I've been a bit lost since my favorite Cantonese restaurant (Cantoon Garden / South China Garden) closed down a couple years ago. Yes. That is a long time to go without another Cantonese favorite, but dare I say it? Life might be great again !
(Note: My camera has been in the shop for the last couple weeks. Let's pray for it. But until then, here's just a smattering of photos I managed to nab with my phone before my tablemates could keep their claws off the plates.)
A group of us converged at Amazing 66 recently. We ordered three types of house special chicken. (The house is very special, so their chickens must also be very special !)
The first one, is the classic version available at most Cantonese eateries: house special chicken with garlic. Crispy skin, succulent meat and plenty of garlicky bits. Great!
The next day, my friends messaged me that they were STILL thinking about our meal, licking our lips in imaginary satisfaction of crunching on all the varieties and forms of chicken skin. It truly was a splendid meal, highly recommended for a big, traditional round-table style Chinese dinner.
Han's Nonsensical Rating: Chicken skin, count me in ! Possibly my new favorite Cantonese restaurant in the city ! Call in advance (at least half day) to order the chicken with shrimp paste or the chicken stuffed with sticky rice and love yourself afterward !
Amazing 66
66 Mott St
New York, NY
(Note: My camera has been in the shop for the last couple weeks. Let's pray for it. But until then, here's just a smattering of photos I managed to nab with my phone before my tablemates could keep their claws off the plates.)
A group of us converged at Amazing 66 recently. We ordered three types of house special chicken. (The house is very special, so their chickens must also be very special !)
The first one, is the classic version available at most Cantonese eateries: house special chicken with garlic. Crispy skin, succulent meat and plenty of garlicky bits. Great!
House special chicken #2: the one with shrimp and almonds. Served Hannibal Lecter style, the chicken is completely deskinned, the skin then draped on an inch-thick layer of shrimp paste, then the whole thang fried together for a fun chewy, crunchy combo. Who knows what happened to the meat. There's no meat. Just skin (which is honestly all I really want anyway). This was fun to eat, but I wouldn't need to experience it again.
House special chicken #3: the one stuffed with sticky rice. This one is a decadent motherclucker. The sticky rice was unbelievably dense, flavorful and moist, the skin broiled to crispy perfection. Again. No meat. Just awesome skin, Awesome sticky rice. It's hard to describe this with any other word than "Awesome." It looks deceivingly small but comfortably feeds 4-6 easily.
The beef short rib in Japanese pumpkin is a darling thing, presented as a small pumpkin overflowing with meaty wonder, but it quickly got smashed, and we quickly got to business eating that delicious mix of tender meat and creamy, slightly sweet pumpkin flesh.
We also ordered the Peking pork chops (below) which were fairly standard, the string beans with minced pork (tasty little vegetable side!), Chinese broccoli (standard), and a heaping plate of the pastrami seafood fried rice which was abundant with yummy bits of salty pastrami. (If you are a small party, I'd opt for the sticky rice chicken and forgo any additional rice dishes.)
Han's Nonsensical Rating: Chicken skin, count me in ! Possibly my new favorite Cantonese restaurant in the city ! Call in advance (at least half day) to order the chicken with shrimp paste or the chicken stuffed with sticky rice and love yourself afterward !
Amazing 66
66 Mott St
New York, NY
the one stuffed with sticky rice... i am so intrigued!!
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