Monday, April 2, 2012

New York: $1 Potstickers in Chinatown - Day 1

After our doughnut fix and after we were completely overwhelmed by the pickles from The Pickle Guys, we set off towards Chinatown looking for them potstickers. There's two spots in NYC that's famous for their potstickers because of two reasons: tasty and cheap. Those are two very good reasons!


Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St
Chinatown
New York, NY 10002

chinatown
Chinatown! Not the prettiest part of it haha.

prosperity dumpling
First stop, the hole-in-the-wall Prosperity Dumpling! Now... it really is a hole-in-the-wall dump. Small and no room to eat really, so it is more of a to-go type of place.

$1 for 5!
What they are known for: Pork & Chive Potstickers for $1! You even get 5 of them for $1!!! This is ridiculously cheap. You can't even get dumplings this cheap from the frozen food section. It was piping hot too as the cook took it straight off the hot flat top.

pork & chive potsticker
A little soy sauce, a little vinegar, and you have potsticker magic. Awesome pork & chive dumplings. Great filling and the skin is not too thick. Really, one of the best potstickers I've ever had.

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Vanessa's Dumpling 大全鍋貼
118 Eldridge St
Between Grand St & Broome St
Lower East Side
New York, NY 10002

pork & chive potstickers
The second spot was Vanessa's Dumpling. The difference between the two is that Vanessa's actually has room to sit and there's definitely more on the menu. Four for $1 instead of 5 as well. Decided to get the Pork & Chive potsticker to compare!

$1 for 4 (chives)
I love the crust at Vanessa's but the skin's a little too thick. Great filling as well but I gotta give the top spot to Prosperity!

pork & cabbage
Also got the Pork & Cabbage Potstickers. Flavor not as intense and a little sweet from the cabbage! I really wanted to eat more at Vanessa's since they also have these sesame bread sandwiches that looked amazing but at Vanessa's we decided that we would grab Katz's for lunch so I definitely had to save room for that!

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Kung Fu Tea 功夫茶
73 Chrystie St
Between Canal St & Hester St
Chinatown, Lower East Side
New York, NY 10002

kung fu tea
We were all sorta thristy from the potstickers and the soy sauce, and probably MSG too, so we searched for a milk tea place and ended at Kung Fu Tea's Chinatown location.

milk green tea
Both Diana and I went for the milk green tea. Last time I came to NY, definitely didn't have good milk tea so I was very surprised when I took my first sip. It's good! Very milky, which I don't mind at all.

milk tea with boba
Boba milk tea. Tried a bit of the boba and even though it was good, it would've been better if the boba was a chewier or "Q."

manhattan bridge temple
Manhattan Bridge and a temple right across.

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Chinatown Ice Cream Factory 華埠雪糕行
65 Bayard St
Between Elizabeth St & Mott St
Chinatown
New York, NY 10013

chinatown ice cream factory
Afterwards, we took off to Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Known for the ice cream with a Chinese twist!

sesame ice cream
Unfortunately I was the only one that got ice cream cause all the rest were "full." Psh. I planned to try out a ton of flavors cause they are known for the "exotic" flavors but as soon as I tried the black sesame, I just ordered it cause it was too good.

blk sesame
Black sesame ice cream. Creamy and there's actual black sesame in it. Great texture and it really felt like I was eating frozen sesame ball.

menu?
A bit expensive but definitely worth it, as long as you try the right flavors :P I think with any ice cream shop that serves more unique flavors, you just have to make sure you get the ones that'll suit your taste buds. For example, I'll prob think that their Durian ice cream tastes horrible since I do not like Durian! Be smart when picking your flavors!

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Double Crispy Bakery 葡撻王餅屋
230 Grand St
Between Elizabeth St & Bowery)
Lower East Side
New York, NY 10013

offerings
For some odd reason, Ben got a sudden craving for egg tart 蛋撻 so we Yelped and found this bakery! Right when we walked in, all we heard was Cantonese with the tables full of locals so we figured this must be a good spot! Even their Chinese store name had egg tart in it.

egg tart
Two egg tarts!

portugese egg tart
We opted for the Portugese Egg Tart 葡式蛋撻!

cold
The difference between a Portuguese egg tart and a normal egg tart is that the Portuguese egg tart's custard has more if a creme brulee consistency, so it is softer and more delicate. It's also baked so there is a caramelized layer at the top. Definitely would've been better if they were warmed but they were handed to us cold so the texture of the custard wasn't like how it should be, but they were huge egg tarts O_o


After we finished the egg tart, we then headed off to lunch at the world famous Katz's Delicatessen!!

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