As a young boy, Canadian celebrity chef Susur Lee would attend boisterous Chinese wedding banquets in his native Hong Kong. It was at these banquets where Lee first fell in love with Chinese cooking. The chef, who runs a successful group of restaurants in Washington D.C., Singapore and Toronto, fondly recalls the rush of dishes [...]
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Ever since the Momofuku Noodle Bar set downtown New Yorkers hearts on fire with noodle desire, shops have been popping up all over the place. The latest to hit the scene is called Hung Ry, at 55 Bond Street, just down the block from Il Buco, The Smile and kitty corner from Peels. This restaurant [...]
Ever since the Momofuku Noodle Bar set downtown New Yorkers hearts on fire with noodle desire, shops have been popping up all over the place. The latest to hit the scene is called Hung Ry, at 55 Bond Street, just down the block from Il Buco, The Smile and kitty corner from Peels. This restaurant is a true multicultural effort. The restauranteur is an Asian Swiss named Amadeus Bogner. The chef is an American named Michael Hodgkins and the craftsman (pictured here) who teases fine noodle strands out of lumps of organic dough with his bare hands is Chinese.
It’s been open for about a week and we can confirm that the food is delicious. Judging from the quality of the food and the comfortable shabby chic interior, it is apparent that there are some real artisans at work here. This is not a faux fusion joint. The prices for a bowl of noodles range from $11 to $19 for the lobster and scallop version. That’s not cheap but that’s not at all unreasonable for a bowl of fresh, organic hand-crafted noodles. What they’ve done is elevate the humble bowl of flour noodles to a very delicious meal by using high-quality, organic ingredients served in Limoges flatware. If you prefer the $3.95 Chinatown version served in greasy, plastic bowls, then this place is probably not for you but if you appreciate fine ingredients put together in a new kitchen and served in a comfortable, clean environment, then you ought to pay Hung Ry a visit.
Try the beef tongue and frog’s legs as appetizers. The tongue is incredibly tender and served in a subtle pickled garlic broth with black chickpeas and carrots. The lightly fried frog’s legs with celery root and walnut salad was surprisingly tasty. Also, you should definitely try the duck breast noodles served with a generous amount of perfectly-cooked duck in a broth with roasted peppers and a hint of sichuan peppercorn.
Hung Ry is still waiting on its beer and wine license. When it gets approved, this place is going to be overrun with noodle nuts. What a great addition to Bond Street.
This story is about a strange moment where the two disparate worlds of Chinese Communist Party politics and cooking collide. The New York Times ran the headline “A Chinese Cooking Contest, Without Any Chefs from China.” The story was about how the Chinese government had denied visas to eleven chefs scheduled to compete in a [...]
This story is about a strange moment where the two disparate worlds of Chinese Communist Party politics and cooking collide.
The New York Times ran the headline “A Chinese Cooking Contest, Without Any Chefs from China.” The story was about how the Chinese government had denied visas to eleven chefs scheduled to compete in a cooking competition taking place in Times Square today and tomorrow. What the reporter neglected to mention was that the competition is being produced by New Tang Dynasty Television which was founded by Falun Gong followers and according to the Wall Street Journal serves as a “platform for China’s pro-democracy dissidents.” So, it’s no big surprise that the Chinese government did not want to cooperate. Freedom of expression is still a relative concept there.
You may not know what Falun Gong is but you’ve seen them before if you’ve ever been to the Chinese Consulate on 42nd Street. The protesters who’ve set up a permanent vigil across the street are followers of the religion. The Chinese government says that the Falun Gong is an “evil cult” but they’re not happy with it, to say the least, because it’s an organized religion that actively criticizes the government.
The Wall Street Journal ran an extensive piece on New Tang Dynasty Television in 2007. If you want to know more, the article is here.
The big losers in this situation are the American fans. It would’ve been fascinating to see how the mainland Chinese chefs stack up against the expat chefs living in North America, especially since some claim that Vancouver’s Chinese food is the best in the world.
As a young boy, Canadian celebrity chef Susur Lee would attend boisterous Chinese wedding banquets in his native Hong Kong. It was at these banquets where Lee first fell in love with Chinese cooking. The chef, who runs a successful group of restaurants in Washington D.C., Singapore and Toronto, fondly recalls the rush of dishes landing on the red-clothed table: the fresh soy beans, barbecued pork, sea jelly fish, braised tofu, crispy pig skin peeled from the back of a golden suckling pig.
