Jing Fong
After trying Ping's Seafood and the Golden Unicorn, I was still looking for more out of my NYC dim sum experience. Ping’s is too cramped, and although the quality is good, variety is limited. The Golden Unicorn, on the other hand, is spread out with many more carts whizzing around, but a few of my favorite fried items were soggy and extremely greasy - yuck. That leads us to our latest tale of NYC Chinatown dim sum, this time, a la Jing Fong. We went there a couple times in my ninth month of pregnancy and have been back with baby in tow to make sure it wasn’t just my pregnancy taste buds that were pleased. I have to say, Jing Fong has risen above the others and proven to be the best so far.
The set up consists of a large banquet hall dressed with your typical Chinese restaurant décor that you access via escalator. The space is bigger in size compared to one of the floors at Golden Unicorn. Most of the tables are big, so if you’re with a small party, you’ll probably be sharing your table. It has a more hectic atmosphere compared to Golden Unicorn. I think that’s because there are even more carts circling the room, and some of the items are prepared and served at banquet tables along one wall, getting people out of their seats to get food. Plus, there seems to be more of a vigilante spirit in the clientele who frequently jump up to chase down desired carts.
This was the first place in NYC where I could have all my favorites in one sitting –Chinese broccoli, sticky fried balls with pork inside, sesame balls, steamed and baked pork buns, fried taro root, Chinese spare ribs, shrimp in rice noodles, radish cakes – really they have it all. I even established a new favorite, shrimp fried in potato nests. Plus, the flavors and preparations met my expectations: the fried treats – crisp and reasonably light and the savory fillings – delectable. Finally, we have a place with both quality with variety, and I walked out of there with the gut ache to prove it…
The set up consists of a large banquet hall dressed with your typical Chinese restaurant décor that you access via escalator. The space is bigger in size compared to one of the floors at Golden Unicorn. Most of the tables are big, so if you’re with a small party, you’ll probably be sharing your table. It has a more hectic atmosphere compared to Golden Unicorn. I think that’s because there are even more carts circling the room, and some of the items are prepared and served at banquet tables along one wall, getting people out of their seats to get food. Plus, there seems to be more of a vigilante spirit in the clientele who frequently jump up to chase down desired carts.
This was the first place in NYC where I could have all my favorites in one sitting –Chinese broccoli, sticky fried balls with pork inside, sesame balls, steamed and baked pork buns, fried taro root, Chinese spare ribs, shrimp in rice noodles, radish cakes – really they have it all. I even established a new favorite, shrimp fried in potato nests. Plus, the flavors and preparations met my expectations: the fried treats – crisp and reasonably light and the savory fillings – delectable. Finally, we have a place with both quality with variety, and I walked out of there with the gut ache to prove it…
