The End Times are nigh: you can visit ONE restaurant in Chinatown and order but ONE dish ...

[budgetrick]

Where would you go?
What would you order?
Why?

[Pan]

I think I'd go with the roast duck at Noodletown, which I have been eating about twice a week lately and had some of for lunch today. Why? Because it's freakin great! What other reason could there be? :-)

[pravit]

I'd get the house special chicken at Congee Village on Bowery, or the equivalent dish at Sing Kee or the other family style Cantonese restaurants in the neighborhood. The chicken skin is so delicate and crispy it almost falls off the meat, and they top it with tons of fried garlic.

Failing that, I'd get a country style duck from either of the Bo Ky restaurants.

[jdoo]

Soft shell crab (only when in season!) at great NY noodle town

[Polecat]

First thought Best thought: I'd load up on coconut buns from Mei Li Wah, store as many as I could in my fallout- proof bunker and probably bury one in a time capsule.

The other, more likely scenario is that I'd probably eat the lot on the F train home.
P

[Lau]

actually thats a good one, their cocktail buns (coconut buns) are very good

[budgetrick]

Hey - "time machine" people - just kidding about the End Times. No need to run back in time. Really, stay here, be now ... it's all OK. And, everyone, thanks for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming!

[Phil Ogelos]

As long as there are no meteorites falling to earth, I'll have time to try all these places. Oh, no, wai

[SomeRandomIdiot]

As long as we have a time machine...

An order of wontons from Bamboo Garden

or

some of those dense dumplings that South Wind used to sell in the foam coffee cups, with a dash of pepper and a lot of the Red Devil hot sauce.

[sagetom]

The Twice Cooked Pork Chengdu Style at Famous Szechuan. To continue the time machine theme,,,,,,Cold Noodles at Hwa Huan on East Broadway circa 1982.

[mwhitmore]

Do you mean Famous Sichuan, 10 Pell Street? If so, I can't find Twice Cooked Pork on the menu. There is Double Sautéed Pork for lunch, and Fresh Bacon for dinner. Am I missing something?

[sagetom]

Sorry my language was imprecise. Yes it is the place at 10 Pell. I was referencing the Double Sauteed Pork at lunch time. I would assume that the Fresh Bacon dish would be much more fatty and less cooked which may displease some. Enjoy!

[mwhitmore]

Would not displease me! I hear/tell that Twice Cooked Pork was originally made with 'fresh bacon', i.e. pork belly, boiled and then fried. Later, it was Americanized with leaner pork to cater to round-eyes fat phobia. I always get waiters trying to talk me out of the 'good stuff'!

[Lau]

in chinese its called hui guo rou which literally translates to return pot meat, basically you're cooking it twice as you said (once boiled then stir fried). It is supposed to used a pretty fatty cut of pork.

they translate it weird here sometimes, sometimes its called enhanced pork, twice cooked pork, double sauteed etc etc. it's all the same dish just with poor english translations

its a really awesome dish as you've realized

[Chandavkl]

Probably the rice noodle logs at Yummy Noodle. But I'd really grab the $2.75 Flushing bus on Division St.

[Lau]

ure talking about cheung fan the rolled up kind?

go get those at poon kee, they do a good job on those
https://www.lauhound.com/2011/03/poon...

[sgordon]

Oh, that's a hard one... No way to narrow it to one...

Jicama Siu-Chow at Ping's - just a wonderful tangle of flavors and textures
Mount Qi Pork Noodles at Xi'an - that sauce, oh man.
Hand-pulled noodles at Lam Zhou on East Broadway - best hand-pulled in Chinatown IMHO.
Preserved Duck & Taro casserole at Fuleen - I know... not a seafood dish for them, weird. But this dish is one my favorite winter warmers...

Why? Because they're flippin' delicious.

[Lau]

a bowl of pork and thousand year egg congee with a you tiao at ny noodletown

the reason being is that a) i love congee, its delicious, homey and simple and b) congee is the one dish that NY's chinatown really does well. You would find that congee here tastes very similar to how congee tastes in hong kong

[Lesliepbg]

Chicken with black mushroom congee--@ Congee.

[Polecat]

Not sure if this would be my choice but I took an order home after the lion dances and agree that it is excellent.
P

[grampart]

Peking duck at The Peking Duck House because I've never been there and it's on my bucket-list.

[foodwhisperer]

They used to ring a gong there if someone ordered the Peking Duck. These days the Peking Duck House midtown is the better restaurant.

[jen223]

big wong
beef chow fun
i've been enjoying it's beefy greasy deliciousness since the age of 8!

although in the cold, i do always crave xi'an famous food's spicy cumin lamb noodle soup.

[swannee]

One dish is hard! With cold weather either the big plate of chicken with hand pulled noodles at Spicy Village(aka Henan Taste) or the pork belly with pickled mustard greens at Congee Village (mei cai kou rou). Or..........

[Motosport]

I'd go back in a time machine, go to Lin's Garden and order Lin's Garden Chow Fun!!!
Oh, how I miss that dish!!
Paul Simon even sang about it in "Paranoia Blues"

[foodwhisperer]

Motosport,,, one day in Lin's Garden a homeless guy came in and grabbed a handful of my lo main

[Motosport]

Probably at 1 AM!! I can see it clearly.

[Motosport]

Since I've got my time machine I'd go to Fu Joy for some Fukienese pork chops marinaded in that red stuff. I can taste them now.
I'd walk back past the kitchen and do a little gambling too!!