HELP!!!!!!!!!! Best Chinese Take-out in NoHo / Village / LES / SoHo?????

[Kave_man]

What is the absolute best Chinese takeout in NoHo / E. Village / LES / SoHo?

I no longer trust, Yelp, Menupages, or other shilled sites

I am not a snob...

-just want standard Chinese that actually looks good when it arrives
-uses white breast meat (no parts, giblets or riblets)
-doesnt have layer of oil floating in sauce
-Fried is actually a layer, and not just coagulated globs of flour/grease with speck of meat
-arrives fast; without rude staff
-doesnt cost $19 with tip for one order!

If you can do an order of big dumplings, Sweet & Sour chicken, General Tso, or Sesamee Chicken that doesnt look like frozen TV dinner!

I find Suzi , Sammy, and the other St. Marks traps to be utterly gross. Unfortunately, good Chinatown places dont seem interested in delivery.

Suzis delivered a slimy / raw chicken hunan, that made me gag last night. They are truly hit & miss with Mon-Wed...unedible and late Fri/Sat OK.

Sorry for rant...but UES / UWS Chinese takeout is truly amazing compared to this downtown slop.

Thanks

[Kave_man]

OK...honey moon over..ha, ha

Ordered a Chicken in Garlic sauce...and it was worse than Suzi/Sammy

Literally thought it was a soup order; rubbery chicken strips; discolored vegs; oil pool on top...

Inconsistency is really what Chinese food needs to address to outgrow take-out roots

[howdini]

Heh. You're bound to get a clunker at some point, wherever you go. Stick with what you know is good; I think it's best to order the Sichuan dishes from these places, as that's what they do best. Follow the recs from LeahBella, MVNYC, Katryn & Pan and you'll probably be pretty happy.

[Kave_man]

OK

Tried the Gran Sichuan St. Marks

........And it was EPIC!

Ordered their General Tso and it litrally was the best I ever had after 20yrs in NYC!

Crisp, perfect chicken chunks (white meat, didnt have to ask), very good sauce (no oil) and fluffy rice; enjoyed every single piece and ran out of rice! Usually, with chinese...you have ur fill and leave some & rice 1/4 left.

This was amazing!!!!!

Now I am going to slit my wrists for having the best Chinese 7 blocks away and not knowing it for last 6 yrs !

Thanks Chow Hound

[Pan]

Glad you enjoyed.

[uwsister]

Huh - I actually love General Tso's Chicken. I'll have to try it there - I would've never thought to do it. Thanks for the report back!

[Kave_man]

So......I tried Gran Sichuan on 7th

Ordered the General Tso chicken (white meat requested); they said extra $2 for delivery to my area, $11.80 all in for a Small

They forgot the white rice (is that extra?!)

Anyway, it was good. BIG Chunks of chicken breast (like 10+); sauce was rich and had 15 red peppers in it. No oil; and nice broccoli. General Tso is supposed to have a crisp texture; this was more of a baked/saucy.

The chicken was good enough to stand alone; even without rice; and small portion was perfect.

Wouldnt say this is best General Tso on the planet; but clearlly better than Suzi/ Sammys, as ingredients were better, and sauce was excellent.

Will try St. Mark too...

[kathryn]

Not all entrees there come with rice. Check the menu on Menupages, some large entrees do come with rice. A lot of the Chinese American ones do not.

[Pan]

Try their Kung Bao Chicken. I always have them specially make it extra spicy, but it's actually OK when they make it "normal."

[Oliverstreet]

Best Chinese delivery/takeout in that area is Chinatown Brasserie. We order from them all the time, and while it's Americanized, the ingredients are fresh, and there's not a big mystery meat factor going on.

I've sampled most of the menu, and the Crispy Beef is probably my favorite. Also, they give you the option of brown rice, which is nice.

[Kave_man]

I am at Lafayette / Houston....

People rave about this Grand Sichuan on 7th....I will try it.

Is Charlie Mom good?

[AubWah]

No

[small h]

<Is Charlie Mom good?>

Charlie Mom is closed, as per my SO, who walked by it yesterday.

[kathryn]

The people who rave about Grand Sichuan on 7th Ave are likely not ordering what you are ordering -- they are getting Sichuan items like wontons in red oil, tea smoked duck, mapo tofu, cumin beef, dan dan noodles, etc.

They have the same ownership as Grand Sichuan St Marks, between 2nd and 3rd.

[Kave_man]

Actually a fair amount are saying it has best General Tso ever...on Yelp (for what thats worth)

But I hear you, ;-)

[kathryn]

Have you tried Grand Sichuan St Marks, already?

[Kave_man]

No, I assumed St. Marks spots are just nyu dive / tourist traps...

Is it good?

[kathryn]

Yes, it's very good, I think better than the 7th Ave one, but I only ever get the Sichuan dishes not the Chinese-American dishes. Give it a try.

[Kave_man]

So whats a good chicken or beef dish....as long as its quality beef and chicken I will eat it

-Spicy Empress Chicken
-Gran Sichuan Beef
-Hunan Beef or Chicken?
-Chong Qing Dry & Spicy Chicken
-Minced Chicken w/ green pepp & Veg

??

Im not a cookie cutter / wonder bread !

[LeahBaila]

Chong Qing Spicy Chicken: take a look and see if Hot Kitchen delivers to you. Hands down, that's the best version of the dish that I've had in the city.

[MVNYC]

Cumin Flavor Beef and Chongqing Chicken are staples for me. If you like spicy get the wontons in hot oil.

[kathryn]

They are known for their Gui Zhou Spicy Chicken. I like it a lot. But I also like dark meat chicken. So I'm not sure you would like it. I have no idea what they use!

[Pan]

You like spicy food with lots of chilis in it? If so, order the Empress Chicken. It's delicious fried chicken with hot peppers. I like all the other dishes you list, but the Empress Chicken is probably the least unusual for someone who's used to typical Chinese-American takeout.

[Pan]

I'm sure Congee Bowery would deliver to you.

[Pan]

You didn't say where you live, but I live on E 7 St., and Congee Village delivers to me. Ask them to use only white meat in their chicken dishes. That's not to Chinese taste, but I think they will do it if you ask.

I was going to mention Grand Sichuan St Marks and Xian Famous Foods, but I don't think you'd like their cuisine because they use red oil and don't dedicate themselves to American-style or Cantonese Chinese food. The sesame chicken at Grand Sichuan St Marks is just OK, nothing special, but people do order their American-Chinese food. I don't think it's any better than average, though. See if Congee Village will deliver; they're probably the best bet for some of the dishes you like, though I wouldn't be too sure their dumplings would be that good, and you might hate their genuinely hot and sour Hot & Sour Soup!

[michelleats]

>>I was going to mention Grand Sichuan St Marks and Xian Famous Foods, but I don't think you'd like their cuisine because they use red oil

Exactly what I was going to say. Authentic Sichuan may not be a good bet for the OP, since he doesn't like oil. That layer of red, spicy hot oil is actually meant to be there.

But I do wonder if he'd like the pork or lamb "burgers" at Xi'an.

[loratliff]

Are you within the delivery range of the Grand Sichuan on 8th Avenue? They deliver to much of the West Village, not sure about further east though. Pretty good.

Don't order from Dang Lai Palace on Third Avenue though. That was disgusting.