Recommendations: Sautéed Pea Shoots with Garlic, Typhoon-Style Seafood, and Peking Pork Chops…read more
Major note: I really wish I could give this place a 3.5, as 3 seems a bit harsh. Rating is for the neighborhood/in Chinatown, it'd probably drop another half a star. Also, there is a 10% cash discount, which helps with the prices here.
I hosted a relatively large dinner, or at least by American standards, with seven others at this new Cantonese spot a couple of days ago. As the name suggests, they are related to Wu's Wonton King on the outskirts of Chinatown near East Broadway, with the owner being a former owner of that restaurant. In comparison, this place is a good four times the size, with enough space for 200 guests, if not a bit more. Overall, the food was comparable to one of the mid-level Canto spots in Chinatown, which makes it a lot better than most other places, but a bit worse than their original location. To drink, I stuck with tea, which was free at dinner, but I believe it is extra during dim sum, which just feels a bit wrong. The service felt a bit rushed, and I would almost recommend ordering dishes in waves, as the majority of the dishes outside of one came out very quickly. They also didn't come to our table often enough, which was a problem because we weren't able to order rice.
The first thing that arrived was the probable best dish of the night, the Sautéed Pea Shoots with Garlic/蒜蓉炒豆苗 for $28.95. There was plenty of garlic flavor, and the dau miu/pea shoots were perfectly blanched. There were also large pieces of sautéed garlic, which added extra flavor. This was excellent and better than most spots, even in Chinatown.
Next best was the $32.95 Typhoon Style Shrimp/避風塘蝦球, which was the one dish that arrived later, as we were originally going to get the $38.95 razor clams in the same style, but they were out. The dish came with eight large shrimp, which were juicy and tasty. For flavor, there was a lot of fried garlic along with some saltines and a bit of heat from some chili. Overall, this was excellent, easily the second-best dish, and a good version of this style. I wouldn't mind trying their fish fillet or other dishes.
In terms of dishes that I have ordered from Wonton King, there were two. The better of them was their Peking Pork Chops/京都骨 for $24.95. The sauce could have been a bit less sweet, but the meat was pretty tender, and the breading wasn't too thick. I love this dish at the other location and liked the one here, so in other words, it was good but not great. The $32.95 half Signature Garlic Chicken/招牌蒜香雞 felt a bit worse as well. The chicken was pretty tender, but the outside, while crispy and full of garlic, was way saltier than before.
There was also the Clams in Black Bean Sauce/豉汁炒花蜆 for $28.95. The clams were mostly fresh, though one of them was not open, which was disappointing based on the price. Outside of that, it was lighter flavored than most, as it wasn't overly salty from the douchi. Overall, they were fine, but I like other spots more.
Another dish was the Honey BBQ Pork/Char Siu/蜜汁叉燒, which is listed on the menu for the same price as the clams, though I remember it being a few dollars less. The pork was pretty tender and flavorful and less sweet than the typical version. I prefer some other places with a bit more flavor, such as Ming Wong and others in Chinatown, but it was decent.
The Fish Fillet & Tofu Casserole/斑腩豆腐煲 for $25.95 was a mixed bag. The tofu, though, was excellent, with a wonderful texture, but I disliked the fish as it was fried with a batter that was a bit too thick. Combined with the dish not being sizzling like it normally is in Chinatown, this led to the fish cooling down and having an unappetizing texture. Overall, I liked part of it, but I would get the eggplant version instead next time to avoid said fish.
Rounding out the meal was the $23.95 Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushrooms/北菇乾燒伊麵. The noodles could have used a bit more wok hei, but they were fine and plentiful. I also appreciated the plentiful bok choy for both flavor and color. This was decent, but not one of the group's favorites.
After a while, as it took a bit to flag down the server, we got the check. Notably, they were missing the Mango Jelly from their other location. If this were anywhere outside of the Upper West Side, it wouldn't be as notable, and I likely wouldn't go back. However, if I'm in the mood for some decent Cantonese food that appeals to large groups, I would try again.