Got a copy of China White's Menu
It's pretty small in selection and in typeface. There are 34 items total, including the sides of rice (which don't appear to come with entrees).
They have dim sum, salads, dumplings, "bao bao bun" sandwiches, rice- and noodle-based dishes, protein-focused specialties and soup, of course. Price-wise, it's kind of what I expected but hoped against for the neighborhood. Just to give you an idea, the Tangerine Beef is $32. Sesame Chicken is $22. The BBQ rib appetizer is $16. Want some chow fun? $16. The dumplings are priced from $8-12 for veg, pork, or shrimp.
The decor is very sleek and modern, like all of the Pennette/CB5 restaurants. It looks like they're serving dishes with mass appeal made with organic ingredients and priced for the trust-fund crowd to eat while they pretend they're at a place in the city. $6 for egg drop soup, and I'll bet it only serves 1. We'll be trying it next week to see if it's worth the price.
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menton1
May 26, 2011 02:06 PM
What I can't understand is how some posters here gasp when I say I like Watermoon and Wild Ginger, but sing the praises of PF Changs. These 2 places, IMO, are WORLDS better than Changs!!
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re: menton1
IMO means just that. (And you mean worlds, not world's, since you chose to correct a previous spelling error of mine.)
I don't think I've heard any gasps, just opinions.
I like Changs and hate Water Moon: partially for food and partially for service reasons.
This is MO. You don't have to understand it.-----
Water Moon
66 Purchase St, Rye, NY 10580-
re: mrsdebdav
menton1
May 26, 2011 03:10 PM
WEll, I have had a couple of very bad experiences at Changs; This is a faux-Chinese chain restaurant, run by Americans, for Americans, and really misses the boat on all levels, from the feigned-upbeatness (nobody can be that happy) of the staff to the horrific statues at the doorway. Changs to me is just a 100% phony experience.
WaterMoon, Wild Ginger, Penang, and Asiana, run by Alan Lee, use fresh ingredients and creative saucing in their innovative menu. It's just about always excellent when I've gone to these places.
P.S. You were correct about the apostrophe. My bad.
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re: menton1
That's so interesting...I have really enjoyed the food at Asiana when I have gone. Didn't realize it was all the same group. I really don't think WaterMoon is so terrific, but I have eaten there and it has been ok. I have been wanting to try Penang. Somehow, just haven't gotten there yet. Don't like PF Changs...just sayin'.
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re: cubanat
Yes, I know as I am a Wild Ginger customer and have stated as such before. I also lived right in the middle of Brooklyn's Chinatown, where pretty much everything is owned by locals who are first- or second-generation immigrants, since before it was called that. What, I can't like something from a chain? I eat everything. No food snobs in my house. We don't want to miss anything.
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re: foodiemom10583
So we finally went to China White for lunch. I agree with MRS. It's good & fun. EXPENSIVE but good. Great iced tea service. Food was fresh and light and we ate a ton. the entrees were a bit safe...the bings, and dumplings were better. ribs were good but again safe and nothing that imperial wok doesn't do. What you are paying for IMO oponion is the china, glass, vibe etc. Service was very nice and attentive but a bit silly only in the sense that everything was a production...house fried wonton skins with house made dipping sauces and the like.
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re: MRS
4 of us was just under $200.00. I forgot to say that the "white on rice" pudding was one of the best versions I have had in a long time. beats city limit's rum raisin even. The entrees were the tangerine beef, the shrimp with jicama (never had that in a chinese resto or even one of menton's asian-fusion places) & roast pork. Overall the highlights were: the rice pudding, the iced tea & the bao (really bings since they were steamed open faced style not the enclosed steamed or baked bao that most are used to)...the shrimp entree was nice and had 10 or 12 good size prawns.
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re: foodiemom10583
Menton-we had almost double the amount of food that we needed so say $25.00. I would do that again in a heartbeat eating better food in a civilized resto. I find the places you speak of no better then pf changs only thing is that they are locally owned. $10 for lunch with drinks, apps, entrees, desserts & coffee?? local, organic, etc?? highly doubt it. enjoy the sysco sushi!!
