Chef Ho’s Dumpling House, Pell St, Chinatown, NY NY
This formica and florescent-lights Pell St. joint may not have appealing atmo, but take note that while you never have to wait long for a table, you will always have to wait. Two dishes you simply must order—Three Delicacies Dumplings (pork, shrimp, and leak), the number one house specialty, and gingery pan-fried noodles with chicken. Order them, close your eyes against the surrounding bleakness, and luxuriate. Three delicacies are that great Chinatown rarity—a dumpling that, while not fried, nonetheless achieves nearly erotic possession of the palate. Indeed, these small, unspeakable tasty morsels have suffered the indignity not simply of the steam tray, but of actual immersion in boiling water. And yet… The little paper signs on each table advertise “Three Delicacious Dumplings,” and while mere unfamiliarity with the rigors of the English tongue may have produced the term “delicacious,” the unearthly joy produced by this seeming simple mixture of shrimp, pork, leek, and flour justifies the new coinage. While the pan-fried noodles are not, it must be conceded, unique—and non-believers have gone so far as to complain that they are “greasy”—they are beautifully fried curly wheat noodles of a medium thickness, quite golden on the top and bottom (with the occasional noodle scorched black), covered in succulently juicy slices of chicken breast, broccoli, and cliché-chinese veggies like bamboo shoots and baby corn. But there’s none of your uptown-style bird’s nest of pre-deep-fried crunchy chow mein noodles—so sure they’re “greasy,” they’ve actually been in a wok of sizzling oil within living memory. And so cheap.
