NYC Chinese Food: $3 Scallion Pancakes Steal The Spotlight at Mee Noodle Shop
January 21, 2009
We came for the noodle soup, we left praising the scallion pancakes. Mee Noodle Shop on 2nd Avenue near 30th street may have the best prices outside of Chinatown, but at this meal neither noodle soup with meat dumplings or General Tso’s chicken beat the heaping $3 pile of greasy, flaky and freshly fried scallion pancakes. Read on for more scallion pancake porn and to find out why the noodles and General Tso’s fell short…
Scallion Pancakes ($3.00)
There’s only two ways to mess up scallion pancakes: overfry or underfry. The best kind are greasy with crispy edges that reveal thin, silky layers of dough embedded with chopped scallion. I’ll admit Mee Noodle’s pancakes weren’t perfect, exhibiting a slightly gummy consistency, but compared to the rest of the meal, this was the best move.
The pulled apart pancake below is a testament to the delicacy of each layer of dough and the crisp nature of the outside pieces. It tastes even better when soaked in the accompanying sauce, which is similar to dumpling sauce.
Mandarin Noodle Soup with Steamed Meat Dumplings ($5.45)
A soup is only as good as its broth and this version resembled a bland, watery attempt at miso soup. You can choose from seven types of noodles but I would pass on the Mandarin seen below, they are starchy and didn’t taste fresh.
The dough of the four steamed meat dumplings was a little gummy, but overall the dumplings were tasty and provided the only redeeming quality of this soup.
General Tso’s Chicken, White Meat Requested ($10.90)
Whenever I order a chicken dish at a Chinese restaurant, I’ll always pay a little more to receive a dish of only white meat. If I’m eating fried chicken or roasted chicken, the dark meat is always a more flavorful option, but in the case of Chinese food, I find you get better quality chicken by opting for white meat. Instead of empty scraps of fried cartilage and skin you get nice chunks of identifiable chicken. Unfortunately, requesting white meat didn’t save this dish. The chicken was fresh and crisped nicely on the outside but the sauce was sweet and devoid of spice not contributed by the accompanying chili peppers.
So Why Return to Mee Noodle Shop?
- For starters, the prices. There are few, if any dishes, over $15. And there’s a “special platters” section offered any time for eat in or take out and every dish is just $5.45. Dishes include Chicken & Garlic Sauce over rice, Chicken or Beef & Broccoli and Double Sauteed Pork over rice.
- One dish I’d consider ordering upon returning was the Sizzling Shrimp Platter I saw at another table. It resembled sizzling fajitas and smelled delicious due to the sliced onion also sizzling in the skillet. You can also get a this with beef, tofu, mixed seafood, and red snapper.
- Another reason to return is that the restaurant offers a full sushi menu in addition to its offerings of noodle soups, sliced meats and traditional Cantonese dishes.
Mee Noodle Shop & Grill (Menu)
547 2nd Ave b/t 30th street & 31st street
New York, NY 10016
212-779-1596
212-779-2472
212-779-2381
Hours: 11AM – 11PM
Posted in MANHATTAN, Mee Noodle Shop, MURRAY HILL/GRAMERCY
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January 21st, 2009 at 11:27 am
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January 21st, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Awesome, a chinese food recommendation. I think Foodguy is secretly wealthy with these daily food updates. 😀
January 21st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
wow i’ve never even heard of this place before… i guess overall wasn’t too good though. Have you tried yummy house food guy?
January 21st, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Master,
I wouldn’t exactly call this a recommendation. Nothing was good except the scallion pancakes. I’d consider going back for those alone and to try something else but more because the prices are so good and it would be great to find something worth eating here. I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to make it here though.
Phil,
You nailed it, Mee Noodle Shop wasn’t great. It’s funny you ask about Yummy House, my roommates both endorse it as a great eat in Chinese place. What do you recommend there?
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:53 pm
those scallion pancakes were legit. pics are lookin better.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I haven’t been to this outpost, but the Mee Noodle on 9th avenue is a go to spot for me, and judging by some of your pics its gotta be the same organization. Mee Noodle has some excellent soups, and some terrible ones, and they don’t do Americanized Chinese very well. But their Curry Noodle Soup is awesome and is the #1 reason I go there. It’s $7, it’s enormous, and it’s a delicious coconut milk curry broth with just the right amount of spice and a ton of flavor. Steamed Chinese sausage is also really tasty there…
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Dan,
Thanks cuz.
Goulet,
Interesting. With a menu as large as Mee’s, there’s no doubt some food’s good while others just bomb. What else do you recommend besides the curry soup and the susage? what kind of noodles do you get when you order there?
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Guy, I think we need a Chinatown extavaganza with KofK to find the “true General Tso’s”. Breast meat is an unacceptable compromise. It should be thighs (I elaborated on this in somewhere in your vast archives). I know that somewhere in Chinatown, the real Tso’s deal, gristle-free and all luscious thigh meat, exists. It just needs to be discovered. But then, if we find out and tell your readership, then everyone will go there, and it’s ruined.
The immortal (although not yet even dead) Yogi Berra on why he no longer went to a popular St. Louis restaurant: “Nobody goes there no more; it’s too crowded!”
February 12th, 2009 at 11:10 am
FG what up? I’ve never had the scallion pancakes at Mee, but if you’re looking for some top notch SP, hit up Excellent Dumpling House on Lafayette just south of Canal. Never had the dumplings but used to order the pancakes to go on a fairly regular basis. A bit greasy, but banging.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:30 am
HowFresh,
Thanks for the rec brother. We’re long overdue for a Piper’s move.