The onset of Winter always brings memories of family feasts; heavy, aromatic meals and comforting food in an atmosphere of close relatives and friends. I made my first trip of the cold season to New York this week, and had a hankering for Chinese food.
Chicago doesn't have good Chinese food outside of the small Chinatown on the South Side. To be clear, there are many good *Asian* dining opportunities, and I would be remiss if I didn't note that the Peninsula's Shanghai Terrace has a excellent Chinese cuisine. But for some reason, New York is just different - the pure Chinese restaurant (no Pad Thai, no pan-Asian noodle dishes, no sushi) is an art form. Outside of Asia, I know no better Peking Duck and Dim Sum than inside the borough of Manhattan.
So, yearning for some real Chinese cuisine, I called up a few friends and had a nice Chinese banquet at the downtown Chinatown Brasserie. CB is one of the better Chinese places in New York. I prefer Shun Lee for Peking Duck, but this is a great place to explore all the variations of Dim Sum.
The lush interior evokes the feel of a real formal Asian dining experience, the service is somewhat slow, but adequate. The menu is varied but not too voluminous as some Chinese eateries seem to be.
One of my friends who frequents CB did the ordering; we had all of the major food groups - Pork, Chicken, Shrimp, Beef, and, of course, the Peking Duck.
There were so many varied dishes that it is hard to recount them all, but the highlights of the meal included the soup dumplings (tender pork and crab mixture filled with broth in a perfectly cooked dumpling), the turnip tofu with spicy sauce, and the chicken with crispy fried spinach.
The Peking Duck has less meat than crispy fried skin, but was solid.
Overall, a nice way to start the Wintery season, a solid meal for anyone craving Chinese after a long respite.
