Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Best Manhattan Chinese

New York foodies will claim it's heresy to pick a favorite NYC Chinese joint and rule out Brooklyn, which, by any measure, has the best Chinese food in the City (Win Shing on Avenue U and 12th St leads the pack), but for those of us in the greatest borough...head to Oriental Garden on Elizabeth below Canal.

Look for big, angry- and carnivorous-looking live fish, and giant crab in the window. Stare at the blond prostitutes that the Chinese tycoons in cheap suits have on their arms (no joke!). Notice how polite the staff is, especially for Chinese. Imagine what the $285 pot of shark-fin soup tastes like while ordering the duck-pork lettuce medallions, the mixed-seafood soup, and the snow-pea-and-sea-food dumplings. Sit at a big, round family table with your crew, and order too much food. Go at 9:30pm on a weekday, when the place still has some diners, but you'll get seated without a wait. And make a pact with your companions to hit up Win Shing next time you go for Chinese (go in the fall or winter for crab with black bean sauce)!