Chinatown Scenes
J1 and I have been exploring Chinatown a little more thoroughly the past couple weeks. She's teaching piano lessons on Sunday mornings at a school in Chinatown, so after she finishes, I come down and meet her; we get lunch, wander around, and enjoy the city.
There are, I am sure, many great things about Chinatown, but the one that is most prominant in my mind is that you can get large quantities of REALLY good food for pennies on the dollar.
Today, we visited Congee, known for serving great rice porridge, or jook. I had eaten jook once before and was fairly unimpressed -- it didn't have enough flavor for me.
Today, I ordered Congee's "Healthy Vegetarian Porridge." It came with carrots, mushrooms, pea pods, green onions, and other random veggies that I couldn't identify. At first, it was only ok, until I added a nice dose of red chillis.
Now those of you who know about my love affair with all things spicy may just think that I started enjoying the jook because it was an effective medium from which to eat red chilli sauce. Not so. In this case, the chillis really brought out the more subtle flavors in the jook, making a nice complement to the vegetables.
Oh, and did I mention that in addition to being tasty, the food was cheap? J1 and I each got soup, along with spring rolls and steamed dough. Total: $11.75. I love cheap food!
On the way to Congee (it's on the Bowery, just below Grand), the colors of Chinatown with the backdrop of the Empire State Building:
(It's kind of a crappy picture. I was trying to keep a van parked along the street out of the picture and ended up with the camera slightly askew.)
I'd like to say that this is a picture of New York's Bravests (as the Post and News like to call the NYFD) rushing off to fight a fire. However, the reality is slightly more mundane. Despite the presence of eight fire trucks, nothing seemed to be going on and everyone was getting ready to head back to the firehouse.
The New York Police Building, which is now apartments (renting for $7k-$10k per month).
There are, I am sure, many great things about Chinatown, but the one that is most prominant in my mind is that you can get large quantities of REALLY good food for pennies on the dollar.
Today, we visited Congee, known for serving great rice porridge, or jook. I had eaten jook once before and was fairly unimpressed -- it didn't have enough flavor for me.
Today, I ordered Congee's "Healthy Vegetarian Porridge." It came with carrots, mushrooms, pea pods, green onions, and other random veggies that I couldn't identify. At first, it was only ok, until I added a nice dose of red chillis.
Now those of you who know about my love affair with all things spicy may just think that I started enjoying the jook because it was an effective medium from which to eat red chilli sauce. Not so. In this case, the chillis really brought out the more subtle flavors in the jook, making a nice complement to the vegetables.
Oh, and did I mention that in addition to being tasty, the food was cheap? J1 and I each got soup, along with spring rolls and steamed dough. Total: $11.75. I love cheap food!
On the way to Congee (it's on the Bowery, just below Grand), the colors of Chinatown with the backdrop of the Empire State Building:
(It's kind of a crappy picture. I was trying to keep a van parked along the street out of the picture and ended up with the camera slightly askew.)
I'd like to say that this is a picture of New York's Bravests (as the Post and News like to call the NYFD) rushing off to fight a fire. However, the reality is slightly more mundane. Despite the presence of eight fire trucks, nothing seemed to be going on and everyone was getting ready to head back to the firehouse.
The New York Police Building, which is now apartments (renting for $7k-$10k per month).
posted by N at 11:47 PM
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