Yogee Noodle

[Pan]

I was part of a party of three for lunch at Yogee today. My dining partners had unusual dietary restrictions, so I wonder if we ordered wrong for the place. Here's what we got (cut and pasted from their menupages.com menu):

154. Fillet Bass W. To-fu In Casserole (very good fish, good dish)

214. Buddhist Delight (not very interesting; Congee Village's rendition, with tree fungus and ginkgo nuts, is much better)

223. Steamed Chicken W. Black Mushroom (tasted good, but had a thick layer of grease on the bottom, and the chicken pieces were unusually bony - "joints," as my friend said)

My preliminary impression, based on this visit, is that Yogee seems clearly inferior to places like Congee Village, Congee, and Wing Shoon - whereupon, I wonder why it comes in for such high praise here (which is why I went today). But was the problem that I didn't stick to noodles and seafood, perhaps?

[SomeRandomIdiot]

I came to the same conclusion awhile ago. I didn't like any of the items I tried or even the stewed beef noodle soup that everyone else seems to like.

[Pan]

Why is it so hard to find negative comments about this place? When I did a search, the only negative comment I remember seeing was a claim that the place wasn't very clean, and maybe someone said something about service. (It was certainly clean enough, and we had no service problems.)

I think there's a little bit of a Zagat problem here. Zagat ratings are skewed because people who don't like a restaurant usually go there only once, whereas those who like it go repeatedly. Here, people who like a restaurant tout it repeatedly, whereas those who don't like it don't pan it every time someone touts it. I'm guilty of that, too. I have had less than mind-blowing experiences at places like Fleur de Sel, 11 Madison Park, and Jean-Georges (good and a fair value, but no 4-star experience), but I won't make myself obnoxious by deprecating the places every time someone recommends them. I think this echo-chamber effect is exacerbated by the fact that there are no enforced dedicated threads on particular restaurants.

So what's the solution? Before going to each place, post a thread eliciting positive and negative comments? I think I'm going to do that from now on, time allowing.

[Chandavkl]

Well some things are very very good (beef stew noodles, seafood casserole), some aren't and they're not entirely consistent. This was Mrs. Chandavkl's favorite Chinatown restaurant in January but now she doesn't want to go back. The right dishes on a good day are excellent. But I can see how somebody could also be less than impressed by Yogee.

[scoopG]

I've usually had the noodle dishes there and have always found it to be very clean.

[Lau]

i went to yogee today to finally try their beef stew noodles. I thought it was good, but it wasn't great and didn't live up to the hype (i think ive read about the place too much).

the beef itself is pretty decent although if uve ever had the real deal then you'd know that this is not even close, that said, it was pretty tender and flavorful with the good kind of melt in your mouth fat. The soup was decent, they went a little overboard on star anise and it kind of overpowered the broth and there also wasn't the level of complexity that great soup broth has (generally from simmering bones for a very long time). They didn't kill it with too much salt or msg which was good. The noodles were okay, they overcooked them so they were a little on the mushy side.

Overall, it was pretty good, but i dont think its a place id go to very often just based on that.

[Pan]

Whose beef stew noodles do you like? What do you think of the beef stew at New York Noodletown? I like the taste.

[Lau]

u know i unfortunately havent had a proper stewed beef noodle in NY...i generally try to compare things on an absolute basis not relative. I've had some good ones at home and I had an amazing one in HK last time i was there, but those are available here haha

ill have to try NY Noodletown's again, if i were to bet w/o trying i bet they do a good job...i remember having it a really long time ago and thinking it was pretty decent, but it was so long ago that i dont want to comment w/o re-trying it...i almost always order the same thing at NY Noodletown shrimp wonton noodle soup with cha siu on top (reminds me of being a kid), so maybe ull get me to break my habit! haha

[Pan]

The nature of the cut means that there is some very chewy, fibrous content in the beef stew at NY Noodletown, but I like the taste, with the ginger and star anise and all. I should add that the beef stew as a side dish has much more taste than the beef stew noodles there, though I like those, too.

