Yummy Noodle or Ah Wah for Claypot?

[brooklynmasala]

I was so excited to try Ah Wah for Claypot until I read the downhill alert posts on this board. Now I'm wondering if I should go to Yummy Noodle or Ah Wah for Claypot? Is Ah Way still on downhill alert?

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Yummy Noodles
48 Bowery, New York, NY 10013

A-Wah
5 Catherine St, New York, NY 10038

[HoraceGrills]

You should definitely go to A-wah, Even if the food is not so good, it's a good experience and it isn't too expensive. Yummy noodles is American-Cinese, A-wah is the real deal.

[scoopG]

It appears that Noodle Village is now the place to go for the claypot rice meal. Can you compare the two? There has been a downhill alert on A-Wah for at least two years.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/811540
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/865403
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/724549

[Lau]

yummy noodle and a-wah have both very markedly gone downhill to the point where i dont think either of them are even worth going to

noodle village is def better than either of them for bo zai fan; their version is fairly decent although not amazing

unfortunately, NY doesn't have a real good bo zai fan place anymore

[kathryn]

Anybody tried South China Garden's claypot rice?

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South China Garden
22 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

[Lau]

its alright, its probably better than a-wah or yummy noodle at this point, but probably worse than noodle village

[john959]

South China Garden rice casserole yesterday was disappointing. I ordered the eel with black bean sauce version, which I have had several times before. In the past, it came in a claypot, and the rice was perfect. It was cooked onto the sides of the claypot and had to scraped off and eaten in clumps and sheets. Yesterday, the rice casserole came in a metal pan! As one would expect, the rice didn't stick well to the metal pan. The eel was fresh and perfectly cooked, so it wasn't a bad lunch, simply not as good as on prior occasions. In the future, I will ask for a claypot when I place my order, although that shouldn't be necessary.

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South China Garden
22 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

[Lau]

hmm thats odd

[kathryn]

A-Wah has definitely gone downhill.

I like Noodle Village.

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Noodle Village
13 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

A-Wah
5 Catherine St, New York, NY 10038

[brooklynmasala]

Is Noodle Village good for Chinese casserole dishes? I read some reviews and no one had mentioned casseroles.

Thanks

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Noodle Village
13 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

[kathryn]

I didn't know they were known for clay pot rice until my aunt took me there and ordered it. I really liked it! I think a lot of people don't know they have it.

[diprey11]

It's one of the best in the Manhattan Chinatown, if a little bit unconventional

[kathryn]

Do you like anywhere else, diprey11?

[diprey11]

Not recently, sorry.

IMHO, Noodle Village is one of the best simple Cantonese-style eateries and lunch spots (not quite a competition to Cantoon Garden) in everything except roast meats.

I love Big Wong King too ( and their food quality is back on the rise), but not for bo zai fan.

[Lau]

im actually starting to think noodle village is one of the better restaurants in chinatown, im going to write another post on it soon...although i dont think it is the bo zai fan that is the star although they do serve better bo zai fan than a-wah or yummy noodle, which have both gone downhill fairly drastically

[kathryn]

Apparently they have a 2nd branch now in Flushing at the New World Mall, according to their Yelp page.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/noodle-village-new-york
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/785435

[Lau]

interesting...ive been going there alot and they do good business on the weekends, the place is always full of cantonese people

[diprey11]

Of course, pei daan dumplings in soup! A fairly decent noodle selection (they know what laai fan is) and a well-made broth! A decent old-style shrimp-base sauce instead of tons and tons of MSG!
Not revolutionary: just back to normal HK fare.
BTW, Big Wong King is back! Just MHO.

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Big Wong
67 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

[Lau]

haha i havent tried the pidan dumplings, but now that you mentioned them i will!

what dish did you have lai fen in? i havent had those type of noodles in a long time

i agree, its nothing revolutionary, but it is pretty decent HK style food and thats actually hard to find in ctown now.

[diprey11]

I had laai fan in soup for lunch. I am not quite sure if I was excited about the roast meat but the noodles were fairly well-made and the broth was excellent (by C-Town standards). I even asked the owner they make their own noodle: the answer was no, it I decoded correctly. :-) But at least they serve it. And I personally prefer laai fan to mai fan most of the times, except for fishcakes or for pei daan dumplings, :-) which they also call black (haak) dumplings on their menu. Enjoy!

Actually you were the first to draw my attention to their bo zai fan. Thank you so much for that, among a million other things!