‘Don’t cut the head off!”
This is my mother with a fish. It’s Chinese New Year, 1993.
“People are gonna bug out looking at the head!” I tell her.
“Who cares ‘bug out’? No head, no luck! Luck come in through the head! Leave the fins, leave the eyes, leave the head.”
“Fine, fine, fine . . .” I give in.
“Wasteful American! Cut off the head . . . Hilarious!”
I hated Chinese New Year growing up. My mom assumed I’d know the traditions. Every year, I was thrown into the fire as her sole prep cook, though I think she saw me as a threat to the fate of my family.
To the uninitiated preteen ABC (American Born Chinese), all Chinese New Year meant was that you had to clean the house and help clean snow peas, pea shoots and anything else involving pods or stray stems. At the end of the day, you got paid in red envelopes from your grandma.
I was so caught up in the details as a baby Chinaman: embarrassed my mom cut my hair for the festivities with a salad bowl, embarrassed that I smelled like steamed fish with pork and fermented bean paste.
But, these days? I wouldn’t want to be anything else.
Here are some of the Chinatown dishes that make me want to celebrate.
Oyster with black bean sauce
$6.95 and up at Oriental Garden, 14 Elizabeth St.; 212-619-0085
“Very few restaurants are able to deliver food of this quality. Everything is always fresh — they have … giant steamed oysters and other items you don’t usually see. It really has the best range of fresh seafood. All the chefs know about Oriental Garden.”
Pan-fried pork buns with black vinegar and ginger
$5.75 for six at Shanghai Cuisine, 89-91 Bayard St.; 212-732-8988.
“I love Shanghainese food — it’s a little sweet, a little savory. The flavors are very balanced. Shanghai Cuisine is the most underrated restaurant in Chinatown. It’s very 1950s-feeling, [with] old posters and a tiki bar. I’m surprised more hipsters don’t come here.”
Roast pork, taro and red bean bun
$1.10 at Great Bakery, 303 Grand St.; 212-966-3318
“I like this place because they have a bun with three flavors — roast pork, taro and red bean. A few other places started to copy them, but their bread isn’t as good. I think they’re the best bakery in Chinatown … for your 75-cent buns … things like that. It’s a staple.”
Shaved ice with tapioca pearls, small red bean and pineapple chunks
$3.50 with three toppings at Excellent Pork Chop House, 3 Doyers St.; 212-791-7007
“They have the best shaved ice in Chinatown. It’s served Taiwanese style, [with] the ice shredded fine. It’s a good place for an introduction to Taiwanese food. To my knowledge, it’s the only Taiwanese diner in Manhattan.”
Dim sum
$2 to $10.95 each at Ping’s Seafood, 22 Mott St.; 212-602-9988
“They are one of the only places you go to for dim sum where you’re like, ‘Wow, that new thing popped up.’ I like [that] Ping’s constantly has new dishes. They’re always aware of what’s going on back home in Hong Kong. A lot of places, they just do the classics over and over. The desserts are also especially innovative.”
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