China: Brunch at Jing Fong via Canal St., Manhattan

Jing Fong Chinese Dim Sum Restaurant

Subway:  Canal St. 

Location: 20 Elizabeth Street, 2nd floor, NYC 10013 (212) 964-5256‎ 

Short and Bald have been big Dim Sum fans for years and Jing Fong is one of our favorite Dim Sum restaurants in New York. On a recent, steamy Saturday morning, Short and Bald invited their Japanese friend, Ms. Nagano, to join them for a feast! As soon as we sat down, Bald saw a sweet, smiling Chinese grandmother sucking on some deep fried chicken’s feet. 

BALD: “Today’s the day. It’s Chicken’s feet day!” 

SHORT: “Why not!”

Ms. Nagano: “OMG!” 

Ms. Nagano looked anxiously toward the door, so we all agreed to fill up on our favorite Dim Sums first.

First up were the steamed shrimp and vegetable dumplings. They’re very simple andclean and so a nice way to start our meal. One of the fun things about Dim Sum is being able to choose dishes  that look good from the carts that pass by your table. The price range is from $3 – $6 per dish, so even if you choose something you don’t like, you can just move on to the next one without breaking your budget. We all agreed that this one was a keeper!

Then, another great choice! Juicy and flavorful, steamed seafood dumplings. When you’re at Jing Fong, please try this, it was Short and Ms. Nagano’s favorite Dim Sum of the day!

Well…. these steamed shrimp dumplings were pretty nice; their firm, light texture was a good contrast to the first two dishes, but we were all ready for something other than seafood by now.  So, Short grabbed the following from the next passing cart- 

These bright yellow balls are egg custard buns. Sweet and gooey inside and Short can eat them all day!

Here’s a family photo of them all together. Cheese! 

SHORT: Or “Kimchi!” as we say in Korea.

BALD: In Australia, we just say “Beer!”

Our first deep fried dish… these fried seafood and vegetable rolls were pretty disappointing. Short always kindly moves her unwanted food to Bald’s plate… and this was one of them!

SHORT: “Bit oily and salty but I like the chewy texture!”

BALD: “Like the “noodly” wrapping, but no real flavor… Next!”   

Bald’s favorite!!!  Deep fried pork belly on a bed of pickled vegetables. The top layer of skin is crispy and salted, the second layer is fat, which when fried takes on a moist texture and the bottom layer is juicy flavorful meat. It crunches and melts at the same time and when topped off with the sweet plum sauce, it’s a real taste sensation.

Can you see the layers of skin, fat and meat? 

BALD: “It’s like a piece of three layer chocolate cake made of pork!”

Duck, duck, duck! Crispy roasted duck on slowly cooked white beans. The duck was moist and not too fatty but don’t expect Peking duck quality flavor. Short does not like ducks generally (she was chased by a family of ducks once…) but Bald is a real duck lover. Both alive and on the plate!

Steamed BBQ pork buns (Char Siu Baau). These buns have sweet meat inside and a soft, fluffy outside. They are delicious and one of the most popular Dim Sum dishes everywhere. You gotta try it!

The soft, fluffy dough is almost like a cake but not too sweet. 

Deep fried Yam dumplings (Wu Gok). Another favorite of Bald’s. They have a flaky, crunchy outside and a dense inside of mashed yam, pork and mushroom. Deliciously savory and sweet.

Well… it was one of those strange dishes you don’t know why you chose. The flat rice noodle base was quite nice, the sauce was soy based… but the pork looked like an alien and tasted like an alien. Don’t pick this!  

Sweet soft tofu soup. This light dish is a good way to clean your palate between your more exciting dishes. Clean, soft, velvety tofu in a sweet water like syrup.

Well, you can’t leave a Chinese restaurant without trying their Spring rolls. The deep fried, crispy layers of pastry were great and the vegetable filling did its job. Now, finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for~

Chicken’s feet day!!! Deep fried chicken feet (Fenghuang). This is usually called Phoenix Talons. Wow! They are sweet, smoky, and gelatinous, there’s not much meat or muscle, so you’re mainly eating skin, tendons and cartilage. 

It looks just like it tastes, gooey and sweet. Actually it had a pretty good taste, it’s just that it looks strange and you can’t stop thinking about what you’re eating.

This is the after show. And there are a lot of small bones to spit out along the way.We do hear the gelatin from Chicken feet is really good for your skin.

SHORT: “Bald! Stop wiping those feet on my face!”

Our overall opinion of Jing Fong:

1. Great food with good variety of dishes.

2. $10-15 per person. Could be more if you eat like Short and Bald. 

3. Not romantic setting, but loud and fun for a group outing.

We stopped by Dragon Land Bakery (Chinatown: 125 Walker St., New York, 212-219-2012) as usual for dessert. This bakery is really cheap and makes everything from pork buns to tiramisu. 

Mango and cream sponge roll and Japanese style cheese cake. We decided to walk off some of our huge brunch by strolling back to Brooklyn Heights across this famous bridge!

We sat on the bench for a while, enjoying the beautiful view and contemplating all those wonderful countries we have yet to visit via the New York subway!