Five things I ate to stay warm during a Polar Vortex 🥶
The best udon in NYC, a Chinatown classic, and more.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, I take my family eating around town. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.
Ankake udon at Raku East Village
342 E 6th St, New York, NY 10003
Raku, the excellent Japanese udon shop, recently expanded their East Village location. To my delight, they now take both reservations and credit cards, which was perfect, because I really can’t think of a better place to take family during the coldest week of the year. I have my order down to science: A giant bowl of ankake (thick egg soup) udon, with a side of vegetable tempura. There might be pricer, and flashier, udons on the menu, like wagyu beef, but trust me, the simple egg version is simply the best. The soup is the texture of egg drop, but way more delicious, delicate and clean. To eat, dip the veggie tempura into the thick broth, and enjoy while it’s piping hot.
Szechuan lobster at Wo Hop
17 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
It feels sacrilegious to say anything bad about Wo Hop – it’s truly a beloved institution, judging by the line that snaked from the basement door up the stairs and onto frigid Mott Street. I can understand why it’s so popular for tourists, since visiting must feel like an exotic adventure if you don’t have a local Chinatown. The staff is kind and the basement eatery is festive and snug, decorated with signed dollar bills all over the walls. But Wo Hop is no longer open 24/7 and the prices really can’t be called cheap – the special lobster dish was 30 dollars when we went. Everything was very gloppy, and exceedingly sweet – not my favorite flavor palette. When I went home, I did some internet sleuthing to understand why it was so popular. One of the comments that helped me the most was to view Wo Hop as a snapshot in time, the cuisine a vintage 1930s Chinese takeout instead of modern Chinese American food. Or, as its website says, “We serve "old-fashioned chop suey style food.”
Lotus Seed Mooncake Latte at Paper Sons Cafe
10 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
After all that Chinese food, I needed a little pick-me-up, so I went next door to check out the recently opened Paper Sons Cafe. I rarely drink coffee outside of the home, because I’m very dedicated to my at-home coffee setup and not spending $7 on a latte. Plus, I don’t really have a favorite cafe – my beloved Land to Sea is way too far for me to go for any regular reason. I splurged on the Lotus Seed Mooncake Latte with oat milk, which was indeed $7, but it was also a delightful Little Treat. I’m really curious how they made the latte syrup, because it really tasted exactly like a lotus seed mooncake! Lattes generally have a bit too much milk for me though, so I drank about 80% of it before it felt too oaty to me.
Cocktail whose name I forgot at Attaboy
134 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
When I was 20 years old and sneaking around fancy cocktail bars in NYC, I remember that one very late night or very early morning, someone handed me a card with Sasha Petraske’s name on it and told me to go to Milk & Honey. I never did, and tragically he passed away before I could ever try it. So did the part of me that went to cocktail bars– these days, the idea of an establishment that serves only alcohol and no food has about the same appeal to me as going swimming in the dead of winter. But when family’s in town, I’m pretty much down for any adventure, including going to a drinks-only establishment. Attaboy, which lives where Milk & Honey used to, and is run by Petraske’s proteges, has no menu, so I asked the waiter for something along the lines of a pisco sour. They served me a rose-scented drink, with foam on top, that was very much on the sweet side. It was a tasty drink, but at $22 and all the hype I expected my mind to be blown. Still, a part of me rested easy now that the quest I received a decade plus ago was settled, at least in spirit.
Pea Shoots with Tofu Skin at 886
26 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003
I’ve written about these pea shoots before – and dammit, I’ll write about them again if I want to. They’re just that good. Personally, 886 is my favorite Taiwanese restaurant around these parts, not like I’m an expert of Taiwanese food or anything. I just like how it tastes and the service is extremely fast and the vibes are always good. Eric Sze, the head chef and owner, is also a very nice guy. We got a delicious feast for three– including popcorn chicken, pea shoots, lou rou fan, spicy beef noodle soup, and beef scallion pancake rolls for about a hundred bucks. My favorite dish here is a close tie between the pea shoots and the popcorn chicken, but the pea shoots slightly won over this time. They’re just so silky and fresh and the tofu skin is perfectly cooked, soft and savory. I’d order them time and time again, and I’m glad my family got to give it a try.
XOXO,
Soph
P.S. This post now comes with an Instagram guide! Follow my account for more NYC restaurant reviews.