Oh hey there guys.
A couple of weeks ago my Instagram friend (by which I mean a person who I feel that I know extremely well because I follow her on Instagram, but whom I do not actually know at all) Alexis posted about a Northern Chinese restaurant she went to in Queens called Golden Palace. And in that post, she called it a “food adventure.” So: restaurant googled; trip planned.
Northern Chinese, at it turns out, is a totally different thing than the Chinese food I’m used to (primarily Hunanese, Sichuanese, and Cantonese). It’s not one of the “Eight Great Traditions” of Chinese cuisine, and is considered sort of less refined by Southerners (which apparently has more to do with political and economic differences between the regions than the quality of the actual food, because it’s totally as interesting – and delicious – as what you find in neighboring areas).
First, there’s no rice (rice is relatively rare in that part of China, so it’s reserved for special occasions). You get things like corn pancakes, flour tortillas, and steamed buns.
Also, it has some Korean influences – you get a bowl of kimchi on the table when you sit down. I love Korean food, so this made me very happy.
And finally, it includes lots of ingredients like intestines and pig tripe, and other things that I’ve never exactly been drawn to the idea of, but hey.
Food adventure.
OK, first: the restaurant is not pretty, either outside or in, but that’s pretty obviously not the point; the point is the food. Our ordering strategy was to choose a couple of dishes we were pretty sure our son would be into (steamed buns and a pancake-inclusive dish), and then to take our waiter’s recommendations for the rest. (I suspect he took it kind of easy on us and suggested sliiightly less adventurous dishes than we might have liked, but that’s ok, because they were SO good.)
My Favorite Dishes:
– Fried Sweet Potato Wrapped with Syrup (basically what it says – fried sweet potatoes dipped in sugar. You dunk each piece into a bowl of cold water to cool it down a little before you eat it…which you have to do quickly, because once that sugar hardens it becomes Tooth Cement).
– Golden Mushrooms & Cucumbers (a light, fresh-tasting dish of shredded cucumber and mushrooms in a vinegar-y dressing)
– Tofu With Preserved Eggs (also known as “century eggs”). This was not good, but it was SO COOL. We will discuss. (Century eggs have been an obsession of mine for years, so the fact that I finally met one in person means that it gets its own post.)
– Steamed Buns with Chinese Cabbage and Pork (sort of a mix between traditional dumplings and soup dumplings; oh my GODDD these were good – and even good when we were eating the leftovers at 10PM that night)
Oh and P.S.? It’s cheap.
You should go.
So it wasn’t just “lunch” – it was a full-on experience, and I loved it. I’d say “we’ll go back,” but I think the adventure is more exciting than the food, even…so if you have any more recommendations for restaurants you think we need to try before we move, tell me tell me!
(More bucket-listing here.)
(Serious Eats’ guide to Where To Eat Chinese In New York City here.)