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re: cubanat
menton1
Jun 30, 2011 07:24 PM
Disagree. The Alan Lee restaurants (Penang, Asiana, Wild Ginger, WaterMoon) are not the same ballpark as PF Chang's. Owned and operated by Chinese people. Food is a lot better. Experience is a lot better. No comparison, IMO. Have always had great meals at all of these places.
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re: cubanat
interesting. I think the last time, at the Greenwich location, the spicy rice was a bit too hot for me- but I don't really love spicy food. So, I may not be the best judge. The Chow fun is awesome, btw- for the next time you go. Not sure if you like that sort of dish. I must agree w/ your response to Menton1. This place is leaps and bounds better.
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re: MRS
I am a huge fan of chow fun at my regular haunts in flushing and the like so I didn't want to be crazy -disappointed by what I got but now I will try it. thanks. I have not been to thye greenwich location only the one in purchase. note we got the pork fried rice notthe one that was "spicy" in the name...
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I drove by China White on my way to PF Chang's last night around 6:30 and there was one car in the parking lot and three on the road. Chang's on the other hand was mobbed. Say what you want about this chain, but I've never had a bad meal there.
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re: byramgirl
Robotron
Jun 20, 2011 03:26 PM
I have to disagree on PF Chang's. My last few business meals there have been disasters. In particular, I ordered stir fry squid on my last meal and it came out a mushy mess. I guess if I can like Olive Garden, then there are people who like PF Chang's. LOL
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BAFU
May 24, 2011 11:15 AM
Yeah they had the duck. At least I HOPE it was duck!!! Who knows...it tasted OK.
Maybe foodiemom can take me back next time, her treat. Way way WAY too expensive.
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Went tonight and it's pretty easy to see what the whole game plan is.
Very simply, you are paying for a an upscale-ish setting, chill music on the sound system, a one-page menu and organic ingredients or whatever it is they are trying to sell.
With Chinese restaurants and takeout places literally littering Westchester, is it worth spending twice as much as any of those places for what you get?
I don't see it. The food was good, but nothing spectacular to go stark raving nuts and choose this place over any other normal Chinese place.
My wife ordered the tangerine beef, which just about every Chinese restaurant has, but these guys charge $32! Yes, the rice is $2, whether white or brown, but we did not opt for any. The chow fun was fine, a bit spicy, but again, nothing to go nuts for.
You did get unlimited refills, it seems, of your soft drink. And when your bill comes, you get a cotton candy wrapped around a paper cone, a trick done by Lolita's Mexican restaurant in Byrum, CT.
I just can not see how people will forgo their favorite local Chinese places to pay through the nose at this one. It reminds me of the China Grill, which occupied the bottom floor of the CBS Building on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan for many years, except I remember that place had a broader menu.
It's checkbook dining. It's not for students. It's for the wealthy residents of Purchase and Harrison, and probably business lunches for Pepsico executives.
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China Grill
1040B Park Blvd, Massapequa Park, NY 11762›1 Reply -
BAFU
May 23, 2011 09:28 AM
And here are my 2c on China White: holy crap it's expensive. And it's so expensive that it should taste MUCH better than what I had on Sat night. Not to say that it isn't good, but at the prices they are charging it should be 1 hell of a lot better.
2 soups...$15
1 duck salad...$15 (small small SMALL)
1 spare ribs...$16
2 main courses...$60 (!!!!!)
Insult to injury- here's your rice, sir...that'll be $4So $110 BEFORE tax, tip, drinks...I think I made to $140+. Come on!
On principle (and budgetary reasons) I didn't order dessert. I won't be going back again because of the prices. Food is good to pretty good though, but if I need a Chinese "fix" I've got both Central Seafood & Aberdeen all close by.
Come on CW, your prices are stupid high. And quite frankly the food's not THAT amazing...for that price.
Flame away....
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re: BAFU
Funny that you had the duck salad-- I was there Friday night and they said they don't have the Peking Duck or Duck salad yet, since the oven for the ducks is not installed yet. They didn't have drinks because they didn't get their license yet. And, they didn't have the cotton candy dessert-- I don't remember the reason. BAFU, I'm surprised all this changed by Saturday night.
All that said, the food that we did have was very good. The menu is very limited. The scallion pancake was excellent. The chopped chicken salad is tasty, nice dressing and very fresh. The rice vermicelli (aka mei fun in other restaurants) was good and plenty to share. The shrimp were large and good. Will I go again-- probably-- but there is so little variety and the prices are high for what you get, that I won't be there often.