But there is no way to find Cantonese food in Manhattan that would be considered very good in Hong Kong, is there? I have only been to Hong Kong once so far, but even a hole-in-the-wall streetfront takeout vegetarian dim sum stall I ran into in Tsim Sha Tsui turned out to be great - so great that this omnivore returned twice for more delicious mock-meat dishes. And then there were the curried fishballs on the Kowloon side of the Star Ferry, so cheap and so delicious. :-)

[Lau]

no there is definitely not haha, but im never expecting that...oh man i love spicy curry fishballs, i had an amazing version at this hole in the wall noodle shop my friend took me to right when i got off the plane...im making myself hungry

anyhow, the cut of meat should lend itself to being extremely tender if prepared right due to its fairly high fat content, their meat isnt bad, it just isn't how it should be...if u have it done right, its melt in your mouth all the way through. But, I had more issue with their broth than their meat, i thought the broth was way overpowered by the star anise and that it was sort of one dimensional...dont get me wrong b/c it was alright, but could be much better even by NY standards

[kobetobiko]

Hi Pan,

Being half Japanese and half Cantonese, I have spent most of my childhoods in Japan and Hong Kong and still go back every year at least once or twice. In terms of the Cantonese food in Manhattan, a lot of the places are still serving food that is popular in the 70's or 80's and can no longer keep up with the more contemporary Cantonese food style in Hong Kong. For instance, dim sum here are often with thick skins and too saucy in big portion, with the goal to fill you up rather than offering sophisticated flavors and presentations. I agree with Lau that most food isn't up to the average standard of what you can find in Asia. The soup dumplings in Joe's Shanghai, the wonton at NY Noodletown, the dim sum at Jing Fong, all these popular restaurants in Manhattan Chinatown will be average at most (or even below average) if they were in Hong Kong. That said, I am not saying that people should stop eating in ctown. You just have to accept and take the best a place can offer. It is like I just can't find any dry-aged steaks or pastrami in Asia as I can find in NYC.

One place that I do think is up to the standard of old-schoold Hong Kong restaurant is Big Wong. Their congee and bbq is very much similar to what I had in Hong Kong when I was small. Their congee, in particular, is definitely up there with some of the better Hong Kong places. Their soy sauce chicken and boiled chicken with ginger and scallion sauce are what they should taste like. They are old school styled though, so it's not like Congee Village, but they do congee and bbq the way they should be done.

I don't care about other dishes that Big Wong serve, like the rice crepes and fried crullers (poor), and the wonton (ok soup, poor wonton).

Another hole in the wall places that have decent Chiu Chow styled marinated ducks and pig offals (intestines, kidneys, etc.) is Bo Ky. Can't compare to the best in Hong Kong, but I think they can totally do well as a neighborhood to-go place.

[Lau]

I agree with kobetobiko about congee...it is the one of the things that manhattan ctown does right...they can't get the you tiao (fried crueller) right, but the congee itself is good.

I like big wong's congee, but I usually go to wing huang on lafayette, I like their pork and pidan congee quite a bit. I've actually been meaning to do a side by side comparison to figure out whether theirs is better or big wong's is better.

the chiu chow food is alright here although they are prob some of the better restaurants in ctown, but ive had much better in LA (i dont remember having it in HK although its possible i have b/c there is obviously a substantial chiu chow population there)

[Pan]

I'm going to have to go back to Big Wong. I ordered wrong several years ago, was totally underwhelmed, and haven't been back. Bo Ky is a standby for me, especially when I want a quick noodle soup on cold winter days. It's a really good value!

Thanks for the recs, you two.

[Lau]

bo ky and new chao chow are both pretty solid, try the duck at new chao chow its better than bo ky

like kobetobiko said, id stick to bbq and congee at big wong

[Pan]

Time for a trip to Chao Chow. I haven't been there in years, for no particular reason.

[Lau]

it is good, try their hu tieu noodle soup (rice stick), there is one that has a bunch of stuff in it, i forgot what its called..but its tasty

they also have awesome chili oil (both chao chow and bo ky...bo ky's is better though) that has shrimp paste in it, its much better than regular chili oil

[Lau]

i think the place is specifically known for its stewed beef noodle soup and some of its herbal drinks

ive been procrastinating for forever, i need to go there...my new apt is in the LES, so ctown trips will become very frequent