The SO had shrimp with ginger and scallions and it was bland. We were very underwelmed The service was fine and the place is spotless but the food though clean tasting was very ordinary.
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