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re: menton1
You're funny! I figure that they may survive through the summer with golfers and Performing Arts Center visitors. They may make it through the beginning of the semester as well with the college crowd wanting to try it (not on a SUNY professor's salary, though) or have some drinks. The shine will probably wear off by late October. I'd say they'll stay open until the end of January.
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re: foodiemom10583
menton1
May 23, 2011 09:34 AM
College crowd? This is a State University, not Columbia or Yale... disposable income of students at Purchase probably doesn't allow for a splurge here (And according to reports, not even worth a splurge) . The college crowd will probably stop at the Cobblestone...
Execs at Pepsico, perhaps? Nah, they're off to La Panetiere in Rye or Tarry Lodge...
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Tarry Lodge
18 Mill St, Port Chester, NY 10573-
re: menton1
Menton, I was a Purchase student. If I was still there, I'd go once and have the cheapest entree and a drink (if they didn't proof me back then). That's what I meant. You've still got Manhattanville right over there as well, so those trust fund babies that couldn't get into Columbia and Yale will be trying it, too, plus the Adult Ed students at both. Additionally, you'll have the parents coming up to visit on the weekends looking for a close place to take the kids out.
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menton1
May 16, 2011 11:38 AM
We should have a group outing to China Grill, in NYC, and queue up in the China White parking lot! Lol.
(See my pricing comparisons above)
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re: MRS
I came thisclose to ordering food from there on Thursday and just couldn't do it. We had a friend visiting and if I had placed the order at China White, it would've been $119 before tax for take-out for 4. We ended up getting food from Imperial Wok (recently recommended on ChowHound) and had a great meal with leftovers for $70. Everything was first-rate except for the leaden dumplings.
I will still try China White's food eventually and hope that it has quite a bit of bang for the buck.
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Imperial Wok
736 N Broadway, White Plains, NY 10603-
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re: kdgchow
We didn't have access to anything but the "Allmenus" menu, so probably not.
I had the Spiced Shredded Beef and it reminded me of a dish I used to get at a now-defunct place in Hartsdale (Schechuan Garden?). Really good. Husband had the Hunan Chicken and loved it. Son had the King Doe Pork Chops and gnawed right through them. Guest had Vegetable Fried Rice and Chicken Lo Mein. Both were quite tasty, as we found out the next day. The pork pan fried dumplings were a miss.
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re: MRS
Marge
May 16, 2011 04:23 PM
I find this another sad commentary on the dearth of quality Chinese food in Westchester--while I believe your dinner was delicious, I also believe it was at least double the cost it should have been. As I wrote previously, I would rather spend the extra money in gas and tolls to get authentic fabulous Chinese food at fair prices.
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re: foodiemom10583
foodie, I don't think they do have a website. (I know you didn't ask me, and maybe Menton will find it for you.). For now, http://www.zagat.com/r/watermoon-rye/...
I went once or twice when it opened a number of years ago. Loud, expensive, not veg friendly. Just sayin. -
re: foodiemom10583
Not a website for Water Moon specifically, but here is the menu...
http://www.allmenus.com/ny/rye/146662...
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Water Moon
66 Purchase St, Rye, NY 10580-
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re: foodiemom10583
menton1
May 17, 2011 03:56 PM
foodiemom, Watermoon is the same management as Wild Ginger and Penang. Similar menus. Very fresh food. VERY VEG FRIENDLY, lots of salads and vegetable dishes, veg dumplings are awesome. I've always had a nice experience there. It's slightly more expensive than Penang but about on par with Wild Ginger.
It's a much nicer layout than WG in Bronxville, a gorgeous fountain and lovely knicknacks and lighting. Yes, it's Asian Fusion, but so is China White's menu. MUCH less expensive than CW.
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re: menton1
Menton- with all your raving about Watermoon I thought maybe I had overlooked something years ago when I crossed it off my list. I went for lunch last week and it was worse than ever- the food was mediocre, at best, the service was awful-- the waiter seemed annoyed that he had to serve us. The menus were filthy and the place seemed dingy. ick! they are crossed off my list again.
Penang, in Greenwich, I like and frequent. The food is good, service is good but the place is VERY small so you have to time it right to get in. I wouldn't call it Chinese food-- it's asian-fusion.
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re: MRS
I'm glad you had a great meal there and don't doubt the food is well-made, but man, those prices...
I guess I can't get past the notion that Chinese is a relatively low-cost cuisine, especially with the explosion of region-specific places in the NYC area. Spending $32 on a Chinese-American standard like tangerine beef - no matter how well-made - just doesn't seem right to me.
How were the portion sizes - were the entrees family-style? How many dumplings and beef bao buns to an order?
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re: kdgchow
I am realizing that gigantic portions don't matter as much to me as good, high-quality food. The food just felt "clean" to me. That said, the tangerine beef was enough for us to finish. I think it was a fine size for 2 people who had ordered other dishes. We tend to eat alot so we ordered 4 items. Some people might be satisfied with a dish, and app and rice to share. Hard to say. The bao bao was an order of 3 and the dumplings were 4.
The prices are indeed higher than other Chinese in the area, but most of the time we end up spending $50 on Chinese food that we don't even enjoy, so this wasn't so outrageous to me. -
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menton1
May 9, 2011 04:59 PM
OMG. $7 for Hot & Sour Soup! (For one) Pork Dumplings, $10.
China Grill, the high-end Chinese Resto in the city, one of the most expensive Chinese places in NYC, is actually CHEAPER or on par with this place.
SpareRibs:
China White: $16
China Grill: $15.75Fried Rice:
China White $10
China Grill $9http://www.chinagrillmgt.com/restaura...
Will be a big surprise if this place can sustain these prices in Purchase, NY!
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re: menton1
I have such fond memories of being a student at Purchase in the 80s.
Back then, as a kid without a car or a credit card, the nearest ATM required a bus ride into White Plains. We were allowed to cash one check per day (up to $15) at the student center. We would walk to the Hilltop (I think back then it was George's Hilltop) for a late dinner. Blue cheese bacon burgers on poppyseeded Kaiser rolls, onion rings, the beer of choice for the night, and then Ms. Pacman until we couldn't keep our eyes open. We probably spent more on the game than we spent on the food and it was all great. Having good, reasonable, off-campus food was such a treat. Times sure have changed.
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re: menton1
Don't forget Brooklyn! Brooklyn Chinatown is awesome, too!
Four of us went to East Harbor Seafood Palace on 65th Street two weeks ago for dim sum. We parked for free half a block away. It was a huge space and almost every table was taken on a late Friday morning. We had over a dozen fabulous dishes (clams with black bean sauce, freshly-made tofu, sticky rice, siu mai, etc.) and spent about $75. For the same money at China White, we would've gotten their two beef entrees. Insane.
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Marge
May 6, 2011 10:59 AM
Their menu is posted on their facebook page. Seriously, $6 for egg drop soup? $12 for lomein? I think with gas and tolls it would still be cheaper to travel to Flushing for REAL Chinese food--I will pass on this joint...
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re: Marge
menton1
May 6, 2011 11:47 AM
Americans don't go for REAL Chinese food for the most part. They use every single part of the carcass, nothing is wasted.
M & T on Kissena Blvd. is a very authentic Qingdao region Chinese resto in Flushing...
http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/0...
A Chinese person there told me that in the Americanized chinese places everywhere, they use the same sauce for everything, they just tweak it a bit for the dish and use different proteins and vegetables.,..
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re: mrsdebdav
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re: Marge
Thanks, Marge! You're a doll.
Those prices are stratospheric, and even funnier when you consider the owners are trying to attract students from Purchase and Manhattanville. Unless those kids have already made their first 5 million from a dorm-room internet start-up, they aren't going to China White. And I really doubt Pepsico will sign off on multi-hundred expense account chits! Don't mean to be gratuitously negative, but I really don't get the menu, the prices and, most of all, the owners' thought process. But what do I know...
"China White hopes to draw the from Purchase's corporate crowd during lunch hours, but will also stay open late for the nearby college students from nearby SUNY Purchase and Manhattanville College. Chinese drinks will also be available at the restaurant's sushi bar to go with appetizers and other menu items.
"We're not going to rock it out, but I think both those universities represent kind of a cool, artsy, student," Pennette said."
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